I had some fun the other night messing with physiograms and colored gels.
If you are unfamiliar with phyisograms, they are created by the patterns of a spinning light source. The pattern forms during a single long exposure, where your camera is pointing straight up at a flashlight that swings from a string that is tied to the ceiling. (See more here). These are a few of the best shots I captured.
For my set up, I placed a long, wooden pole up in two of my directional spotlights on the ceiling. I then tied a string to the pole, tied a very bright flashlight (that also happens to be a taser) to the other end, and started spinning!
Unfortunately, the colored gels I was using to add color are quite beat up and so the knicks, scratches, and rips in the cellophane caused some strange markings and blurry spots in my photos. But nonetheless, my rig was set up correctly so the spins came out pretty perfect. In the past my light source has not been balanced so there was so asymmetry in my physiograms. Once I get some new gels, these are going to be great!
-Johnny