Eric Paré and Kim Henry - What began as an adventure became our lives
Tube light-painting has become one of the most popular forms of modern photography. Two of the most recognisable light painting artists at the moment, Eric Paré and Kim Henry, took the Xposure stage on Wednesday evening to uncover fascinating details about astrophotography and light painting at an inspiring photography talk titled ‘Traces of Light’.
Through a presentation titled ‘Tube Stories’, the two visual artists took the audience on a journey of how they had travelled to places afar, seeking the right playground to experiment with light, space and time to create their psychedelic masterpieces, most of which have a strong celestial vibe.
The two photographers shared their craft, their love for landscapes – both natural and urban and the simple tricks with the tube that they use to shoot against the sunset and the blue hour.
The talk about the tubes they use to shoot the flash light and create effects by using simple accessories like feathers on top of zip ties, simple plastic caps to capture the light and make it rebound within different coloured tubes, and other hassle-free tricks to create stunning imagery was riveting, especially to people not previously aware of light painting.
Paré remarked: “This started as an adventure and has become our lives. When we are sharing things with thousands of people, what’s important is to understand the craft ourselves. Even though we have been doing this for three years, we are always thinking of what we can do in a different way – even if it’s something very subtle; it makes a huge change. Even a tiny adjustment in technique changes the outcome considerably.”
The audience threw a question, “How do you find your beautiful locations?”
“Instagram!”, responded Paré. “We also love to scout places that have been untouched by humans. We look for spots not too crowded, where we can get a feeling of emptiness and infinity, which we can fill with light. We also gravitate towards the exact opposite – vibrant cityscapes. We just want to be creative and try out things that are not necessarily conventional.”
He added: “Trick is to balance the brightness with the light that you are working with. What next? Maybe we’ll shoot in Antarctica!”
Keith Berr – It’s family out there. That’s why you want to save the salt
Eric’s playful session on light painting was followed by a conversation on a weightier topic - one that is concerned with the endangered Bonneville Salt Flats due to decades of continuous mineral extraction, salt depletion and government neglect. The talk, titled, ‘Save the Salt’, was delivered by award-winning commercial and fine art photographer from Cleveland, US, Keith Berr. Through his photo campaign named the same, Berr shed light on the historic landmark that is slowly dying.
“Every year, I dedicate myself to a pro bono project, in my quest to give back to society in one form or another. A lot of the salt from these flats has been removed. People come here every year in August for Speed Week where they compete to go as fast as they can on land. There are no trophies or money given out as prize, but a sense of comradeship, a sense of family that makes this event, and the Bonneville Salt Flats, so important.”
He noted that the salt flats have gone from seven feet in thickness to a few inches, and that 100,000 acres of salt have been reduced to a mere 30,000 acres. The longest line of racing tracks that once extended to 13 miles is 8 miles, at the most, today.
He said: “It’s shrinking and being disrupted in an almost irreversible way, and it’s disturbing to think that it will be gone in a few years. So, we have dedicated ourselves to this campaign because we need to save it for our children. We keep taking pictures and roll with different things, so we can keep the campaign going, so we can keep the awareness up and get more public recognition. We exhibit these things in different cities and states to get recognition and funding for our ‘Save the Salt’ campaign.
“I want people to see more salt - what we are trying to save,” he said sifting through dozens of images in his campaign gallery, whose pictures he has worked on and tweaked to create a powerful environmental campaign.
“The government and the state are responding. More research, more dollars being spent – we are getting the salt back. We want our children to enjoy these historic landscapes.”
David Burnett - You can’t tell an age is golden until long after it’s disappeared
The last talk for the day was delivered by American photojournalist David Burnett, and titled ‘If Only We Knew’. It chronicled Burnett’s 50-year journey covering breaking news, the summer and winter Olympics, American presidents and Jamaican reggae stars, in what he referred to as the ‘golden age’.
“I came right out of college during a news-filled age. I worked for several major American news magazines, and they had the money to invest in ideas to beat competition.
“You did not invent selfies. It was very much there back in our times. All we needed was a good mirror,” he said going through images he clicked in the eighties of himself and some with his work companions sporting disco-inspired bohemian hair-dos that were in vogue at the time.
The audiences were also treated to his coverage of the Vietnam War, when he was working for TIME Magazine. It included shots taken in the make-shift hospitals, on the battlefield, inside the bunkers and of the air raids, as well as some more congenial ones of soldiers sharing a meal and enjoying a Bob Hope concert. “I look back at the pictures of soldiers on both sides, and cannot help but think how young those men were.”
The power of pictures, or even of one picture, was emphasised by Burnett. He urged the photographers in the audience to really spend time honing their craft. “I was with Bob Marley in Paris for his Exodus Tour in 1977, and I love how he scotch taped a picture of Hailie Selassie on his guitar. We were riding on a bus together across the European continent, and all it took was a magic phone call to get this spectacular gig.”
These riveting conversations will continue through the rest of the festival until Saturday, November 24, and feature the likes of Lawrence Jackson, J Henry Fair and several other photography stalwarts of our time. A full list of talks is available here https://xposure.ae/events/category/auditorium/
Sharjah Government Media Bureau launched the concept of Xposure in 2016 as an International Photography Festival that would become an annual feature in the calendar of professional photographers, photography enthusiasts, filmmakers, students and educators from around the world.
