Vivid in Denial, Tall in Promise

Above the bright lights of the city below, it's easy to see why the Hog Farm hippie commune would have moved to this actual hog farm on top of a mountain in the 1960s. Founded by peace activist Wavy Gravy, the Hog Farm are perhaps best known for their involvement at Woodstock. Regrettably, not much is left from those days, and what may have been was burned in a catastrophic fire. This was a day for a lot of walking. Earlier that day, I had walked three miles for my usual exercise. Then in the evening, I made the 1.3-mile night hike up to the steep mountain trail. I probably walked for about two miles while photographing. Then the hike back down, where my knees began feeling the weight of the camera bag and the day's events. To create this night photo, I set the camera on a tripod. I opened the camera shutter for a long time. While the shutter was open, I walked around with a handheld ProtoMachines LED2 light capable of producing different colors, and illuminated the building with warm white and red light. During the exposure, all the light I shined on the subject was cumulative. This process is called "light painting". Why? Because one uses the flashlight as a paint brush, "brushing" on light, not paint. Light painting to illuminate subjects is a beautiful, addictive art, as you can walk around the scene, deciding what to bring to light and what to keep in shadow. And it's more fun than AI-generated images.

For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com

(Plate 1820) Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. March 2024.

Green Ice Cream and a Heart of Gold

I had been wanting to photograph this for years. I arrived on a beautiful February evening, somewhere around 47F. After stumbling in the same gully a couple of times, I put on my glasses, a grudging admission of my increasingly lousy eyesight. Stars and mountains looked gloriously sharp. I kept the glasses on for the rest of the evening. Nonetheless, I still managed to trip a couple more times It happens. This structure has stood in the shadow of the Sierra Nevadas for over a hundred years, serving Owens Valley as an ice cream parlor, a schoolhouse, a bunkhouse, and a post office. Can you imagine how great this must have been to travel through Owens Valley on hot summer days, but be able to treat yourself to cold velvety ice cream along the way? Oh, and I don't know that any of the ice cream was green. That's just one of my punny titles. To create this night photo, I set the camera on a tripod. I opened the camera shutter for a long time. While the shutter was open, I walked around with a handheld ProtoMachines LED2 light capable of producing different colors, and illuminated the scene with blue and warm white light. During the exposure, all the light I shined on the subject was cumulative. This process is called "light painting". Why? Because one uses the flashlight as a paint brush, "brushing" on light instead of paint. Light painting to illuminate subjects is a beautiful, addictive art, as you can walk around the scene, deciding what to bring to light and what to keep in shadow. And it's more fun than AI-generated images.

For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com

(Plate 1689) Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. February 2024.

Green Ice Cream and a Heart of Gold

I had been wanting to photograph this for years. I arrived on a beautiful February evening, somewhere around 47F. After stumbling in the same gully a couple of times, I put on my glasses, a grudging admission of my increasingly lousy eyesight. Stars and mountains looked gloriously sharp. I kept the glasses on for the rest of the evening. Nonetheless, I still managed to trip a couple more times It happens. This structure has stood in the shadow of the Sierra Nevadas for over a hundred years, serving Owens Valley as an ice cream parlor, a schoolhouse, a bunkhouse, and a post office. Can you imagine how great this must have been to travel through Owens Valley on hot summer days, but be able to treat yourself to cold velvety ice cream along the way? Oh, and I don't know that any of the ice cream was green. That's just one of my punny titles. To create this night photo, I set the camera on a tripod. I opened the camera shutter for a long time. While the shutter was open, I walked around with a handheld ProtoMachines LED2 light capable of producing different colors, and illuminated the scene with blue and warm white light. During the exposure, all the light I shined on the subject was cumulative. This process is called "light painting". Why? Because one uses the flashlight as a paint brush, "brushing" on light instead of paint. Light painting to illuminate subjects is a beautiful, addictive art, as you can walk around the scene, deciding what to bring to light and what to keep in shadow. And it's more fun than AI-generated images.

For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com

(Plate 1689) Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. February 2024.

ISO 200, 12 seconds, f2.2

A Wing and a Prayer

The title reflects how I felt a little nervous standing on the wing on a cold night. This was compounded by the fact that I had some old hiking boots with soles that were beginning to peel off. Thankfully, I didn't trip or slip off, and now, I am able to share this unusual photo with you. To create this night photo, I set the camera on a tripod. I opened the camera shutter for a long time. While the shutter was open, I walked around with a handheld flashlight capable of producing different colors and illuminated the plane with warm white and red light. I walked cautiously around the interior of the plane with the red light. During the exposure, all the light I shined on the subject was cumulative. This process is called "light painting". Why? Because one uses the flashlight as a paint brush, "brushing" on light, not paint. Light painting to illuminate subjects is a beautiful, addictive art, as you can walk around the scene, deciding what to bring to light and what to keep in shadow. And it's more fun than AI-generated images. Abandoned Douglas DC-4 airplane, Kansas.

For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com

(Plate 4802) Nikon D750/Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 fisheye lens. October 2023.

Mungogo wa Bogwe

An imposing cliff of enormous black volcanic lava columns rises up through the dark of night. The basaltic columns are a result of lava contracting as it cooled, and can be seen in various locations throughout beautiful Owens Valley. For this composition, I got up close and personal with a fisheye lens. You can see some of the old graffiti dating back many many decades. To create this night photo, I set the camera on a tripod. I opened the camera shutter for a long time. While the shutter was open, I walked around with a handheld ProtoMachines LED2 light capable of producing different colors, and illuminated the cliff with warm white light. During the exposure, all the light I shined on the subject was cumulative. This process is called "light painting". Why? Because one uses the flashlight as a paint brush, "brushing" on light instead of paint. Light painting to illuminate subjects is a beautiful, addictive art, as you can walk around the scene, deciding what to bring to light and what to keep in shadow. And it's more fun than AI-generated images.

For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com

(Plate 5826) Nikon D750/rokinon 12mm f/2.8 fisheye lens. February 2024.

Had to step outside at a wedding I was attending for a “quick” 20 minute exposure of the nearby river. Shot on Portra 400