If you ever need to fly a camera drone around at events, here's something you should know: your drone can easily be brought down by confetti, toilet paper, and anything that can get tangled around the propellers.
The beautiful light painting photo you see here was created using steel wool (here's a tutorial on the technique). Basically, you fix some steel wool on the end of a rope, set it on fire by rubbing a 9V battery against it, and then swing it around to fling sparks all over the place. While it's becoming a pretty common photo project, it can also be hazardous to your lens' -- and your body's -- health. Jon Beard, the photographer behind this photo, learned the hard way. See that thick yellow line in the upper right hand corner? That's one of the bits of burning metal striking his $2,000 Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G lens.
Mother Jones reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on …