Time-Lapse with Sparklers

We had a small Canada Day celebration this year featuring fireworks. As part of the fun, the kids and I tried to make patterns with sparklers on time-lapse photographs. I mounted the camera on a tripod and set it to a 10-second exposure time. Then the kids thought of imaginative patterns that they could trace.

The whole thing was Kenna's idea. She thought to make a smiley face:

 

 

 I don't really have much of an imagination, so I just made swirling lines:

Todd wrote the letters of his name. This is the T:

My favorite was when Todd ran around and then threw the sparkler. Look how the sparkler doesn't appear to follow a perfect arc like you would expect it to while it's in mid air. Instead it appears to wobble. This is because it's spinning around. The burning part of the sparkler alternates to either side of the arc as it spins.

These pictures are pretty easy to make, as long as you have a tripod and a camera that can do a long exposure. It also helps to have fun, creative kids that come up with great ideas like this.