I did a 30 seconds edit of that picture at the airport in Albuquerque and posted it right away on instagram. And it went bananas. I had mixed feeling about this because this is not our work, this is not what I want to be known for. And all of these comments about Star Wars are always making me dizzy (I don’t have a tv, I never watch movies, I have no interest for fiction). I thought I would delete it after one day anyway.
But during the flight we talked a little bit about it. That previous night had been so incredible, so powerful, so violent. Oh wait, I’m talking about the super spicy pasta I made after the thunderstorm. I still can’t feel my mouth and don’t even know where it is.
So I asked Kim… what happened? What is that shot?
We do a lot of “behind-the-scenes” pictures where I or she is holding the tube. That gives a glimpse of how it’s really happening. In that specific moment, I gave her the remote trigger because I needed to setup the video camera and had so little time that I thought we could maybe manage to capture some lightning bolts during that 60 seconds I needed to prepare my things. What Kim told me is that she started to pose, and waited for that moment. And it happened. She triggered when she felt it. And she got the shot. What a great timing!
For those who have no clue about our work, here’s a few details: Kim and I have been traveling together around the world for nearly two years with some plastic tubes to create light-painting in fantastic locations. This time we were in the White Sands Monument in New Mexico. The way it works is that I stand behind her and create the light while she stays still. I’m never behind the camera for these shots. I prefer to be part of the process.
We managed to create a few cool ones that night after Kim selfie, but at some point, the wind was so strong that I couldn’t even do a circle because it made my tube bend.
The picture above is the last one we did that night (this is a test shot). The wind was way too strong at that point, which is just perfect as the blue hour just ended and we were craving for the pastas 🙂
About the Author
Eric Pare is a canadian visual artist who has been performing light-painting all around the world since 2013. You can find out more about him on his website, or follow his work on 500px, Facebook and Instagram. You can also follow Kim on Instagram. Also published here and shared with permission.
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