The Cellar Image of the Day

xoxoxoBruce Thursday Jul 16 01:11 AM

July 16, 2009: Electrified Plants

It took photographer Robert Buelteman 10 years, working an average of 60 hours a week, to produce 80 photographs.
Damnnnnn!

Quote:

Working in complete darkness, he begins by placing his chosen plant onto a metal board which he then passes the electrical surge through.
He can even pinpoint areas where he wants to focus the charge using a wand and a simple car battery.
As his subject lights up with the current, and emits radiation invisible to the naked eye, Mr Buelteman captures the moments by passing a fibre optic cable back-and-forth over the plant. The cable emits a beam of white light which is just the size of a human hair and whatever the miniscule torch-beam touches, transfers the image onto film.
The captivating blue haze that surrounds every leaf, petal and stalk is actually gases ionising around them as the plant is electronically shocked.

Uh... um... oh.

Quote:

'You just have to imagine it like a painter creating a picture on canvass,' he said. 'The plant is the subject just like the painter's bowl of fruit or the person they are capturing.
'The electrified board I place the plants on is the canvass. The fibre optic cable emitting the light-beam is my paintbrush.
'Another way to try and understand it is like a normal photograph on a normal camera, except I am manually controlling the exposure by hand. In the same way the image I capture is simply burned onto film.'

Ahhh, of course.

Quote:

But despite these being the first pictures of their kind in his profession, Mr Buelteman says he has in fact invented nothing and uses a combination of age-old techniques developed decades ago. Semyon Kirlian - developer of Kirlian photography - accidentally found in 1939 that it was possible to photograph electrical discharges at the edges of objects if that were being shocked on an electrified plate.

At 10 years X 60 hrs/week = 80 photographs, I can see why it didn't catch on.

link

wolf Thursday Jul 16 01:36 AM

Just wait until the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to our Chlorophilic Brethren gets a load of this one ...

xoxoxoBruce Thursday Jul 16 01:38 AM

PETCB?

sullage Thursday Jul 16 03:19 AM

people for the ethical treatment of all life? PETAL? i imagine something like this already exists somewhere. the question is weather they have a funny acronym.

DanaC Thursday Jul 16 04:33 AM

Damn. I read this as 'electrified pants"....at last! I thought...

Sheldonrs Thursday Jul 16 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanaC

Damn. I read this as 'electrified pants"....at last! I thought...

Shock the Monkey!

Pie Thursday Jul 16 09:52 AM

Pensive or Happy?

DanaC Thursday Jul 16 10:01 AM

I would imagine that might rather depend upon the voltage.

dar512 Thursday Jul 16 10:21 AM

Keziah: No thanks, I'm a fruitarian.
Max: I didn't realize that.
William: And, ahm: what exactly is a fruitarian?
Keziah: We believe that fruits and vegetables have feeling so we think cooking is cruel. We only eat things that have actually fallen off a tree or bush - that are, in fact, dead already.
William: Right. Right. Interesting stuff. So, these carrots...
Keziah: Have been murdered, yes.
William: Murdered? Poor carrots. How beastly!

Sheldonrs Thursday Jul 16 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pie

Pensive or Happy?

I'm sure if i put on electric pants my "monkey" would be both pensive AND happy. lol!!

dacliff Thursday Jul 16 11:16 AM

What? No salad recipes? I'm shocked!

xoxoxoBruce Thursday Jul 16 11:23 AM

Their salad days are over, those plants are cooked.

birdclaw Thursday Jul 16 11:25 AM

Finally a name for my band. Electrified Pants! You can dance, you can dance, everyone look at your pants.

lumberjim Thursday Jul 16 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanaC

Damn. I read this as 'electrified pants"....at last! I thought...

great minds...

Gravdigr Thursday Jul 16 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdclaw

Finally a name for my band. Electrified Pants! You can dance, you can dance, everyone look at your pants.

I'm a man and I have a hat, so, I don't get that reference. I'm unsafe, also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg

Elspode Friday Jul 17 08:12 PM

Has this guy never heard of Kirlian photography?

xoxoxoBruce Saturday Jul 18 12:55 AM

From the link;

Quote:

But despite these being the first pictures of their kind in his profession, Mr Buelteman says he has in fact invented nothing and uses a combination of age-old techniques developed decades ago.

Semyon Kirlian - developer of Kirlian photography - accidentally found in 1939 that it was possible to photograph electrical discharges at the edges of objects if that were being shocked on an electrified plate.

Yes, he has.

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