Hannu Huhtamo is a Finnish artist who uses long-exposure photography to paint with light, resulting in gorgeously ethereal illustrations that seem to magically appear against the darkness. In conversation with Great Big Story, Huhtamo explained, “Darkness is the canvas and the light is my brush.”

We have long summer nights that are warm and full of light, but on the opposite, there is also this dark part. It’s called polar night. It starts in December, and it lasts for about 50 days. The sun doesn’t rise above the horizon at all. And, for a light painter, that is quite good. I do long exposure photography, which is a photographic technique that allows me to draw with light.The exposure times can vary from seconds to hours, and the idea is to use the light sources as brushes or pencils and the dark surroundings are the canvas.