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How to Paint the Air With Glow Sticks

Glow sticks are a fixture of social events taking place at night and in dark settings. You're as likely to find them at trendy nightclubs populated by the over-21 crowd as you are at a children's party. When moved quickly through the air in a dark setting, glow sticks give the optical illusion of leaving a trail of light behind them. This phenomenon of "painting the air" is easy to accomplish and preserve as a work of art.

Things You'll Need

Glow sticks
Camera with manual settings

Instructions

- 1
  Set up your camera outside at night or in a dark room. Tripod or tabletop setups are ideal. Keep the camera steady. Turn off the flash. You won't be using it.
- 2
  Set your camera's exposure at 6 seconds.
- 3
  Activate your glow sticks. This is usually accomplished by "snapping" them to mix the chemicals within that create the glowing effect. It is best if there are multiple people--one person to be the photographer and more to use the glow sticks. These roles can be traded off.
- 4
  Begin the camera's exposure process.
- 5
  Simultaneously, instruct the person(s) with the glow sticks to begin moving them through the air.
- 6
  The camera's long exposure will permanently capture the light trails left by the glow sticks throughout the exposure period, creating an illusion of an elaborate and colorful painting in the air.

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