Way, waaaaaay back we had a tutorial about how to shot a burning bulb. IT was actually one of the first posts on DIYP to hit Digg (that was pretty big back in the days).
Till this day, it remains one of the most read posts on the blog and is a personal favorite. This is why I was happy to discover two bulb related tips from Flickr user Steve O that make those awesome images even more awesome.
The first tip is about how to make a small crack in the bulb. That crack allows air to get in and burn the filament while keeping some of the smoke inside the bulb’s glass.
The second tip is about creating a small hole to extend the time it takes the filament to burn. Both tips with their photos after the jump.
“… In the tutorial they instruct you to squeeze the bottom of the light bulb with pliers to get the glass to break but I found an easier way that leaves much of the bulb intact. Heat the glass up with a lighter and then dip the top of it in cold water. This cracks the glass and allows you to shape the opening with tweezers or needle nose pliers”
“One thing I learned from being able to make a precise and small hole in the glass of the light bulb it allows for a slower burn out. And although this all happens in the matter of seconds being able to add a couple seconds obviously allows for a few more rapid shots.”
With the whole CFL craze that is going around I would estimate that you have two more years to get an incandescent bulb before you’d have to hit the gray market,
