Thursday 26 June 2008

How to hijack a photograph


If you are the sort who likes a good prank, or who simply appreciates a good bit of technical thinking for the sake of art, you're going to like this. I got wind of this guy's activities thanks to Strobist (original post here), and I see Chase has also made mention of him too (ah the joys of blogging - watch those stats shoot through the roof, Sir!).

The artist goes by the name of Julius von Bismark; he is Berlin-based and his 'invention' is called "The Fulgerator". What does this contraption do? Well, in a nutshell, it is basically an adapted SLR camera and flash gun device which senses when another camera's flash goes off and then projects an image. Doesn't sound like much hype, huh?

Here's the best bit. It is an unwitting passer-by (often a tourist) who sets the sequence in motion simply by the act of taking their own picture; within a fraction of a second, The Fulgerator lets off a flash, projecting its image onto the scene that the 'subject' is focusing on.

Confusion and amazement then follow (though not necessarily in that order) when they review the image only to find something unexpected.


All is revealed in the video below. Enjoy!



If you like what you see, make sure you also check out Bismark's website for more info.

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