🎨 Bruno Mesrine has been creating Light Painting photographs since 1990. His first light painting image was titled “Portrait of the Moon,” where he used the moon itself as a light source to draw a face in the sky. Over the decades, his work has evolved to include everything from the human form to light graffiti in the streets of Paris. A true soloist, Bruno creates most of his own tools and expresses his vision through a combination of photography, oil painting, and iron sculpture. He is completely self-taught and uses Light Painting as a medium to communicate empathy and philosophical ideas to the world.
💡 View some of his stunning images in the gallery below, read the full interview conducted by Jason D. Page, and follow Bruno’s latest works on his Facebook page.
🗣️ Light Painting Photography Interview with Bruno Mesrine
Interview conducted by Jason D. Page in 2011
- What is your name?
Bruno Mesrine - Do you have an alias that you go by?
No - Are you a soloist or are you part of a Light Painting group? If a group, who is in your group?
I am a soloist - What education do you have?
Self-taught - What is your occupation?
Plasticien: photography, painter, sculpture - How long have you been a photographer?
30 years - How long have you been light painting?
20 years - How did you discover Light Painting Photography?
My fate - What was your first Light Painting Image?
A line of spark crossing the image, along a beach in Nice. - Film or Digital?
Film - Do you believe in aliens?
Yes 👽 - What is your standard Light Painting Photography setup?
No standard—I create my instruments following the needs of the image. - What is your favorite color?
Purple 💜 - Who influences your Light Painting Photography work?
Nobody - Who is your favorite Light Painting Artist?
Nobody - What is your favorite food?
The equilibrium - Do you create in any other mediums other than light painting? If so, what are they?
Oil paint, drawings, sculpture in iron, and photographic images - What is your favorite Light Painting Photography image that you have created?
“Portrait of the Moon” — The moon was the brush of light. The movement of the camera in a long exposure created the features. By stacking exposures on a single analog negative, I constructed the image. - What is your favorite Light Painting Photography image of another artist?
Nobody - What is the most difficult part of Light Painting Photography?
The precision 🎯 - How do you get your Light Painting Photography work seen?
Through exhibitions and online platforms - Do you sell your Light Painting Photography work?
Yes - Are you represented by a gallery?
No - Where can we see more of your work?
Bruno’s Facebook Page - What is your favorite quote?
“The sense creates the shape.” - Who is your favorite artist?
Me - What is your favorite activity other than light painting?
Think and oil paint - Tell me a good light painting story.
I had a drawing in my pocket and walked around Paris photographing ancient memorial symbols, combining them methodically into a single analog negative. - Tell me a nightmare light painting story.
One day in Nice, I photographed a wave and got hit in the face. Later that evening, I added a garland of light on the same negative. Every image is a technical and emotional story. - Have you ever been arrested or ticketed for light painting?
Once in Zurich, I drew an eye between two streetcars. - What do you say to people when they see you light painting and ask “What the hell are you doing?”
When I work, I am in a trance and cannot be interrupted. I must manage all photographic parameters with precision to allow creativity to flow freely. - Where do you find inspiration for your Light Painting Photography?
I read philosophers like Jung, Nietzsche, and Cioran passionately and explore human consciousness to develop ideas expressed through light. - Who would you like to punch?
A philosophical punch. - Who would you like to kiss?
The sky and the moon 🌙 - Why do you Light Paint?
To express my empathy to the world 💫 - What is your favorite time to shoot?
Eight hours (ambiguous intentionally) - What is your favorite subject to shoot?
The human - Where is your favorite place to shoot?
In front of the objective - If you could travel anywhere to Light Paint, where would you go?
It is my biggest dream… - Have you ever invented a Light Painting Photography tool? If so, what was it and how did it work?
I build my own “brushes of light”: a battery, a switch, and a bulb adapted to my photographic needs. - Do you ever get sick of explaining your work to people?
It’s simple: the film is photosensitive. The rest is photographic technique used to transcend. - How many times have you heard the word “Photoshop” when someone sees your work?
Many times. - What makes you happy?
Yes - What makes you mad?
Yes - What part of Light Painting Photography do you enjoy the most?
Being in front of the objective, asserting human symbolism. Projecting unconscious and conscious elements of my being. My rays of light: aggravated ethics, sublimated solitude, and meaning declared in the space of my nights. - What part of Light Painting Photography do you hate the most?
I like the worst and the best—I transcend them both. - Do you have a website?
www.mesrine.com - What is Light Painting Photography?
It is painting with the sun. My freedom of expression is intensified. The idea becomes light. - Give some advice to anyone who might want to try Light Painting Photography.
Be. Build your uniqueness. The technique will follow… - Are you scared of the dark?
Yes 🌑