Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar

I love seeing Joshua Trees. If I'm traveling and I see them, it means that I'm home. And Joshua Tree National Park? It's my spiritual home for night photography. Here's three Joshua Trees near Ryan Ranch with the famous Headstone Rock in the back. 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. 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 1017) Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. January 2024.

Lazarus/Anti-Lazarus

The timeless battle of the borregos continues anew as the stars drift around the North Star. I photographed these when they were in another location, that one underneath the Milky Way while in silhouette. I had someone exclaim how lucky I was to not only photograph a bighorn sheep, but two of them, and standing on their hind legs. And at night! If he sees this one, he will be even more excited to discover that they held perfectly still for 88 minutes this time! Sculptures by Ricardo Breceda, Borrego Springs, CA. 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. 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. The very long exposure photo shows the apparent movement of the stars over a long period of time.

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

(Plate 1198) Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. January 2024.

When Loneliness Comes Stalking

A lone Studebaker truck awaits the stars. 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 Studebaker truck. 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. That said, we did have a very foggy sky this evening, and I did what I rarely do: replace the sky with a Milky Way sky that I took from another evening. The sky was too bland otherwise.

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

(Plate 1056) Earth: Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Sky: Nikon D750/Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens. January 2024.

Taken with Nikon d3500, 18mm f8, iso100, 15s and ND1000 filter

The Warmth of Light

The warm inner glow emanating from the former ice cream parlor, schoolhouse, bunkhouse, and post office. I arrived on a beautiful February evening, somewhere around 47F, just after some large rain. After stumbling in a fresh new 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. 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 exterior and interior of the building 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 1709) Pentax K-1/28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. February 2024.