The secret lies in long shutter time and slit lighting. A long horizontal light is set up in a dark space, and as it slowly sweeps across the wall, the model moves. The camera keeps its shutter open, recording every moment the light passes in a single frame. Only the moments touched by light are exposed, so the body layers like waves and fabric bends along the passage of time.
Crabières revealed he had long wanted to experiment with this lighting technique. Unlike distortion a machine draws in seconds, this holds the time the camera took in light. The same distortion, but the time within is entirely different.
The images were shot against aged concrete walls in industrial spaces. Models in varied outfits traced their movement, and compositions shot in front of stairs or walls preserved the texture of the space. The distortion made by light shows a moment where space, body, and clothing melt into a single time. Do you feel time before technology in this distortion?
FAQ
How did Hubert Crabières create distorted photographs without AI?
Hubert Crabières installed a long slit light in a dark space and kept the camera shutter open while models moved as light slowly swept across the wall. Only moments touched by light were exposed, capturing overlapping, warped forms of bodies and fabric across time in a single frame.
In what kind of space were Hubert Crabières' photographs shot?
The photographs were shot against weathered concrete walls in industrial spaces. Compositions featuring staircases and walls preserve the texture of the environment, creating scenes where model movement and light-induced distortion merge with the space within a single moment in time.
What is Crabières' slit lighting technique?
The slit lighting technique involves keeping the camera shutter open while a long horizontal light slowly sweeps across the space, layering moments touched by light into one frame. Crabières had long wanted to experiment with this method, capturing distortion created by light and time rather than machines.
