The river is a painter, and its creative potential is simply impressive. But she needs us, and a cloudless sun, to reveal herself to our eyes, to the point of creating her ephemeral works. The photographer’s day then begins with two hours of installing heavy equipment, cobbled together as best as possible, and with the means at hand. Then finally comes the time for magic and wonder. The lines of light, of an intense and saturated color, then shine in the camera’s viewfinder. All that remains is to try to be in the right place, and above all at the best time. Because from minute to minute the earth turns, and the sun moves quickly, much too quickly. Constantly, and all day long, all the settings have to be redone. It’s a race against time, pure reporting, to bear witness to the creative marriage between the vibrations of water and those of sunlight, via a whole strategy, a whole shooting process.
Finally, here are real images. No editing or computer special effects. Everything is done instantly, live, and in a single shot. Of course, and as always, there is also standard digital development retouching, to optimize the rendering and correct any imperfections in the shot.
The secret? Work on mastering the lines of light. Because, in addition to the trait that everyone already knows, that of light painting, there are other types, which are just waiting for our work to finally find their place in the art of photographic creation. So yes, the light has not yet said its last word to amaze us. And long live today’s technology, which gives as many of us as possible the means to explore new “photon-graphic” paths, in particular, when the notion of writing dares to come to the forefront of image, to better invite us to explore… our own imagination!
Christian Fleitz
aka ‘The photographer of the line’
