Instant Light comprises 60 luminous Polaroids taken in Russia and Italy between 1979 and 1984, interspersed with diary entries and poetry, which reveal Tarkovsky to be a virtuoso in the medium of still photography as a portal to the mysterious beauty of life itself.

Indeed, Tarkovsky stunningly captured moments of eternity in these quick Polaroid shots—the radiant melancholy of lengthening shadows and gloomy trees in the shimmering mist of morning; exquisite still lifes of flowers, animals and landscapes illumined by shafts of afternoon sunlight; intimate portraits of Tarkovsky’s wife, Lara, their son, Tyapa, together with the family dog.