Monday 29 July 2013 - Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, CA, continued:
I had driven up during the day, planning to sleep in my car in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. I was in pure bliss, taking photos of the night sky. at 11,000 ft./3350 meters, the Milky Way was vivid. Pure bliss.

Title: Touch The Sky, Plate 2698
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200. Light painted with flashlight. 10:35 pm 29 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

Title: The Discussion, Plate 2725
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200. 11:10 pm 29 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

This particular one reminds me of this wooded fantasyland, so I named it Endor. One of the photographers from Professional Photographers of Los Angeles County, who were also taking night sky and "light painting" photos, particularly liked this one.

Title: Endor, Plate 2732
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 2500. Light painted with flashlight. 11:17 pm 29 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

I love this tree.

I love this tree!

I photographed it quite a bit last year, and I wanted to do it again. This time around, my skills "light painting" have grown, and I think I was able to do this more evenly. I also had better flashlights, which helps.

That said, I still really like the photographs from last year of this tree, some of which look particularly eerie, something perhaps from a slightly ominous storybook.

Title: The Reaching, Plate 2738
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 2500. Light painted with flashlight. 11:48 pm 29 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

Tuesday July 30 2013:
I had passed midnight, but I kept shooting. I was not even close to being tired. I had a little more than an hour before the moon came out, which would slowly blot out the Milky Way, although it would enable me to see what I was doing. I guess that's sort of important in photography.

Night sky photographers get good at using their equipment without seeing it. There's always a headlamp, of course, preferably one that has a red LED light so it doesn't completely blow out your retinas, but most night sky photographers I know are pretty good about using their equipment in the dark.

Title: There Is Unrest In The Forest, Plate 2749
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200. 12:01 am 30 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

For this photo, I laid on my back underneath the tripod so I could see what I was doing. Sort of. I still couldn't really see much, so I just kept adjusting the camera until I got something that I liked.

Title: Witch Fingers, Plate 2760
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200. 12:11 am 30 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

The moon had already began illuminating the landscape. Night sky photos often come out more blue when the moon appears, which I do like. The tree was partially illuminated by the moon's glow already, but I goosed it along by light painting it anyway.

Title: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Plate 2795
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 2500. Light painted with flashlight. 12:48 am 30 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

One stark tree, illuminated by the moonrise's glow. And my Streamlight flashlight. I named this stark tree photo "Soledad", which means "loneliness" in Spanish.

Title: Soledad, Plate 2804
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200. Light painted with flashlight. 12:55 am 30 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

I was walking back to my car when I saw this beautiful scene, right near the parking lot. One more photo. So beautiful.

I tried to sleep in my car. I had violent coughing fits. I have had a cough since India, sucking exhaust fumes from riding too many large buses. And I hadn't taken care of it, so I had a sinus infection and chest congestion. When I laid down, I kept coughing, and at one point, I rushed outside to cough, inadvertently setting off the car alarm. At about 2 am, after an hour of this, I figured I may as well drive home. I went back down the dirt road, the winding White Mountain Road and 168, out to 395, 14, all in darkness. It took me four hours and forty five minutes to get home, just beating the worst of the rush hour traffic going down Interstate 5.

Title: Milky Way Bristlecone Forest, Plate 2807
Photographer: Ken Lee
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. 20 second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200. Light painted with flashlight. 1:00 am 30 July 2013.
Location: Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, California.

Back to Page One of the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, July 2013

Ken's photos of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as photos of Peru, Burma, India, Morocco, China, Thailand, Ghana, Ecuador, and elsewhere, have appeared in many books, magazines, websites, and galleries.  Visit the Ken Lee Photography Website. Some of Ken's select photos may be purchased through his Imagekind Store.

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