Ok, these were just jalapeños so they are not really that hot. Then again, when you light them on fire I guess they are. These were a while ago when I was working to get some images for my food photography aspirations. I was also a firefighter at the time, so I decided that setting things on fire and photographing them would be fun.
Capturing fire can be a bit challenging. Different materials of course burn with different colors and intensities, and some are small flames. The first challenge was making a solution that burned with a good color and appearance. I settled on a mix of lighter fluid and an oil, I don’t remember what kind, but I needed something that would stick too and not just run off. Once I was happy with the flame, it was onto lighting it.
I experimented with shutter speeds for the flame and lower apertures to make the background more interesting. Those are just some white Christmas lights. These are the three that turned out the best, and I was happy with my experimentation. I was even more happy that I did not burn down my garage. If you are going to play with fire, actually know something about it and know how to manage it. You really don’t want to make any mistakes.