French artist Julien Breton aka Kaalam started calligraphy in 2001 by copying Arabic calligraphers. Self-taught, he began to incorporate long exposure photography to create incredible light paintings around the world. All of the images in this gallery were created in-camera, meaning there is no Photoshop trickery or post-production manipulation involved in creating these works of art.

Many of the photographs below were exposed anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes. This gives Julien time to draw his calligraphy using a light stick. When he’s drawing his calligraphy it looks like he is simply waving his hand in the air, but when the image is exposed his true art is revealed. Julien has also added performance art into the mix, doing live light calligraphy shows with dancers in front of audiences around the world.

Please enjoy this small gallery of his unique artwork. For more photos and information on upcoming exhibits and workshop be sure to visit: kaalam.free.fr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources

– Official site: http://kaalam.free.fr
– Julien Breton aka Kaalam on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13093604@N03/
– Julien Breton on Behance: http://www.behance.net/Kaalam