Tesla coils are super cool. But while most of us will only encounter the archaic contraptions in museums, if you’ve got some pluck, you can use a portable version to generate your own lightning storms at home.
That, at least, is what photographer Marc Simon Frei has done in this phenomenal series of photographs. Using an 1920s-era electrotherapy device (basically, a mini Tesla coil) that he purchased on Ebay, Frei was able to generate electrical discharges and capture them using a Nikon Df, a macro extension tube, and a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens. No doubt the electrifying shoot put his equipment in peril, but the risk seems to have paid off.
My personal favorite is the last—a mini thunderstorm that uses teddy bear guts for clouds.
