Lucasi Kiatainaq

Lucasi Kiatainaq is a photographer from Kangirsujuaq, Nunavik, QC, who specializes in night and long-exposure photography. He sells his photographs independently through his own website, where he can turn them into paper prints, wrapped canvas, metal prints, acrylic prints, greeting cards and more.

Kiatainaq was given inexpensive film cameras by his mother one Christmas to experiment with, but it wasn’t until a one-week course arrived at his high school to teach photography and making prints that he really got his stride in the medium. “Ever since then I’ve been taking pictures,” he says [1]. In addition to a regular camera, Kiatainaq also uses drones. He is inspired by the works of other photographers like Emmett Sparling and Paul Zizka, who also create night scenes and long exposure photos.

While long exposure photographs and night photography (particularly including stars and the northern lights) are his favourite things to photograph, Kiatainaq also loves to take photos of arctic animals, although he finds them a more difficult subject matter. “I like taking pictures of animals in their natural habitat or when I’m hunting,” he says, “but the one problem I have with hunting and trying to take pictures is that I always let hunting go first...I end up not taking pictures at all!”

Kiatainaq is working to expand his filming practice to include videography. In the future, he hopes that he can use his photos and video to tell stories, specifically about his own unique perspective as someone born and raised in a small Inuit community. He currently studies art, literature, communication and videography at John Abbott College near Montreal, QC, where he plays on the volleyball team. Since many people at the College confused his Nunavik background with Nunavut, Kiatainaq hopes to use film to educate people better about Inuit culture. His photos have been featured by Air Inuit in the past, and Kiatainaq is currently working on a series of images (one for each season of the year) for an upcoming exhibition in Kangirsujuaq in collaboration with Avataq Cultural Centre.

This Profile was made possible through support from RBC Emerging Artists.