I tried it and it didn't work out.

I couldn't get it well lit enough for high shutter speeds, the popcorn was blown out, and usually out of focus (even though I manually left the focus directly over the popcorn maker). Worst of all, it didn't really look like the popcorn was in the air: the whole scene just looks two-dimensional.

It took a while to sweep up all the popcorn mess and even longer to get the majority of oil off the wood floor and walls. I am more glad than ever that I invested in a filter.

Has anybody ever tried it before? Does anybody have any suggestions on how to best light it or how to make it look three-dimensional?

as well as good ambient lighting did you try using a synced flash to freeze the action?

A synced flash I do not have. I wanted to make as much out of the single batch of popcorn I had for digital, so I used continual lighting (two lights, each five-hundred watts, coming from slighty different angles) as well as ambient lighting and just held down the shutter. Perhaps I over-exposed the front, or the camera would have been more cooperative if I had a lighter backdrop. I had no ballpark for exposure, which makes it tough.

Luke , have you tired using the bulb setting ?
In a completely dark room let your shutter remain open and use your flash manually , this way you get up to 1-20000 motion freeze . (i know that this is the way to catch a drop of water( , maybe it will work for popcorn as well :-) ) So don't use any lighting ;-)
I got this information here

The problem is that I don't have a flash. :-)

Would the shot really be lit well at that short of an exposure? That is really short.

The exposure is as long as you want .. your shutter is locked open via the "bulb" setting .. and the only lighting is via a flash .. any flash held in your hand, use a friends. .. just pop the flash manually when the mood strikes you

a little ambient light might provide a moody \ blur'esqe in between flashes

the beauty of digital is that experimentation costs you nothing but TIME .. not film and developing

I haven't done this since my film camera days .. and my digital doesn't do it the same way (you have to dial in a time in advance @ 15 seconds max .. as opposed to using a cable release)

My only suggestion is to try using a method other than oil in a pan... maybe hot air... or just throwing them in the air after they're made... or if that's no good, maybe just lay an old towel on the floor?? It sounds so messy...

Messy indeed. :-)

You will probably find this very strange, but I don't own or even know anybody who owns a flash that would fit on a Canon camera. My mom does have a flash for her old Minolta, so I could see if I can flash it without actually using film to take a picture, but it is rough technology. Just new enough to lose manual features, but just old enough to have no control over the electronic ones.

just hold the flash in your hand and use the "test fire" button .. if it has one

it doesn't have to fit your camera in a situation like this .. the exposure time will be "geologic" compared to normal situations

Pick up one of those cheap disco strobes at your local electronics store and adjust the dial to flash at your desire...might catch some nifty popcorn trails on bulb exposure. Failing that, I know from experience that a normal 100watt incandescent will throw a flash of light when connected to a 220volt circuit!

yeah .. your curtains on fire will provide some ambient glow as well .. and you probably won't have to clean up any oil residue ...

let the fire dept do that

Ya well, the things you'll do to get that shot. The curtain though would provide a good shrapnel screen...good idea Keith.

This may not surprise Keith, but I actually already own one of those strobes you described. I would like to experiment, but popcorn is a LOT of work. I should try to find something else to freezeframe. Strobes and water could be interesting. Now, I wonder where I could find some water...

uh .. good luck on that .. policemen no longer give directions

I shot some early blossoms on some kind of tree today. They are super small, pedals and all only about an inch across. Some of the pictures turned out marvelously, but it proved to be almost as hard as popcron photography because the wind was blowing. The focus (which is thin) was always changing and framing was nearly impossible. I will upload some soon.

Do you have garage sales on Saturday mornings over there? They can be a good source for old flashguns going real cheap.

Garage sales happen all the time, but they are difficult to find anything of value. I would love to go to a garage sale of a photographer, but usually we only get broken toys over a decade old and useless things that moms like. :-)

broken toys make good photos :-)