Monday, July 04, 2011

















what the heck IS this?


22 comments:

Izzy G. said...

People use swarms of Roombas (robot vacuum cleaners) and attach LED lights to the top to make these pretty light pictures. Quite cool :)

TheLabRat said...

Some really wonky acid I took once? Nah, Izzy's probably right.

angie Brooksby-Arcangioli said...

It looks like a sort of simulated annealing.

Laila Knight said...

Lite Brite? Don't know but I like it. Happy 4th!

MitMoi said...

this is the mind of someone with FAR too much time on their hands.

Or avoiding "butt in chair" .. and writing.

Or housework.

just sayin'

Patrick DiOrio said...

It's what Jackson Pollock would be doing today if he were alive.

Sarah W said...

Roomba swarm! XD

I wonder if it would be possible to record this as it's happening, and capture all the light trails? Can video cameras even do that?

Because I'd love it see it . . .

Phil said...

Sarah W.

It's not a video camera. This is a photo technique called light painting.

I can think of a couple of ways to set up this shot, but suffice it to say the only light in the room is whatever LED is on the Roomba. Typically this is done with a (D)SLR with the shutter locked open. You want very low light conditions (as in the picture) or you will fry your camera. It basically works just like traditional film. It's a shot that takes a lot of time to accumulate photons on the sensor (film).

It's a neat technique to play around with.

Phil said...

Whoops, sorry Sarah! I misread your comment. I probably sounded condescending in my previous comment... :(

As for video, I've seen the technique done (we all have if we're in the US and watch TV commercials), but I don't think any consumer level video camera could do it (as in sub $2K), but I could be wrong. I really don't know what kind of video camera would be needed, since all my experience is with still shots.

Alexander Field said...

That's some fantastic art installation in New York, yeah? Just a guess. : )

Buffra said...

I'm pretty sure that those are motion detector lasers and there's a shark under the floor. If you cross the beam...GULP.

Yep. That's it.

Anita said...

I think those are my shoelaces from seventh grade.

gregkshipman said...

High Tech bumper cars... agression without consequence... no pain, no game

gregkshipman said...

sorry... I meant aggression... lack of sleep makes me stupid... that's my story and my ex-wife's sticking to it.

Sean Ferrell said...

It's the time-line for The Man in the Empty Suit.

Janet Reid said...

and it's Sean Ferrell FTW!

Ebony McKenna. said...

my first thought . . .

must be art.

julie fedderson said...

The mating patterns of earlier ancestors of Spirograph?

Michael Seese said...

I'm back in the 60s, man!

Kimbra Kasch said...

I don't know but it's pretty :D Happy 4th!

Kitty said...

What MitMoi said.

jjdebenedictis said...

That is the prettiest way to get clean carpets I've ever seen.