Photographer Navid Baraty doesn’t need the Hubble Space Telescope to roam the Universe capturing amazing pictures. He just needs a scanner, glasses, cream, salt or anything he can find in his kitchen to obtain these cool images of invented galaxies and planets.
The images are made by placing the objects on an Epson photo scanner and then making a scan with the lid open. The planets and moons are made by scanning the bottoms of glasses containing the liquids. The liquids naturally create the shapes and swirls that you see in the images when they mix. The stars and other points of light are made by sprinkling spices and the other ingredients around the scanner glass. Like I mentioned, everything is scanned with the cover open to create the totally black backdrop of “space.”
Planet – bottom of a glass containing half and half, water, food colouring Stars – salt, cinnamon, baking powder.
Planet – bottom of a glass containing half and half, water, food colouring Moons – bottom of a glass containing coconut milk, water, food colouring Stars – salt, cinnamon, baking powder, turmeric.
Icy planet – bottom of a glass containing half and half, water, food colouring Moons – silica gel, food colouring Stars – sugar, cinnamon, cumin.
Black hole – bottom of a glass of coffee, salt, sugar, corn starch, cinnamon.
Nebula with gas streams – cat fur, garlic powder, salt, flour, cumin, turmeric.
Globular cluster – baking soda, salt, sugar, curry powder, cinnamon.
Nebula – makeup, olive oil, chalk, baby powder, salt, water.
Distant galaxy – olive oil, sesame oil, water, cumin, cinnamon, flour.
Navid Baraty is a professional photographer based in New York City and Los Angeles. His work has won numerous awards and has appeared in publications and exhibitions worldwide.
You can follow Navid’s work on Facebook, Instagram and on his personal website.