Photographer Profiles

In 1979, photographer Steven Erra was given devastating news by his eye doctor—he would be blind within 20 years. Rather than simply give up, Erra decided to make the most of his time—and his diminishing vision—by continuing to evolve and create beautiful images using the long exposure technique known as "light painting."

At this point, Erra's condition has left him with only the ability to detect very bright lights and his field of vision has compressed down to a very small area but that doesn’t stand in his way. The video below from Great Big Story reveals that Erra is now part of The Seeing With Photography Collective, an innovative group created for visually impaired artists who utilize light painting techniques to create art.

During a long exposure, Erra “paints” the subject with just the light of a flashlight but the results he captures are simply breathtaking with a dream-like quality.