The Night Photo Summit online event will offer three days of dynamic presentations from 35-plus world-class photographers, authors, artists, astronomers, and national park and dark-sky activists. And I am honored to be invited to speak for a second time.
Abandoned airplane with the glorious Milky Way overhead. This is the cover for my first book.
What is it?
National Parks at Night holds night photography workshops that provide top-shelf education both in the classroom and in the field. They are arguably the best in the world at doing so. They have invited 35+ speakers to join in the fun of their Night Photo Summit.
The speakers at this online event will include night photographers, of course. Also speaking are authors, artists, astronomers and national park and dark-sky activists. They will speak about astronomy, dark skies, creativity and of course photo techniques — both in the field and post-processing. Presentations will include beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.
I will be one of the presenters at Night Photo Summit, discussing publishing photography books.
The varied speakers for Night Photo Summitinclude Forest Chaput, Sherry Pincus, Royce Bair, Michael Frye, Katrina Brown, Joseph DePasquale, Albert Dros, Rachel Jones Ross, Rafael Pons, Alyn Wallace, Sussan Magnano and more. And of course, it includes National Parks at Night instructors Gabriel Biderman, Chris Nicholson, Lance Keimig, Matt Hill and Tim Cooper.
I will be offering a presentation entitled “Behind the Book: My Path to Publishing a Monograph.” This will be about publishing two books on history, stories and night photography of abandoned locations. Offering examples from several of my books, I will describe my initial contact and negotiations with a publisher. I will then will take you through the process of creating the initial concept for each book. I will also discuss how the book’s topical theme informs the way I go about planning long road trips and the sorts of photos I take.
“Abandoned Planes, Trains and Automobiles: California Revealed” by Ken Lee
When is it?
Night photo with light painting in a damp cold forest in Georgia!
The Night Photo Summit will run Feb. 3-5 from 11 a. m. to 7:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6:00 on Sunday. There will also be an “after-hours” event Friday and/or Saturday nights.
BOOKS AND PRINTS: Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure prints and more. My books are available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review, thanks!
NIGHTAXIANS VIDEO YOUTUBE PODCAST:
Night photographers Tim Little, Mike Cooper and I all use Pentax gear. We discuss this, gear, adventures, light painting, lenses, night photography, creativity, and more in this ongoing YouTube podcast. Subscribe and watch to the Nightaxians today!
BOOKS AND PRINTS: Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure prints and more. My books are available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review, thanks!
I wanted to create a soft but detailed illumination on a couple of Joshua Tree photos. I’ll break down how I created this look in Joshua Tree National Park so you can do it in three easy steps!
A special place
Night photo with light painting, Joshua Tree National Park, CA.
I went into Joshua Tree National Park to take photos of, well, Joshua Trees. I often refer to JTNP as my spiritual home for night photography. This is where it began for me.
Cloudy with a chance of…?
However, the Clear Outside app called for close to 100% high clouds and about 60% middle clouds. These would largely obscure the moon. However, I was not going to stay away.
When I got there, sure enough, it was cloudy. But there was still some moonlight shining through, the clouds acting like Mother Nature’s largest softbox. Furthermore, the light diffused some of the glow from Coachella Valley and the moon, creating some interest. This could work!
Night photo with light painting, Joshua Tree National Park, CA.
I decided that I wanted the light to almost seem like it was wrapping around the trees (well, they’re not really trees, but you know…). Here’s how I went about lighting the Joshua Trees in these two photos!
Step one
After focusing on the Joshua Trees in each of the photos, I lit the trees from the left side at 120 degrees to the camera with a warm white light. I stood about 20-25 feet away so the light would be really soft but still be detailed. I kept the handheld light, a ProtoMachines LED2, moving so there wouldn’t be any hot spots.
Step two
I then walked over to the other side of the tree. This time, I was at 240 degrees to the camera. Again, I was about 20-25 feet away to soften the light. For one of the photos, I decided to caress it with a little bit of red light, just for good measure.
Light painting 120 and 240 degrees from the camera.
Step three
I swept the ground with a warm white light for each of the photos, just to create a little bit more texture since the light was otherwise rather flat and dark.
Other details
For each of the photos, I used a Pentax K-1 Mk 1 camera with a 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. The settings were two minutes f/8 ISO 200. I kept the ISO low so I had enough time to walk around and light the trees, but also so I could use a slightly dimmer light from farther away to keep the lighting soft while still retaining details.
These Joshua Trees have an enormous amount of character. Keeping the detail is often very important to me so it retains their personality.
I’ll add that these photos were taken one right after another without any attempts!! Niiiice!
I wanted to create a soft but detailed illumination on a couple of Joshua Tree photos. I’ll break down how I created this look in Joshua Tree National Park so you can do it in three easy steps!
A special place
Night photo with light painting, Joshua Tree National Park, CA.
I went into Joshua Tree National Park to take photos of, well, Joshua Trees. I often refer to JTNP as my spiritual home for night photography. This is where it began for me.
Cloudy with a chance of…?
However, the Clear Outside app called for close to 100% high clouds and about 60% middle clouds. These would largely obscure the moon. However, I was not going to stay away.
When I got there, sure enough, it was cloudy. But there was still some moonlight shining through, the clouds acting like Mother Nature’s largest softbox. Furthermore, the light diffused some of the glow from Coachella Valley and the moon, creating some interest. This could work!
Night photo with light painting, Joshua Tree National Park, CA.
I decided that I wanted the light to almost seem like it was wrapping around the trees (well, they’re not really trees, but you know…). Here’s how I went about lighting the Joshua Trees in these two photos!
Step one
After focusing on the Joshua Trees in each of the photos, I lit the trees from the left side at 120 degrees to the camera with a warm white light. I stood about 20-25 feet away so the light would be really soft but still be detailed. I kept the handheld light, a ProtoMachines LED2, moving so there wouldn’t be any hot spots.
Step two
I then walked over to the other side of the tree. This time, I was at 240 degrees to the camera. Again, I was about 20-25 feet away to soften the light. For one of the photos, I decided to caress it with a little bit of red light, just for good measure.
Light painting 120 and 240 degrees from the camera.
Step three
I swept the ground with a warm white light for each of the photos, just to create a little bit more texture since the light was otherwise rather flat and dark.
Other details
For each of the photos, I used a Pentax K-1 Mk 1 camera with a 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. The settings were two minutes f/8 ISO 200. I kept the ISO low so I had enough time to walk around and light the trees, but also so I could use a slightly dimmer light from farther away to keep the lighting soft while still retaining details.
These Joshua Trees have an enormous amount of character. Keeping the detail is often very important to me so it retains their personality.
I’ll add that these photos were taken one right after another without any attempts!! Niiiice!
I wanted to create a soft but detailed illumination on a couple of Joshua Tree photos. I’ll break down how I created this look in Joshua Tree National Park so you can do it in three easy steps!
A special place
Night photo with light painting, Joshua Tree National Park, CA.
I went into Joshua Tree National Park to take photos of, well, Joshua Trees. I often refer to JTNP as my spiritual home for night photography. This is where it began for me.
Cloudy with a chance of…?
However, the Clear Outside app called for close to 100% high clouds and about 60% middle clouds. These would largely obscure the moon. However, I was not going to stay away.
When I got there, sure enough, it was cloudy. But there was still some moonlight shining through, the clouds acting like Mother Nature’s largest softbox. Furthermore, the light diffused some of the glow from Coachella Valley and the moon, creating some interest. This could work!
Night photo with light painting, Joshua Tree National Park, CA.
I decided that I wanted the light to almost seem like it was wrapping around the trees (well, they’re not really trees, but you know…). Here’s how I went about lighting the Joshua Trees in these two photos!
Step one
After focusing on the Joshua Trees in each of the photos, I lit the trees from the left side at 120 degrees to the camera with a warm white light. I stood about 20-25 feet away so the light would be really soft but still be detailed. I kept the handheld light, a ProtoMachines LED2, moving so there wouldn’t be any hot spots.
Step two
I then walked over to the other side of the tree. This time, I was at 240 degrees to the camera. Again, I was about 20-25 feet away to soften the light. For one of the photos, I decided to caress it with a little bit of red light, just for good measure.
Light painting 120 and 240 degrees from the camera.
Step three
I swept the ground with a warm white light for each of the photos, just to create a little bit more texture since the light was otherwise rather flat and dark.
Other details
For each of the photos, I used a Pentax K-1 Mk 1 camera with a 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. The settings were two minutes f/8 ISO 200. I kept the ISO low so I had enough time to walk around and light the trees, but also so I could use a slightly dimmer light from farther away to keep the lighting soft while still retaining details.
These Joshua Trees have an enormous amount of character. Keeping the detail is often very important to me so it retains their personality.
I’ll add that these photos were taken one right after another without any attempts!! Niiiice!
VISIT ME, VISIT ME!
BOOKS AND PRINTS: Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure prints and more. My books are available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review, thanks!
Tonight at 8pm ET – I’ll be presenting at Night Photo Summit – Pre-Event talk on how I Got the Shot. Joining me will be Kevin Adams, Susan Magnano, Lance Keimig, and Tim Cooper. This event is free for those who have registered for our 2nd Annual Night Photo Summit that kicks off this Friday, February 4th! For more info http://npsummit.live/ken
Join us for the Night Photo Summit February 4-6 2022 as well! If you are interested in night photography, you won’t want to miss it!
VISIT ME, VISIT ME!
BOOKS AND PRINTS: Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure prints and more. My books are available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review, thanks!
The well-respected National Parks at Night held their firstNight Photo Summitlast year. This was a great success. Consequently, they’ve decided to hold another Night Photo Summit this year as well. I am also deeply honored to say that I am one of the 25 presenters. My presentation will be “How to Use Light Painting Angles to Create Detail, Texture, and Drama”.
“How to Use Light Painting Angles to Create Detail, Texture, and Drama” presented by Ken Lee
What is National Parks at Night?
National Parks at Night hold night photography workshops that provide top-shelf education both in the classroom and in the field, and are arguably the best in the world at doing so. They also have an extremely informative blog.
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, CA USA. This photo was featured in National Geographic Books and Westways Magazine.
What is Night Photo Summit 2022?
A couple of years ago, National Parks at Night had been wanting to hold an in-person event, but decided not to wait and hold a virtual event instead. This event will have 40 classes with over 25 speakers discussing a wide range of topics on all things night photography. This includes NPAN’s own elite group of instructors.
The speakers will include not only night photographers, but also astrophysicists, writers, artists and rangers. They will speak about astronomy, dark skies, creativity and of course photo techniques — both in the field and post-processing.
There are video presentations and classes for all levels, including beginners, intermediate, and those looking to hone their skills even more. The presentations include such disparate topics as creating time-lapses, photographing fireflies, photographing the Milky Way, night portraiture, and more. Every presentation will have live chat opportunities.
Additionally, there will also be unscripted panel discussions, virtual parties, and networking opportunities.
Everyone who purchases this will get access to full streaming access of all videos for the next year.
Joshua Tree National Park, CA USA
Who are the presenters?
The presenters include Gabriel Biderman, Lance Keimig, Matt Hill, Chris Nicholson, Tim Cooper from National Parks at Night.
Other presenters include Adam Woodworth, Amir Shahcheraghian, Art Wolfe, Autumn Schrock, Colleen Miniuk, Erik Kuna, Forest Chaput, Gunther Wegner, Hannu Huhtamo, Imma Barrera, Jess Santos, Kah-Wai Lin, Kevin Adams, Michael DeYoung, Michael Frye, Mike Mezeul II, Nicole Mortillaro, Rafael Pons, Royce Bair, Sherry Pincus, and Susan Magnano, and, as mentioned, me.
Texture and shadows inside an enormous WWII airplane hangar, Nevada desert.
When is it?
The Night Photo Summit 2022 takes place February 4-6 2022.
How much is it?
Night Photo Summitis $399 for 45+ hours of night photography education, camaraderie, fun, full replay access for a year. This is my affiliate link, so when you sign up, please use this link!
I hope to see you there!
“How to Use Light Painting Angles to Create Detail, Texture, and Drama” presented by Ken Lee
VISIT ME, VISIT ME!
BOOKS AND PRINTS: Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure prints and more. My books are available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review, thanks!
kenleephotography.wordpress.com 