Made my own meteor shower...

[Todd Lambert]

Well, I spent several hours out last night trying to capture something from the Taurids meteor shower with no luck.

So, I made my own...

[Photogdude]

steel wool? cool

[princer7]

That looks like too much fun!

[Todd Lambert]

Jen, it totally is... it's always makes me giggle like a school girl, whenever I do one. 8-)

[danchez]

I want to try this, but as dry as it's been, I don't want to burn down Texas.

[Todd Lambert]

Yeah, that was a concern of mine as well... I chose this spot, because it's a bridge over a lake... so, the chances of burning anything was pretty remote. However, I had to hike out to the middle of the two lane bridge, set up my camera, watch for cars, light and spin, etc... by myself, which was a bit hard.

[danchez]

how'd you start the steel wool? 9 volt battery or??

[Todd Lambert]

Nah, just a cigarette lighter.

[danchez]

easy enough, did you experiment with different types of steel wool?

[Todd Lambert]

Yeah, I like #00 personally, as it's finer and seems to produce better results. But, the thicker stuff works too.

[JohnT]

I like to try this sometime. Please explain further.

[Todd Lambert]

John, it's pretty simple. Get some steel wool (standard stuff you can find at Home Depot) - I use 00 fine grade wool.

Attach it to a small chain (you don't want rope or string as it will burn). A lot of people use egg whisks as a sort of cage (stuff it with wool).

Light it on fire and spin away like a mad man...

The stuff sprays out a LOT and usually a pretty good distance, so don't do this anywhere you might have an issue with something catching on fire.

Anyways, have fun.. ! 8-)

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by Todd Lambert

John, it's pretty simple. Get some steel wool (standard stuff you can find at Home Depot) - I use 00 fine grade wool.

Attach it to a small chain (you don't want rope or string as it will burn). A lot of people use egg whisks as a sort of cage (stuff it with wool).

Light it on fire and spin away like a mad man...

The stuff sprays out a LOT and usually a pretty good distance, so don't do this anywhere you might have an issue with something catching on fire.

Anyways, have fun.. ! 8-)

OK, that is simple. Thanks!

[jeeper]

I was wondering what kind of cordage you used...

How long of a burn do you get out of one pad?

[Todd Lambert]

This was only a portion of one pad, and the exposure was for 30 seconds - and it was still going as the frame closed.. so yeah, a little goes a long way.

I'm actually going to start playing with smaller amounts to see if I get a bit more pinpoint with it. I was a bit unhappy with this shot, as there was some killer skies behind me that I'd intended to show in the background, but because this put off so much light, it pretty much drowned out the background. The place I was, I didn't really want to keep trying it, as there were cars in going by every minute or so and I was on a small two-lane bridge (so nowhere to go and at 2am on a Sat night, just asking to get clipped by a drunk lol )