Painting Bridges

In July 2012, Seal Harbor, Maine photographer Howie Motenko conceived of a community art project utilizing the photographic technique of light painting on the historic stone bridges of Acadia National Park. His idea was to assemble a team of volunteers who, wielding flashlights, would “paint” a bridge with light while he creates a long-exposure photograph. For the next nine months, a growing cohort of co-artists journeyed at twilight to each bridge on Acadia’s 45-mile carriage road system. The project grew organically, with most of the volunteers hearing about it by word of mouth. By spring of 2013, stunning photographs of all 16 of Acadia’s historic bridges along with the two gatehouses had been completed with the help of 150 volunteers.

An image gallery and blog about the project can be seen at www.paintingbridges.com.