Camera-less Photographs by Robert Buelteman

Photo by Robert Buelteman

Robert Buelteman takes photographs using a modified form of a technique known as Kirlian photography. The traditional technique involves sending electricity through an object in a humid environment (or relying on moisture in the object) that is set on film or a photographic plate. The charge causes a corona, which is highly variable based on numerous factors. The technique has long been a favorite of charlatans and mystics who claim , following Kirlian's lead, that the photograph is of "auras," mystical "energy fields," or "lifeforce" from the object.
As described by Wired, Buelteman's technique (for which he makes no mystical claims I know of) involves translucent sections of plants placed on color transparency film and sandwiched with a metal sheet, Plexiglas and silicone (which I suspect he uses as an insulator). He then sends an 80,000 volt pulse through this, then "paints" the remainder with a fiber optic light. No camera, lens, of photo manipulation is involved. In the photo (as I understand it) the blue is the electrical discharge. The rest are the natural colors due to the fiber optic white light shone through the translucent plant. The results are interesting and beautiful.