Photocarver Slices Your Photographs into Blocks of Wood

Using wood as a canvas for photo prints isn’t uncommon these days, but the prints typically use some kind of transfer process that applies a photo onto the wood. German architects Michael Ahlers and Roland Heuger have been experimenting with a new wood photo process since the summer of 2011. Their company Photocarver can take any photograph and cut them into wood blocks using straight cuts that vary in thickness as they go along.

The tactile wood relief prints are created using a large machine that can either cut lines or dots into the plywood. The lines and dots can be clearly seen and felt when you’re examining the print up close, but step further and further away, and the print looks more and more like a photograph.

Here’s a short video that offers a glimpse into how Photocarver wood prints are made:

You can upload your own photo on the Photocarver to have a print made, but be warned: the prints cost around $200 each — and that’s not including shipping.

Photocarver (via Gizmodo)

P.S. Back in 2011, we shared a similar idea by modder metafusion, who used a CNC machine to carve halftone photos into plywood.