Make: Day - Flash & Glow

At Make: Day on March 14, 2009, LTC will host Flash & Glow - a way to make amazing shadow paintings with camera flashes, penlights, glow-in-the-dark paper, and all kinds of different materials. You can do it at home, too.

Stuff you'll need:

• a flash: you can use a camera (disposible, digital or film) OR a flash attachment for a camera – the kind that runs off of batteries and has a test button
• glow in the dark vinyl (you can find this at ArtStart's ArtScraps if you’re in Minneapolis-St. Paul, or online at Specialty Graphics Supply)
• a penlight or flashlight (so you can see, and to draw)
• an assortment of materials (look for things that are clear, opaque, semi-opaque, and reflective)
• a dark room!

Try this:

• In a dark room, arrange objects on the glow in the dark vinyl.  
• When you’re ready, point the flash at the vinyl,close your eyes tightly and shoot! (You don't have to close your eyes, but it helps you see the shadows more easily after the flash.)
• Quickly brush off the objects from the vinyl so you can see the image they left.

Other things to try:

• Play with the angle and position of the flash and the objects to change the shapes of the shadows.
• Try using your body to make shadows! Use the penlight or flashlight to draw on the vinyl.
• A friend showed us how to capture the image of other things that emit light, like cell phones and computer screens. Put a cell phone screen-side down (while the screen is lit), wait for a bit, then take it off.
• Try capturing an image you draw or write on a piece of paper by putting it upside-down on the vinyl and flashing it.

Check out other LTC-hosted activities and demos from Make: Day