A series of interactions with Kinect’s infrared structured light

With these images I was exploring the unique photographic possibilities presented by using a Microsoft Kinect as a light source. The Kinect – an inexpensive videogame peripheral – projects a pattern of infrared dots known as “structured light”. Invisible to the eye, this pattern can be captured using an infrared camera. The Kinect uses the deformation of this dot pattern to derive 3D information about its subjects (an ability which has already spawned an explosion of incredible digital art).

As a photographer I am most interested in the nature and quality of light: how light behaves in the physical world, and how it interacts with and affects the subjects that it illuminates. For this shoot my models and I were essentially working blind, with the results visible only after each image was captured. Together, we explored the unique physicality of structured light, finding our way in the darkness by touch and intuition. Dancing with invisible light.

This series would not have been possible without the help of these amazing people:

Aaron Muszalski and I worked together on the concept, and he took care of the logistics and planning for the shoot.

Mike Estee is a long time collaborator in many mediums. He lent his technical expertise and photographic equipment to the shoot. He also modeled for me, assisted with lighting and wrote an excellent blog post about the shoot.

Ian Baker assisted with lighting arrangement and modeled.

Models:
QTRNevermore
C. King
KC
Mike Estee
Ian Baker
Helyx
Star St. Germain Annetta Black
Josh St. John

Nicole Aptekar lent me her Kinect.

For more information, see:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structured_light
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinect
www.openkinect.org/