Long-Exposure Photos Envelop Bonsai Trees With Streams of Bright Light

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

Photographer Vitor Schietti highlights the beauty of bonsai trees in his ongoing series Impermanent Sculptures. Featuring explosions of bright yellow light against a pitch-black background, these long-exposure portraits imbue familiar subjects with a sense of magic. The sparklers dance along the branches and leaves, illuminating the shape of each tree.

In the series of photographs, Schietti captures an array of unique bonsai trees with this method. The light painting is made over one single exposure or, in some cases, through overlaying several images. “Trees are such majestic beings. It is not by accident that many cultures have the concept of a tree playing central roles in their creation myths,” Scheitti tells My Modern Met. “We acknowledge in this ancient form of life, the pioneers of the first cells to breathe sunlight. Trees absorb light so they can inspire us back with their resilience, playfulness, and elegance.”

By using light in conjunction with the bonsai tree, Schietti attempts to emphasize the ephemerality of photographs while also celebrating the enduring power of nature. Even though bonsai trees are famously miniature, they are magnified in these intimate portrayals. “The small scale representation of their grown natural counterparts allow my strokes of sparkles to reach further through the trees' shape, thus revealing something like its soul, the source of life, the pulsating energy that emanates through the universe,” he continues.

You can purchase prints of Schietti's photography via his online shop, and keep up to date with his latest projects by following the artist on Instagram.

Artist Vitor Schietti highlights the beauty of bonsai trees in his series Impermanent Sculptures.

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

He uses long-exposure photography to illuminate the shapes of the trees with streams of light.

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

As a result, it looks as though the bonsai trees are enveloped in magical illumination.

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

Long Exposure Photography of Bonsai Trees by Vitor Schietti

Vitor Schietti: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Vitor Schietti.

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Margherita Cole

Margherita Cole is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and illustrator based in Southern California. She holds a BA in Art History with a minor in Studio Art from Wofford College, and an MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice from Falmouth University in the UK. She wrote and illustrated an instructional art book about how to draw cartoons titled 'Cartooning Made Easy: Circle, Triangle, Square' that was published by Walter Foster in 2022.
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