5 Minutes

"5 Minutes Ambient" is a project within "Moment" which maps 5 minutes of random events as detected in the background radiation. As in all "Moment" still work, the geiger counter triggers the camera shutter, so that the captured images define a data set for a given period of time at a specific location.

Each map is expressed in two versions: the graphic showing the abstract cloud and the photographic, using the camera images which constitute the underlying data set. The map is created by using the duration between consecutive events to determine brightness on a standard grid.

Single images are printed on 13" x 19" sheets. Dual images, where both the map and the referent are linked, are printed on 13" x 38" sheets. Several examples of the latter are shown at the bottom of this page.

In exhibition, the single images are displayed in a matrix on the wall with only small separations between images, each on a separate panel.

This is a continuing project. Additions and changes will be uploaded as they are created.

(Note that these electronic images may show some grayscale banding. The physical prints are continuous in tone and more nuanced in shading than their reproduction by most computers' display systems.)

Jon Burris Projects

5 Minutes Ambient