Wire wool spinning

damianmkv

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As my 16 year old son is doing his A-levels and the current subject is light, he fancies doing some wire wool spinning.

Is there a specific grade of wire wool he needs or are they all the same ?
 
Never done it so can't help there but, there was a member on here @MWHCVT who did training workshops on wire wool spinning and was usually helpful with advice but I havent seen any posts from him in a while.
 
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Am going to get the 0000 fine grade (hopefully 100g will be enough), a stainless steel whisk and some rope
 
Tried this last year. As mentioned above you have to get the finest wool you can get. I got stuff that was too thick and it simply doesn't light.

Also a food whisk makes a good holder for the wool.
 
Thanks - did you use rope or something else to tie to the whisk ?
 
Use a metal wisk from the pound shop and the finest wool you can find (medium will do if your stuck), I use about 3 foot of paracord but any string will do. You can use a 9v battery to light the wool or a lighter. I find dark clothes work best to hide you and I found a marker on the floor makes it easier to stay on the spot while turning. I'd suggest a hat and goggles, the sparks can go some distance..
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Believe it or not, he’s the only one in his class who’s ever used a camera. He’s teaching other students how a camera works..

He usually shoots only automotive so it’s about doing something different ( for him ). I know it’s not rocket science but there you go
 
Firstly @jakeblu thanks for mention, to the OP if you check out my signature you’ll find links to all my tutorials, including my wirewool tutorial I’d suggest giving that a read and then if you’ve any unanswered questions I’m more than happy to help and guide you

It’s fun and fairly simple to do, what I would suggest is pay attention when doing it firstly to clothing keep everything dark and non reflective otherwise the person spinning shows up in the image but this goes for all light painting, also wear gloves to avoid blisters what whatever cord you use

Also consider post spin as a lot of the time there will still be a small amount of glowing wool in the spinner, so don’t carry it towards the camera either put it down where you spun or walk away from the camera until the exposure is complete, also have some water on hand to cool the spinner

Matt
 
My A-Level photography was basically replicate a famous photographer...

He’s only 3 months in to the course. I guess these things will come next year... ( maybe, I have no idea really )
 
Good to see you back in the building, Matt. Hope all's as well as it can be with you.
 
I should mention, as someone who fire spins, make sure you wear natural fibres - wool or cotton.
It's not very nice having your clothing melt, worse case the material melts into your skin and is there for the rest of your life.
 
Good to see you back in the building, Matt. Hope all's as well as it can be with you.

Thanks buddy it’s nice to call back in, it’s been a bad couple of years if I’m completely honest physically but also to an extent mentally, more so than I maybe realised until recently but I’m getting a lot of help and I’m starting to see a faint glow at the end of the tunnel, barely even looked at my camera and kit in that time but looking positively into 2020 and beyond to improve all aspects of my life and get back to living life to its fullest
 
Here's hoping the '20s are a good decade.
 
I've done some wire wool spinning in my time and it was fun, now this thread is making me want to revive it again!

If this is your son's very first time in having a go at it, I would suggest doing some practice "dry" run using a cheap LED torch attached to a string just to get the feel of things as well as getting to grips with the correct camera settings as you go along, as you have to be quite quick thinking with the real thing that is a lit up wire wool.
 
Thanks Ian - he’s done some experimental with a red bike light on some string with good results
 
I've tried a few different things, bunched up battery Christmas lights worked ok, I also tried a reflective ball (made from the 3m material they put on high vis jackets lit by a torch on camera, I didn't think much of that effect though,. I've seen some crackers done with a lazer pen, but they can damage the sensor so I've not tried that one.
 
Certainly better than my first ever attempt in fact that second one is a real cracker loving the composition and location, the first while from a spin standpoint is good, it would have benefited from a far tighter composition
 
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