Joshua Tree National Park, December 2012, continued:
On Friday, the day before, Lisa had found the remains of the tallest Joshua Tree in the Park. This tree had been some 40 feet tall (12.2m), and was estimated to be over 100 years old before its demise at the hands of a desert fire.

But Lisa found an online reference to the tallest Joshua Tree now existing in Queen Valley, so on Saturday (29 December), we set off for this land. And certainly, we saw some large Joshua Trees. But Queens Valley is very large, and no specific area was given. We continued down a dirt road to Pine City.

To access this area, go to Barker Dam, turn left and follow this road almost to the parking lot. Here you will see a dirt road on your right, which is Queen Valley Road. Drive along this until you come to a fork. Go left. Follow the road to the parking area, which offers trails to Pine City, a mine, and other beautiful areas.

We got back to the house we were renting in Yucca Valley. Lisa made delicious pasta while I ran around outside again, taking night photos of the area near the house. The sky was a bright red, a combination of the setting sun still illuminating the clouds and the town of Yucca Valley below, lighting up the sky. The landscape reminded me of what the Mars Exploration Explorer might see.

Title: One Night On Mars
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, Feisol tripod. Exposure time 92 seconds at f/10, ISO 200. Light painting the desertscape with a flashlight.
Photographer: Ken Lee
Location: Yucca Valley, California, USA.

"I love the photo...damn you do good work!" - Dennis Mammana, astronomy writer, lecturer and sky photographer. His newspaper column "Stargazers" has run weekly since 1992, and his photos can be seen in national and international media. He has a degree in Astronomy from Vanderbilt, and is a member of TWAN (The World At Night), an international team of sky photographers.

Inspired by the fiery red sky and the Martian landscape, I decided to light paint this flying saucer. Truly, the desert, at least to us city folk, is an otherworldly place, and the setting sun lighting up the clouds made this seem all the more surreal.

Title: Martian Flying Saucer Landing
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, Feisol tripod. Exposure time 478 seconds at f/10, ISO 200. Light painting with a flashlight and blue electroluminescent wire.
Photographer: Ken Lee
Location: Yucca Valley, California, USA.

In honor of the outer space theme - and the fact that many people visit one page only, sent over from Google - let's revisit just a few of the alien world looking photos from the previous page.

Title: The Guardian of Forever
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, Feisol tripod. Exposure time 25 seconds at f/8, ISO 200. Light painted with flashlight and red headlamp.
Photographer: Ken Lee
Location: Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA.

"Another gem!" - Dennis Mammana, astronomy writer, lecturer and sky photographer. His newspaper column "Stargazers" has run weekly since 1992, and his photos can be seen in national and international media. He has a degree in Astronomy from Vanderbilt, and is a member of TWAN (The World At Night), an international team of sky photographers.

Title: Tower of Mordor
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, Feisol tripod. Exposure time 25 seconds at f/5, ISO 200. Combination of natural lighting from the full moon and light painting with a flashlight.
Photographer: Ken Lee
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA.

Inspired by the Martian landscape nature of the shots, I figured we could revisit a couple of photos from the previous page which look especially alien, seemingly a glimpse from another planet.

Title: M- Class Planet
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, Feisol tripod. Exposure time 199 seconds at f/11, ISO 200. Combination of natural lighting from the full moon and light painting with a flashlight, a red headlamp held high, and blue electroluminescent wire.
Photographer: Ken Lee
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA.

"Great shot! We can always count on you to post creative and inspiring views!" - Dennis Mammana, astronomy writer, lecturer and sky photographer. His newspaper column "Stargazers" has run weekly since 1992, and his photos can be seen in national and international media. He has a degree in Astronomy from Vanderbilt, and is a member of TWAN (The World At Night), an international team of sky photographers.

Inspired by the Martian landscape nature of the shots, I figured we could revisit a couple of photos from the previous page which look especially alien, seemingly a glimpse from another planet. Much of these photos were edited - and these two web pages of our December 2012 trip to Joshua Tree - were created while listening to Brian Eno's "On Land", "Apollo", and "Another Green World" to continue how I felt to be outside at night taking these photos.

I've referenced "Star Trek" and even "Lord of the Rings". I could mention that I also like Rush "Hemispheres"because I like to wrap my arms around my inner geek and give it a big hug.

Happy New Year, and thank you for looking at these photos.

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I have a Facebook Photography Page if you would like to see more photos, or better yet, simply interact with me and talk about photography. And I also have a more formal photography page as well, Ken Lee Photography.