A Day In The Life

Shoot Plan: Spirographs

A spirograph is a geometric drawing that produces beautiful mathematical curves by rolling a smaller circle inside a bigger circle. I am going to attempt this shoot at home, late in the evening when it is dark.

Materials Needed:

A dark room

A camera (with a long exposure)

Torch/Phone/LED lights

String (lots of it)

A place to be able to hang the light source from, preferably 5-6 feet

A tripod

A cable shutter release

Set Up

The first thing I need to do is to get some altitude for the string mounting point. I will use the string to hang my light source from, about two or three foot above the lens. My light source will not keep constant distance from the camera, so I need the most depth of field I can get. I will set my camera to the smallest aperture I can get it too (f/22). I will use manual focus and either focus to about where the flashlight is using the distance scale on the lens or use something to temporarily position the flash light and make sure it is focused. I will then turn the lights off, activate the shutter release and throw the light source in a circular angle. See the diagram below for a graphic illustration of the process.

The longer the shutter stays open, I will get more of a complete circle. I will make sure the shutter is closed before taking the light source down, as this will avoid any stray light lines.

Creating Multicolour Spirographs

While spirographs are cool, I think spirographs which include more than one colour are much more pleasing to the eye. To create these, at some point whilst the shutter is still open, I will cover the lens with either the lens cap or black card, change my LED to a different colour. Then I will throw the flashlight again and remove the object on the lens. When I throw the light source again, I will throw it in a different direction so the trace will not overlap with the existing trace.