Some people play with fire.  I experiment with it.

All creativity is on some level a form of play.  As we get older, it goes by different names: sketching, experimenting, or trying something new are all synonyms.  I decided to literally play with fire.  Don’t worry, no one got hurt!

The Fire

Winter nights in New England are long and dark.  The sun sets around 4 pm this time of year and doesn’t come up till after 7 am.  It’s also the season for fire, whether it is logs crackling in the fire place of a cozy living room, a bonfire at the base of the ski slope or a roaring fire in a huge hearth.  Combine these elements and you have the recipe for something primal in the human experience.  Fire is something to be controlled- an ally against what lurks in the dark, but a terrible foe if allowed to run free.

The Experiment

So on this dark winter’s evening I decided to do some experimenting with fire as a light painting exercise.  The photographs are long exposures of my hand.  I’m doing the old boy scout trick of holding the lighter button down to release the gas into my palm the setting it off in a brief fire ball.

Don’t worry mom- I only singed off some knuckle hair!

Lucas James is a fine art photographer based in Manchester, NH.  Anisotropic Images Photography.