Refractographs

"The interplay and the interaction of light on materials and surfaces has long been a fascination for me. As a research scientist and microscopist I used many optical and lighting techniques to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of materials. I am now exploring the world of caustics - those magical patterns that are formed when a beam of light travels through transparent textured materials."


These are refraction patterns or 'caustics' formed by a light beam passing through a shaped and textured plastic form. Coloured dyes were added to the clear plastic as it hardened adding further distortions to the shapes. The pattern formed by the light beam is captured directly on to 35mm film by removing the camera lens and putting the transparent object in its place. The film is digitally scanned for uploading. Please note these are not computer generated images but a true analogue of the way light is refracted by the objects I create.


via flickr