Mona Lisa in 3D

 


Cross your eyes to feel Da vinci's muse, the Mona Lisa.

IRgraphy

Last week I thought of a very affordable and elegant technique for painting in 3D space with infrared technology.

You only need the following items:

1. Digital (preferable with liveview) or Film Camera. You must check if your sensor can detect infrared; To do so, just flash any remote control towards the camera and you should see the invisible IR light on the LCD of your camera.
2. Any remote control -- I am sure you have one at home, if not, get any universal one ($5-$25)
3. Any Infrared filter that fits your camera. I recommend the r72 filter that allows IR spectra beyond 720nm. Most remote control IR wavelengths range between 920nm and 960nm. You can find filters online ($20-$75) or you can build your own cheap IR filter with red and blue transparent plastic or glass sheets but I recommend the former for better quality. 

Now, you need to set your camera to manual and set the shutter speed to at least 5 seconds to give you time to paint. Turn the shutter and start painting with your remote control pointing towards the camera lens. I anticipate some examples made using the technique detailed above using a Pentax k-x and a 50mm lens:

EDIT: The first image (above) was featured as a daily deviation on www.deviantart.com for the innovation in manipulation-free photography. So far it has been downloaded 600 times, viewed 6000 times and faved 900 times (03/30/11).