Follow these instructions to make your own sparkler pictures and learn a bit about how photography and sparklers work.
'Did you know that with many cameras you can change the shutter speed to stay open longer than usual? This is called a ‘long exposure’. While the shutter is open, it will record all the light it ‘sees’.
You can use this long exposure to make a sparkler picture. If you light a sparkler and wave it around, your camera's long exposure will record all the movements of the sparkler. The picture you create will be a record of all the points of light of the sparkler.
Caution: Sparklers should only be used under careful adult supervision. Sparklers burn at a very high temperature and can be dangerous. Sparklers present a fire-hazard and this is especially true in drier areas.
What you need
To do this activity you will need:
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a digital camera (with a night-time setting or a full manual camera)
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a tripod (a tabletop tripod or something you can rest the camera on)
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sparklers
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a dark setting
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a torch
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a group of people with a lot of patience that are ready to have fun.
Some helpful tips before you begin
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The quicker you move the sparkler, the smaller the streak of light in the photo. The slower you move it, the thicker the streak appears.
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If you leave the sparkler in one spot, the camera will just keep recording the amount of light, making the ball of light bigger and brighter.
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If you don’t want to see the people in the picture make sure they wear dark clothes and hold the sparkler away from themselves.
What to do
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Set your camera up on a tripod or place it on a table or some other stable structure.
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Turn your camera into full manual mode or night mode.
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Make certain there are no other light sources.
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Give your friends the sparklers and practice drawing or writing with the sparkler.
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Get everyone in place and then light all the sparklers at the same time.
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Start drawing the picture and then take your photo.
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Tell everyone when the photo has finished.
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Check out the photo and decide what you want to change.
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You are limited only by the number of sparklers you have and your own creativity.
Exposure
Exposure means how much light the picture is exposed to. In photography, shutter speed is the length of time the window in the lens stays open to let light through to the film. In a digital camera, it is the amount of time a sensor is exposed to light.
Somewhere in the camera is a shutter. In cameras that use film this can be some sort of metal door or a cloth screen. In digital cameras it may be purely electronic. The shutter opens (or turns on) and starts the capture of the image. When the image is correctly exposed, it closes (or turns off). The amount of time is usually very small. The slower the shutter speed, the longer the exposure time. The higher the shutter speed is, the more clearly a moving object can be shot.
For more hands-on activities, join CSIRO's Double Helix Science Club.
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