I began photographing Route 66 at night as a labor of love, a project of sorts, throughout the years. It turned into a book, "Route 66 Abandoned: Under a Western Moon". I thought I'd share some photos from this book. All of these are photographed at night. I lit the scene with a handheld light during the long exposure. I used a Pentax K-1 for many of these photos.


Twin Arrows Trading Post, AZ. This is one of those kitschy roadside attractions. You can also see Tom Hanks running past this in "Forrest Gump".


1948 Packard, Goffs, CA.


Ludlow Garage, Ludlow, CA.


This was formerly a post office and a motel. Ludlow, CA. And yes, it's really green on the outside. The streaks of light are a train zooming past. Route 66 frequently parallels train tracks, part of the Western Expansion.


Bus buried in sand, just north of Route 66, Mojave Desert.


Here's the book. The cover is a sign from a Whiting Brothers motel and service station area in Yucca, AZ.

Ken Lee Photography website for books and other stuff.

[lesmore49]

You have an eye and a talent, Ken. I enjoy your 'take' .

[MikeNArk]

Great work, Ken. These images reveal many odd artifacts and abandoned places along route 66 and bring them back to life for all to see.

[Tonytee]

Very interesting photographic series there, Mr. Ken Lee. Thank you very much.

Tony

[phx.david]

I love your work and these are no exception. I remember visiting the Twin Arrows Trading Post as a kid on family vacations.

[RICHARD L.]

Hello Ken,

I visited pretty much the same locations you photographed in Arizona and mostly in California, but only during the day. Finding a safe place to spend the night in a "lawful" way (meaning the Police won't wake you up at 2h00 AM and give you a citation) in California is hard enough for a foreign traveler (I am Canadian, thus an "ALIEN" but don't worry I am not green). I have to find a campground site in a desert National or State Park, far from the Ocean as no sites are ever available without a one-year reservation there. Your images are "über-sharp" and always a pleasure to admire. Keep at it !

Best Regards !

[Ken Lee]

Thank you for the kind words. I just had (another) eye surgery, hopefully the last one.

Richard, in case it matters, we almost always stay in motels or AirBnBs when we go on these outings. Part of the reason for this is so we can sleep late, which is basically impossible to do when camping.

[ffking]

Great work!

[angkymac]

I think I recognize many of these images from earlier posts you did!
Very impressed at that time, and now again.
Very interesting work you did!
Angky

[Ken Lee]

Great work!

Thank you!!

---------- Post added 06-29-23 at 05:59 PM ----------

I think I recognize many of these images from earlier posts you did!
Very impressed at that time, and now again.
Very interesting work you did!
Angky

I've most likely posted a few of those from before! Thank you! At this point, I have been at it for about ten years, so I'm starting to amass a decent-sized collection of night photos. I've tried to get out as much as I can to photograph, but of course, compared to other forms of photography, if you get 15-25 night photos in an evening, that's considered quite productive. I've skipped some time here and there (knee surgery, eye surgery, fixing up the house, and general nonsense) but otherwise have tried to drive around and go to interesting spots to photograph.