‘Light Painting’ Duo Captures Perfectly-Timed Photo as Lightning Strikes

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

With an imaginative interest in light painting and an ability to freeze fleeting moments in time, artist Eric Paré creates mesmerizing studies of light, space, and time. While most of his dazzling depictions are accomplished using artificial luminescence, Paré and his model, Kim Henry, were recently in for a serendipitous shock when a fork of lightning made a striking appearance in one of their photographs.

Set in New Mexico's beautiful White Sands Monument, the light painting shows Henry as she gazes toward the horizon and grasps a glowing tube of light. In the distance, looming dark storm clouds are lit by a lightning bolt, which the duo amazingly captured on film.

Surprisingly, this electrifying image was initially intended as a “behind-the-scenes” shot. Typically, Paré—who prefers to be part of the process rather than behind a camera—snaps each photograph with a remote trigger. The convenience of this tool allows him to multitask, as he must also create a light source behind Henry, who statically strikes a pose.

When this particular photograph was taken, however, Henry was the one handling both the remote and the light tube, as Paré was busy preparing equipment. So, how did they magically manage to capture the perfectly-timed photograph? “What Kim told me is that she started to pose, and waited for that moment,” he explains in a blog post. “And it happened. She triggered when she felt it.” 

Light painting artist Eric Paré and his model Kim Henry captured a perfectly-timed photograph of a striking lightning bolt.

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

This photo was one of a few taken in White Sands Monument, New Mexico.

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Like his other work, these stunning shots pair long-exposure photography with luminescence to present the relationship between light, space, and time.

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Lightning Bolt Light Painting Eric Pare Kim Henry

Eric Paré: Website | Instagram | Facebook | TwitterYouTube | 500px

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Eric Paré.

Related Articles:

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Extraordinary New Light Paintings Capture Colorful Movements of Kayaks and Canoes

Photographer Captures a Rainbow and Lightning Bolt in One Incredible Shot

Kelly Richman-Abdou

Kelly Richman-Abdou is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met. An art historian living in Paris, Kelly was born and raised in San Francisco and holds a BA in Art History from the University of San Francisco and an MA in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University. When she’s not writing, you can find Kelly wandering around Paris, whether she’s leading a tour (as a guide, she has been interviewed by BBC World News America and France 24) or simply taking a stroll with her husband and two tiny daughters.
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