First results of my new fire spinning hobby!
My first ever proper fire spinning photo shoot occurred on the 31st of March 2019 in Sweden, where I was studying at the time. Some of my crazy good spinner friends had decided to get world famous under the name of Arctic jesters (they are great, check them out!) and needed some promo material, while my photographer classmate wished to shoot some twirling fire, and so it was. I came along for a couple of photos of my own and they turned out way beyond my initial expectations!
My face says it all (first time holding the fire fans and of course the wind had to come and play). 
Second time around, happy pyro child.
Spinning fire on a frozen lake while surrounded by tons of snow was definitely an amazing experience and we had quite a lot of fun taking the photos, despite the wind and the bitter cold. I got to try out some rather massive fire fans I borrowed from a friend and when the wind picked up the flames were uncomfortably huge, but the photos turned out amazing.
It was also the first time when I actually got to relax into my fire poi flow and was not overly nervous because of the balls of fire flying around my face, which was largely due to focusing on the photographer’s instructions, so my brain did not have time to worry. I was primarily worried as I had barely practised at all for the three months prior to the photo session, since I was lazy and busy with my studies, but I guess at least some poi tricks are now permanently branded into my brain. Either way, I managed to finally break through my fire jitters, which troubled me in the beginning and I count that as a great personal success. You can see me smiling like crazy on the poi photos. 🙂
The fire photos
Considering it was my first attempt (I need to learn to stand still during long exposure!), I’d say the photos quite exceeded all expectations and Kim really did an incredible job with the photography and editing part. Of course I also owe a huge thanks to all my jester friends for all of their teachings and support, but most importantly for encouraging me to practice my new poi skills. Needless to say, there will be more fire photos in my future!
All photos by Kim Lagrama.
Share your thoughts with me