A Bulb? Really?

Here is a fun little rainy day project you can try. The best thing is that this gives a totally artistic photo and is relatively cheap to do. But please let me warn you that caution should be the main part of this project. You will have to handle broken glass, and electricity, in the dark! So please be careful...

Staging it:

- You will need a camera with a bulb or timer setting on a tripod

- Close up lens of some sorts

- A light

- Several 40w or so Bulbs

- A Zip lock bag

- A room that can be pitch black

- A remote trigger

Click and go! So in the comfort of light you will need to place a bulb in the zip lock bag and break the glass. So before you just start smashing things realise that you need the inside of the bulb to be completely intact. The filament and the glass need to still be functional. So you probably will break a couple of bulbs before you get a good one. The bag's only use is to limit the broken glass from flying every where. Now the light is unplugged and set to "OFF" screw in the "broken" bulb. Set the camera on a tripod and aim it at the filament. Try to keep the top part of the frame clear so that you can catch the "smoke". Plug in the light. The camera should be set either on bulb or say 10seconds or so. The room has to be pitch dark so the duration of the exposure is actually going to be irrelevant. You are only interested in capturing the bulb burning, so if you set the timer to 10 seconds just make sure that you can do it all in 10 seconds.

Now that your camera is ready, your bulb is screwed in, you are ready to go. Sit some where in between the light with the bulb and the camera and the main light switch. You really don't want to be fumbling in the dark to try to find all these things. With one hand on the camera trigger, turn off the room's light, trigger the camera, then turn the broken bulb light on.

You will see a flash and a puff of smoke, once you hear your camera's click turn the room light back on. Check to see framing.

Now you can try something else, you are going to put the camera on these settings: 1/640 - f4.0, iso 160 and continuous firing. This way you will get several shots of the burn/puff. Change the bulb, and do the same routine, this time right before you turn the bulb on depress your camera's trigger and keep taking pictures until the event is over. Now just play around adjusting your settings you will get some really cool shots. JUST BE CAREFULL!