Star Traveling
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I love it when you have a job to do, but that job is fun. I was writing an article about night photography around Joshua Tree National Park for a new start-up magazine, "Yucca Brevifolia-The Soul of Desert Living." I thought I would augment the article with some photos from Sky's the Limit Observatory in Twentynine Palms. I perched my camera on a tripod, opened the shutter for a long time, then walked around lighting the subject with a handheld light. This photo shows the apparent movement of the stars over 7 minutes of time.
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Photos, books, workshops: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 5166) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. May 2025.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #LightPaintingPhotography #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #LongExposure #humanmade #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #ambientnightsmag #skysthelimitobservatory #29palms #YuccaBrevifoliaMagazine

Gravity, Luck, and Time
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Bend, don't break. Joshua Tree National Park, my spiritual home for night photography. To create this photo, I perched my camera on a tripod, opened the shutter for 30 seconds, then walked around lighting this subject with a handheld light. The moon, low in the horizon, helped light the rest. Hidden Valley.
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Photos, books, workshops: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 5307) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 wide angle lens. May 2025.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #LightPaintingPhotography #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #LongExposure #humanmade #ambientnightsmag #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #JoshuaTreeNationalPark #JoshuaTree #HiddenValley

My Old Mountain Home
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A 1930s stone house, glamping of sorts in the mountains above the glowing city lights. I perched my camera on a tripod, opened the shutter for 140 seconds, and then walked around lighting the stone structure with a handheld light.
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Photos, books, workshops: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 5055) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. May 2025. Single exposure.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #LightPaintingPhotography #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #LongExposure #humanmade #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #CoachellaValley #ambientnightsmag #stonehouse #glamping

When The Moon Gives You A Giant Hug
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I love it when you have a job to do, but that job is fun. I was writing an article about night photography around Joshua Tree National Park for a new start-up magazine, "Yucca Brevifolia-The Soul of Desert Living." I thought I would augment the article with some photos from Sky's the Limit Observatory in Twentynine Palms. I perched my camera on a tripod, opened the shutter for a long time, then walked around lighting the subject with a handheld light. The crescent moon art was created by Simi Dabah, and is backlit by the moon, framing the observatory dome.
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Photos, books, workshops: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 5256) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. 9 May 2025. 13.5 minutes total exposure "stacked." Each individual photo was 30 seconds f/6.3 ISO 400.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #LightPaintingPhotography #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #LongExposure #humanmade #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #ambientnightsmag #skysthelimitobservatory #29palms #YuccaBrevifoliaMagazine

My second article on FStoppers!

Behind the Photo: Desert X at Night With Star Trails

https://fstoppers.com/astrophotography/behind-photo-desert-x-night-star-trails-699607

#FStoppers #KenLee #StarTrails #NightPhotography #Article #Astrophotography #Astrolandscape

We'll Not Hide Any Longer
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Joshua Tree National Park, my spiritual home for night photography. I created the blur effect using a selective-focus Lensbaby lens. Here, it created an interesting tilt-shift miniaturization effect. To create this photo, I perched my camera on a tripod, opened the shutter for a long time, then walked around lighting this subject with a handheld light.
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Photos, books, workshops: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 4106) Pentax K-1/Lensbaby Edge 35 Optic lens. March 2025.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #LightPaintingPhotography #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #LongExposure #humanmade #ambientnightsmag #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #JoshuaTreeNationalPark #JoshuaTree

Huntington Dreams of Trailers
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Night falls at an interesting trainyard full of old vintage trains, locomotives, and yes, trailers as well. To create this night photo, I placed the camera on a tripod. Then I lit the scene with a handheld flashlight while the camera shutter was open for a long time. This is called "light painting." It's more fun than AI-generated images.
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For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 4082) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. March 2021.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #mylensrental #nightscaper #astrophotography #longexposure #humanmade #ProtoMachines #urbex #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #ambientnightsmag #desert #train #urbex #urbanexploration #SouthernPacific

Tomorrow is Yesterday
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Before the DeLorean, there was this vintage time machine. Consequently, I am posting this three days after tomorrow. I had fun lighting this selfie! It's more fun than AI-generated images. Photographed while Tim Little and I were teaching a night photography workshop at Nelson Ghost Town in Nevada.
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For photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 4300) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. April 2025.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #mylensrental #nightscaper #astrophotography #longexposure #humanmade #ProtoMachines #urbex #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #Nelson #NelsonGhostTown #ambientnightsmag

Charging the Heart
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Do you need fuel for the soul? If so, you might want to visit Soul Service Station, a Desert X art installation created by Alison Saar, located in Desert Hot Springs, CA. On a cool night after the rains had come, I perched my camera on a tripod, opened the shutter for a long time, then walked around lighting this subject with a handheld light. The mountains in the back are Joshua Tree National Park, my spiritual home for night photography.
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Photos, books, workshops: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 4005) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. March 2025.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #LightPaintingPhotography #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #LongExposure #humanmade #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #SoulServiceStation #AlisonSaar #DesertX #artinstallation #CoachellaValley #JoshuaTreeNationalPark

The Year Lot Longyear Became a Joshua Tree
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Half the Park is After Dark. A magical winter night in Joshua Tree National Park. I love partially cloudy nights. To create this night photo, I lit the subject with a handheld LED flashlight while the camera shutter was open for a long time. So yes, this is a real single-exposure photo. And Lot Longyear is thought to be the bent figure on the cover of "Led Zeppelin IV."
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Photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 3954) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. February 2025.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #universetoday #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #starphotography #landscape_nightscape #igsouthwest #divine_deserts #splendid_earth #instagood #beautifuldestinations #humanmade #urbex #ShootPentax #Pentax #PentaxK1 #JoshuaTree #JoshuaTreeNationalPark

White Mojave Winter
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In late January, it snowed in Pioneertown and elsewhere. The desert is so beautiful with a blanket of white snow. And elsewhere, that meant that Los Angeles got rain to help the firefighters battle the apocalyptic fires. To create this night photo, I lit the subject with a handheld flashlight while the camera shutter was open for a long time. This photo is near Pappy and Harriet's saloon.
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Photos, books, workshops and more: www.kenleephotography.com
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(Plate 3865) Pentax K-1/15-30mm f/2.8 lens. January 2025.
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#kenlee #nightphotography #lightpainting #YourShotPhotographer #mylensrental #astrophotography #universetoday #astrophoto #nightsky #nightscaper #starphotography #landscape_nightscape #igsouthwest #divine_deserts #splendid_earth #instagood #beautifuldestinations #humanmade #urbex #ShootPentax #Pioneertown #Pentax #PentaxK1