Today’s guest on Behind the Shot is big deal to me. Ken Lee, along with being an accomplished photographer, is also a regular watcher, or listener, of Behind the Shot. My first recollection of Ken was when he won one of the Red River Paper Sample Packs I gave out, and then he also won the How to Build Real Influence e-course from Trey Ratcliff and Lauren Bath.

As I usually do, I checked out Ken’s work at that time and made a mental note I wanted to get him on the show, but I got sidetracked. One of the downsides of only doing a show every two weeks is that potential guests back up quickly.

Fast forward to January of 2020 and The NAMM Show in Anaheim CA. While I was there I met up with another Behind the Shot watcher (or listener – I really need to find an easier way to get through that variable), Mike Martin of Casio. Mike is great guy, and we had fun chatting in-between him actually working. Mike tagged me in a tweet to tell me about a friend of his that he thought would be a good guest on the show. This friend had just released a new book, and the cover image was awesome. When I saw the name on the cover I had to do a double take, it was Ken’s book!

Picking the image for this show was easy, I had to do that cover shot.

Ken Lee describes himself as a “night photographer”. I’ll let him explain that:

“I drive long hours in a dusty car listening to weird music, stay out all night creating photos, get dirty, hang out with other creative sleep-deprived weirdos, see the stars drift across the sky, and always find the best taco stands.”

Let me interrupt Ken for a second. I need to know the names of some those taco stands Ken. You need to write that up somewhere. Sorry for the break… back to Ken…

“I have been exploring the Southwestern United States as well as parts of the East Coast for over six years, brandishing a camera, tripod, and colored flashlight. I especially love creating night photos of abandoned historical places, unique features, and beautiful landscapes. These are experiences that I absolutely cherish.”

Along with that first book on night photography, “Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time”, Ken is currently working on two more, also on night photos of abandoned locales.

I mentioned Ken is an accomplished photographer, and I meant it. His images have appeared in outlets like NatGeo.com, National Geographic Books, Omni Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Westways Magazine, and numerous other publications. He’s also won numerous awards.

Join Long Exposure, Night Sky, and Abandoned Site photographer and author Ken Lee to discuss the multi-shot image that graces the cover of his new book, on this episode of Behind the Shot.

Website: kenleephotography.com

Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time

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