Making Floating Objects

Written By Lucas Saugen

Debuting the start of a new personal project I’m calling Floating Objects. This is a collaboration with my studio-mate RC Rivera and prop and set stylist Nissa Quanstrom. I focused on taking still images with my Fuji GFX 100s and RC shot some high speed motion on his Phantom with his robot Dorris.

RC and I designed and built this pneumatic launch rig together. We used a Rasperry Pi to control the timing of the rig in conjugation with the main computer controlling his robot Dorris. There was definitely a lot of trial and error but we now have a rig that we can use to reproduce this effect over and over again.

DIY electronics for a camera trigger and launch rig.
The insides bits of the rig that launches the objects up.
Woman standing behind the top of the launch platform A hunk of sod, dirt, and rocks sit on the top of the launch table.
A behind the scenes image of the lighting and launch rig. Also in shot is the robot arm with a high speed camera attached to it.

I hope this is just the start to these new series and plan on continuing the project. I’ve started building a control box that I can use to trigger my camera and trigger the pneumatics on my own without having to relay on RC’s robot for timing adjustments.

Lucas Saugen
Photographer.
http://www.SaugenPhotography.com
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