Shot in Joshua Tree National Park, this is the view of the galactic core of our galaxy. It’s an amazing view best seen in late Spring, Summer and early fall in the northern hemisphere. Head away from the light pollution of urban areas to a place that has a clear view of the east and south. You’ll see the galactic core rise out of the east to the south. Best seen during a new moon when there is no light interference from moon light.

This photo is available for sale as a digital download or as a print. See our products page for more info.

One of the causes I care deeply about is the issue of domestic violence. It is, unfortunately, often a problem that is still overlooked, downplayed, excused, or denied. Nearly three out of four (74%) Americans personally know someone who is or has been abused. One in four women (25%) has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime. Annually it affects between 600,000 and 6 million women and between 100,000 and 6 million men, depending on the type of survey used to obtain the data.

Domestic violence includes physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse. One case of domestic violence is already one too many. It can affect you, a family member, relative, friend or co-worker. We can all do something about it by supporting groups and organizations that work to stop domestic violence and provide support services and resources to survivors.

This weekend, April 16-17, 2011, the Jenesse Center — the oldest domestic violence intervention program in South Los Angeles — is having their annual fundraiser. Money raised at this event help keep their shelter doors open and provide life saving programs and services to women, men and children in crisis.

I will be donating a limited edition, signed print of “Joshua Tree Under the Milky Way” for their auction. You too can support the work of the Jenesse Center by purchasing one of these limited edition, signed prints (limited to 99) on my website. Head to my products page. 20% of profits from these prints, as well as any other purchases made on my site from now until May 15th will be donated to them. Not only will you own a beautiful piece of art but you will be helping with a great cause.

Custom sizes and framing options are available. Please email me at info@evosia.com for more info.

Thank you,

Henry

The Geminid meteor shower was spectacular this year. For this event, I headed out to the Eastern Sierras, around the Alabama Hills, and to Joshua Tree National park for 3 nights and 2 days. I was lucky enough not just to film the meteor shower under mostly clear skies, but I also filmed some amazing sunrise shots as well.

Because I was filming the night sky, I slept on location while the camera was clicking away. It’s a magical feeling falling asleep with nothing over my head but the sky and the universe.

Seeing the meteors also got me thinking: there are no do-overs in life. Like a meteor that burns up while entering Earth’s atmosphere, there are no rewind buttons or undo commands to make up for missed opportunities, lost time, should-haves, could-haves, mistakes or regrets. Whether we like it or not life keeps moving with or without us.

Life is fleeting. Each moment unique, precious and temporary. Opportunities, like meteors, may only last for a few moments and then is gone forever. And you never know when another will come again. It may be the next second. Or you may have to wait a whole life time.

Meteor showers don’t happen all the time. Amazing sunrises don’t just show up every day. Life’s opportunities don’t just knock on the door every day. And when they do occur, it is always just for a short period of time.

Don’t let your special moments slip away. Whether it’s love, friendship, family or business, take action. Follow your heart. Because if you wait or do nothing, the decision, or lack of decision, will come back to haunt you later.

This is why I titled the film “Fleeting Light: The High Desert and the Geminid Meteor Shower.” The gorgeous moments captured on film — the meteor showers and the sun rises — are now long gone.

In the film, you’ll see a lot of meteors. Sometimes 2 in the same frame. You’ll also see some airplanes and their trails. How do you tell the difference? Meteors last 1 or 2 frames at the most. Airplanes move a lot slower so they last for more frames. Some of the brighter ones will have a green tint near the head or tail of the streak. To really enjoy this film, I suggest watching in HD. Of course, watching this doesn’t beat the experience of actually sitting underneath the stars yourself. I was counting dozens per hour at the peak of the shower Monday night.

Music soundtrack is titled Happiness. It is a song from Jónsi and Alex’s Riceboy Sleeps. This track was performed live by Jónsi & Alex with the Hilliard Ensemble, Latvian National Choir, Wordless Music Orchestra, and Jeffrey Milarsky (Conductor).

Filming was done between Dec. 12 and Dec. 14, 2010 with a Canon 5D Mk II using both video (during the day) and timelapse stop motion techniques (during the night). Surprisingly the only lens I used was the Canon 16-35mm 2.8L. This ultrawide angle lens is essential to capture a wide swath of the sky. A headlamp was used to illuminate foreground objects in the night shots while high iso was used to see the milky way.

[View with PicLens]

Autumn is a great time to be in Yosemite National Park. The summer crowds are gone, the temperatures cool down, and the leaves change color.

It is also an unpredictable time of year. Last year, it was dry. No snow yet and the waterfalls were down to a trickle. This year early winter storms dropped a ton of snow on the Sierras. A warm spell followed, melting all the snow in the valley. Temperatures were in the 60s during the day and the waterfalls were flowing well due to snow melt. The warm temperatures also delayed the leaves changing color. Thanks to mother nature, I arrived just in time for the peak fall foliage.

This year I spent 3 days filming around Yosemite. Because of the snow, Tioga pass and Glacier point road were closed to cars. Determined to get up to Glacier point and Sentinel Dome, I hiked up the 4 Mile trail. 2700 foot elevation. It was still icy in some parts and at the top there was about 1-2 feet of snow. I forgot my winter boots so I was hiking in trail walkers. Luckily it was warm during the day and my wool socks kept my feet relatively dry and comfortable. Still, it was a crazy hike — about 13 miles round trip from the valley to Glacier point to Sentinel dome. If you ever go, please make sure you go prepared. Winters are no joke up there.

In the editing room, I decided to make this film deliberately subdued and slow to reflect the characteristics of this time of year. It’s more of a film for meditation and contemplation than one to get you pumped up for a 13 mile hike across ice and snow. Some of this footage will probably end up in my Best of 2010 film, to be released soon. In the meantime, enjoy!

Special thanks to Angela Chung for helping to make this film possible.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mk II with a 16-35mm 2.8 L and 24-70 2.8 L.

Film by Henry Jun Wah Lee and Kim Reid.

Music: Sinking Friendships by Jónsi. Recorded live at the Wiltern.

We had a great time shooting this timelapse film of Jónsi’s concert at The Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2010. The concert was truly amazing – Jónsi’s music, his band, the stunning visuals, the energy, the fans and the historic location. In the film, we wanted to capture all of these elements that made the concert so unique and memorable.

Background
I’m normally a nature and landscape photographer so this was a very different kind of shoot. Luckily my invaluable assistant producer, Kim Reid, has experience shooting at concerts. Lighting can be very tricky. And with the thousands of concertgoers in the theater, moving around was not an option. So planning was key.

Planning
The idea was to shoot a timelapse of the concert but differently than what I’ve seen done before. Having gone to his San Diego concert two days prior to the shoot, the animated background visuals were a huge part of the set and I wanted to capture that on film. The tricky thing with timelapse is that scenes go by too fast and you can miss all the subtle details that make the visuals so gorgeous and immersive. I decided to shoot long sequences using traditional timelapse techniques – shooting one still frame every few seconds and putting it together later as a video in post. But shorter sequences were to be shot on video and sped up later during editing. This way we won’t miss the little details that we may want to highlight later. Similarly, I wanted to avoid any long exposure shots. They would ghost or blur out some of the action I wanted to keep sharp.

Equipment
Due to the video needs and short exposure time lapse shots, the film was shot primarily using 2 Canon 5D Mk II’s. Full frame still cameras that can also capture 1080p video. Fast lenses were used: Canon 24L 1.4, Canon 50L 1.2, Canon 16-35L 2.8, Canon 24-70L 2.8, Canon 70-200L 2.8, and Sigma 20mm 1.8. We also had a Canon 20D for dedicated timelapse duty. For the slow pans, we used a Kessler Crane Pocket Dolly with a motorized motion control system.

The Day of the Shoot
Concert wasn’t until 8pm but we arrived at the Wiltern around 1pm, just as the production team was unloading and setting up. We set up the three cameras around the Wiltern to shoot from set up to closing. Back stage, up in the balcony, at the front of the stage, sides, etc. The 20D did long term stationary timelapse duty. It pretty much stayed at the same place the entire day. Meanwhile we moved the two Canon 5D MK II’s around the theater every 1-2 hours to capture either interesting sequences up close or just different angles. Once the concert got underway, we switched mostly to video, shooting short 4 to 8 minute segments.

Special Thanks
I want to thank of Jónsi, his manager John Best, and the rest of Jonsi’s staff and crew for their openness and help in making this film possible. A special thanks to Darren Webb of jonsi.com for connecting us all together. And to Shaun Monson and Ian Ng for their equipment and support.

Please visit jonsi.com for more information about Jónsi’s album and concerts.

Owens Valley is between the Eastern Sierras and the White Mountains in California. Photographers flock to this area around early October to capture the fall colors. I also love coming here to visit Mono Lake and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. There’s also the Alabama Hills, Mount Whitney — the tallest peak in the continental US, tons of hot springs, Mammoth Lakes, Manzanar — the concentration camp where Japanese Americans were detained during WWII, and a lot more. It is also a skip and a hop away from Yosemite National Park, Death Valley, Mojave Desert and the Bodie Ghost Town.

For people who live in Los Angeles, this is where we get all our water from. There is a long history of disputes about water rights in this area. If you don’t know much about it, I suggest reading about the California Water Wars on Wikipedia.

Below is a short film capturing some of the beauty of Owens Valley in Autumn. I was there Oct. 8-10, 2010. Please enjoy.

Can’t see the video above? Try this link: http://vimeo.com/15792698

To see the Milky Way, the ideal time is summer during or around a new moon so that the moon light doesn’t drown it out. Head to a place far away from the pollution of city lights. To photograph the galactic core, I suggest making sure you don’t have a city positioned to the south of your location. Your long exposure will pick up the light from the city.

Taken with a Canon 5D Mk II with the Canon EF 16-35mm 2.8 lens. Settings: f 2.8, 20 second exposure, 6400 iso.

In the video below, you’ll notice a meteor burning up and leaving a cloud of smoke at around the 00:32 second mark.

[View with PicLens]

Can’t see the video? Try this link: http://vimeo.com/14173983

Timelapse video tour of Yosemite National Park. You’ll see Tunnel view, Valley View, Cook’s Meadow, Bridalveil Falls, Nevada Falls, Mist Trail, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and much more. These were all taken during my recent trip to Yosemite in Mid-May 2010. Enjoy!

The Video:

The Inspiration:
The Manic Star video was a long project in the making. Years ago I remember sitting on the boulders near Skull Rock in Joshua Tree at night looking up at the big open sky. Growing up in big cities, I had never seen so many stars in my life. There were stars of varying brightness and colors. There were shooting stars. There were constellations and galaxies, so clear out there but hardly visible in the city. And it encompassed the entire sky! I felt in awe. Then I got goosebumps as I realized that this is a view of the natural world that our ancestors saw every night.

To see what our ancestors saw, I got a glimpse of how they experienced the world. The moment was empowering, inspiring and humbling. And it gave me the idea of wanting to do something to capture and share with others the beauty and power of nature under the sun and the stars.

For many of us who live in cities, the bright city lights drown out all but the brightest stars. As a result, we are cut off from the source of much inspiration, imagination, creativity, knowledge, and wisdom that our ancestors have drawn upon for thousands of years. It’s only in recent history that many of us have become cut off from this profound celestial connection.

While this video can only capture a tiny fraction of the experience of actually being out there in the beauty of nature, I hope that it’ll inspire you to make your own journeys to reconnect with nature, the stars and the sun.

Music:
The song is an edited version of Manic Star by Conjure One. If you haven’t checked out their album, I highly recommend it! You can find it on Amazon, iTunes, etc.

Scenes:
1. Silhouette of a Joshua Tree in Joshua Tree National Park, California
2. Another silhouette of a Joshua Tree in Joshua Tree National Park, California
3. West Mitten Butte, Monument Valley, Utah
4. West Mitten, East Mitten and Merrick Butte, Monument Valley, Utah
5. Grand Canyon under the full moon, Arizona
6. Moon setting at Sunrise at Grand Canyon, Arizona
7. Snowstorm after Sunrise at Monument Valley, Utah
8. On the Wildcat Trail. Wide angle shot of West Mitten, East Mitten and Merrick Butte, Monument Valley, Utah
9. West Mitten Butte, Monument Valley, Utah
10. The Tepees, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
11. Overlooking Blue Mesa, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
12. Noon time at West Mitten, East Mitten and Merrick Butte, Monument Valley, Utah
13. Sunrise, Joshua Tree National Park, California
14. Storm clouds over Sedona, Arizona
15. More Storm clouds over Sedona, Arizona
16. Sun rising, Joshua Tree National Park, California
17. Somewhere in Monument Valley’s 17 mile drive, Utah
18. The night sky above Canyon De Chelly, Arizona
19. Sun setting over Monument Valley, Utah
20. Spider Rock, Canyon De Chelly, Arizona
21. Sun setting, Joshua Tree National Park, California
22. Horseshoe Bend at Sunset, Page, Arizona
23. East Mitten, Monument Valley, Utah
24. Grand Canyon at Sunrise, Arizona
25. Along the White House Trail, Canyon De Chelly, Arizona
26. Sunset in Joshua Tree National Park, California

Equipment:
Canon 5D Mk II
Canon 7D
Canon SX200IS with hacked CHDK firmware and intervalometer.
Canon 16-35mm 2.8L
Sigma 20mm 1.8
Sigma 24-70mm 2.8
Canon 300mm 4L IS
Manfrotto 190CX Carbon Fiber Tripod
Manfrotto 460m Magnesium head

The Petrified Forest is known for its very colorful petrified wood. Most of the wood have crumbled into little bits but there are still large pieces lying around. The area is huge but the park has limited hours to prevent people from coming in late at night to steal some of the petrified wood. Still, there are stores outside the park where you can legally purchase some.

I almost didn’t stop here but I’m so glad I did. I was on my way from Canyon De Chelly to the Grand Canyon. Saw that a winter storm was moving through the Grand Canyon until the afternoon so I made a stop here to wait things out. Arrived late morning and stayed until mid afternoon.

Weather wise, it started depressingly overcast, then occasional rain/sleet, then the sun came out with some really dramatic clouds. That made the stop worth while. In Blue Mesa the weather made the place even more other-worldly. Still, it was tough lighting. Spots of cloudy plus spots of bright sun. From time to time, I had to wait for clouds to block the sun before shooting. The  direct sun makes the lighting too harsh and bright, washing out softer colors and subtle details.

Light and weather conditions really make a huge difference here — more so than any of the other places I visited. I was up in the Painted Desert area when it was just overcast and my photos were flat and dull. If I had turned back at that point, I would have wrote this place off.

I think the best times to be here are sunset (best), sunrise, or interesting weather like this. I feel really very lucky to have captured these images during mid-day. Thank you mother nature! I hope to return here again to see a sunset light up the Painted Desert.

[View with PicLens]