To Celebrate Spencer's Birthday...Here's Some Lightstick FX Photos!

I met Spencer on a train going to Salt Lake Comic Con--I forget which one. He had with him a large piece of luggage and he looked like someone who was headed to the event. As was I. We stuck up a conversation and I learned he was from Arizona and it was his first time attending Salt Lake's largest geek convention.

I decided to look him up once everything got going. He's a very engaging person. We chatted and he showed me what he was peddling. The thing that impressed me the most was what he called Lightsticks. They're small thin plastic rods of various colors. Then he showed me what they did. 

I'm still blown away by their simplicity. 

You turn on your phone's flash, have a person strike a pose, either holding a lightsaber or if they have a weapon, they can pose with that too. Then the photographer holds the plastic rod in front of the camera lens, adjusts it just right, then takes a picture. If you're interested in getting some for yourself, just click HERE for the website. As you can see in these photos, some turned out better than others. The ability of the photographer plays a huge part in making it look just right.

Tonight at rehearsal (in between acts...), I asked several of my fellow cast members to pose for me. More wanted to, but we ran out of time.

 Happy birthday Spence! Hope it was great!

I Think LightSticks Are Basically The Coolest Thing Ever!

I saw a LOT of cool things today, but I think the coolest thing I saw was one of the smallest things I saw. It's a little invention called, A LightStick.

But first, a little story. I caught the train to Comic Con this morning and then a TRAX light rail train to the convention hall. I thought about walking, but decided against it. Sure I had to wait a few minutes, but that was okay.

Had I not taken TRAX, I would not have walked to the convention and struck up a conversation with a guy dragging a large suitcase on wheels, basically a vendor. I asked what he was selling, he said Star Wars stuff. I found out where his booth was and so I made it a point to go see him once he was set up.

I'm glad I did.

You see, what Spencer Brinkerhoff III invented is so cool! And so simple! And so cool! Basically you pick a color of lightsaber then position it in front of a cell phone camera. Turn on your flash and take the picture. Suddenly, a normal picture becomes an FX event!

People holding lightsabers, or having lasers fire out of guns or out of thin air! It's all possible with LightSticks! You can find out more at his website: HERE.

So if you're at this year's Salt Lake Comic Con, go to Artist Alley and track down the table at Red 1 and talk to Spencer. Cool guy! Cool invention!