Steel Wool Photo

Steel Wool Photo

By Marcus Gurule, for Get Wet 2016.

Sparks are created by lighting steel wool on fire and spinning the wool in a circular motion. Using a long exposure allows you to catch the trail of the sparks.

More information: MarcusGuruleOct4,2016721PMGetWetWriteUp

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22 Comments. Leave new

  • Joseph Hall
    Sep 27, 2016 23:23

    I love the contrast of the sparks to the black background. Steel wool was an awesome idea in order to get such a good aesthetic. The circular motions with the dying sparks is truly beautiful.

    Reply
  • Michael Lloyd
    Sep 21, 2016 12:44

    Great example of particle tracking and picture has just the right amount of streaks to not overexpose certain areas.

    Reply
  • Sierra Castillo
    Sep 20, 2016 19:27

    I love long exposure photography! My only critique is the light is a little intense towards the bottom left. I like that you can see, very clearly, the paths of the pieces of steel wool.

    Reply
  • Sean Harrison
    Sep 15, 2016 20:56

    Excellent long exposure image, nice job with the focusing on this image, quite crips. Maybe try cropping a little more on the bottom in the future, the brightness of the bottom line distracts from the circles and the trails a little bit. Fantastic contrast between the fire and the night.

    Reply
  • Preston Marcoux
    Sep 15, 2016 14:19

    This is one of my favorite images, the steel wool idea is very creative and the sparks flying everywhere makes the picture. The focus is great and the contrast of the dark takes this image to the next level.

    Reply
  • Harrison Lien
    Sep 15, 2016 10:39

    The art of this photo is very alive. The crispness of the photo as well as the streaks of the particles are nice and clear. I don’t know if this photo really clearly illustrates fluid flow that’s really obvious to me, it seems to only show trajectory. Good technique on keeping a crisp photo with such a long shutter speed; this is a cool photo.

    Reply
  • Joseph Straccia
    Sep 14, 2016 19:42

    Nice use of long exposure. The combination of rings from the swirling arm motion with the parabolic ballistic arcs from the flying sparks gives this image some interesting shapes. Using this method in a more dynamic fluid may provide more material for discussion of the flow visualization aspect of this image.

    Reply
  • Alexander Thompson
    Sep 14, 2016 16:15

    Fantastic image! How many attempts did it take to get it just right? The Great idea swirling the burning steel wool around with your arms, but my favorite part of the image is all the released particles upward. Great use of shutter speed to capture the many swirls over time and track the particles breaking away.

    Reply
  • Mark Noel
    Sep 14, 2016 12:54

    1. Awesome image!!
    2. The focus makes this image
    3. The contrast with the background is great

    Reply
  • Maxfield Scrimgeour
    Sep 14, 2016 12:49

    I really like the creativity of how the flow was captured. The overall contrast is very nice and has a full range. It would be nice if there was a concept of scale in the image to get a feel of what it took to make it.

    Reply
  • Daniel Luber
    Sep 14, 2016 12:45

    I appreciate how this photo was taken over several seconds , but yet the arm motions were relatively consistent and level across the whole image.

    Reply
  • Michael Waterhouse
    Sep 14, 2016 12:45

    The detail of the motion of the flow is incredible. Publishable quality. Nice contrast with the bright light and dark background.

    Reply
  • Ryan Daniel
    Sep 14, 2016 12:45

    Art: Nice circle patterns with cool ember trails.
    Flow: Ember trails are really neat.
    Photo: Long exposure captures the pattern nicely.

    Reply
  • David Leng
    Sep 14, 2016 12:45

    The focus is great which highlights the art of this image. It has a very dramatic feel to it. The flow seems very controlled in the sense that the circles are consistent lengths. Very creative technique. Great contrast!

    Reply
  • Hunter Miller
    Sep 14, 2016 12:45

    Awesome photo. You are a very good photographer. I like the framing of the photo and the exposure time. The focus is EXCELLENT. Good job.

    Reply
  • James Julian
    Sep 14, 2016 12:44

    Art: The color contrast between the background and the steel wool is fantastic.
    Flow: The flow is not quickly understandable and recognized, but that gives this piece great visually interesting properties.
    Photographic technique: The focus of the steel is great.

    Reply
  • Brett Sibel
    Sep 14, 2016 12:44

    Art: Love the contrast of the bright to increasingly less bright light.
    Flow: I’m very interested in the how you make the circular flow.
    Photographic technique: Im impressed with you having such a large range in photo.

    Reply
  • Branden Goldenberg
    Sep 14, 2016 12:44

    Creative use of steel wool! Great use of contrast between the burning wool and the black of the night. Keeping the focus for the long shutter speed is impressive.

    Reply
  • Jeremy Parsons
    Sep 14, 2016 12:44

    The contrast and focus are very clean in this image. Based on your description of the scale, I am surprised to see how long those spark trails are! Very interesting macro effect, highlighted by the deep contrast behind the image.

    Reply
  • Theo Petrides
    Sep 14, 2016 12:44

    – Has dramatic electrifying effect to it.
    – Creative flow and technique is demonstrated well.
    – Great contrast between the steel wool and background.

    Reply
  • Jason Savath
    Sep 14, 2016 12:44

    Incredible way to lighting steel wool to create art. Long exposure helped capture the contrast and created a beautiful design. Interesting way of creating fluid flow art. Pieces of steel wool can be seen flying out of the whisk.

    Reply
  • Alexander Rosenberry
    Sep 14, 2016 12:44

    Great dynamic range on this picture! The completely black background blown out by the white sparks is very satisfying contrast. Great focus as well and lots of movement gives this photo a lot of action. So many swirls of the steel wool makes this image slightly overwhelming however, and obscures some of the physics that is occurring.

    Reply

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