What did we find to photograph at night in Kansas? It turns out quite a lot. Abandoned airplanes, historic limestone schoolhouses, strange and ancient geologic formations, and more. We explored the Sunflower State to find fascinating subjects.
Is Kansas as flat as a pancake?
When you tell people you are going on a nocturnal photographic journey to Kansas, they frequently mention how flat it is. While it’s hardly mountainous, Kansas is not even in the top five, according to this University of Kansas article. The honor for the flattest state? Florida.
Besides flatness, people usually mention barbecue and sunflowers. I knew it from things I loved from childhood: The Wizard of Oz, Clark Kent and Smallville, and the legend of Wilt Chamberlain. But I quickly discovered that Lawrence was a gorgeous cultural college town with great eats and charming homes. I also found the burnt ends at Joe’s BBQ to be fantastic. And there was more.
The Kansas sky was enormous. I saw magical prairies lit by the setting Midwestern sun. Punctuating this were tall silos and dignified farms basking in this glow. And I loved how you could find a Mexican taqueria in even the smallest towns.
Along the way, we discovered some amazing treasures for night photography. My traveling companions? Fellow Nightaxians Mike Cooper, a former resident of Kansas, and Tim Little from Cape Cod. Mike knew many of the best locations, and drove us throughout the state.
Abandoned airplanes in a grassy field
If you love to photograph abandoned things at night, you know that it doesn’t get much better than abandoned airplanes. The first evening of our trip, it rained heavily. That was a no-go. However, we managed to return for several nights of night photography magic, even if my boots became soaked from the puddles and tall wet grass the first night. The man who owns the property was a former pilot. We were given special permission to photograph there at night.
Prairie Castles
Grain elevators seem to rise up from the prairie floor, sometimes with the name of the town on its side. We photographed this especially large one, its fields still being used to create hay bales.
1800s limestone schoolhouse
Limestone. It’s easy to cut, but is incredibly durable, capable of lasting for hundreds of years. Consequently, limestone schoolhouses built in the 1800s are still standing strong today. This particular one-room school was completed in the 1890s, serving French immigrants who had settled in the area. The first teacher made $40 a month. She taught 19 children between five to nineteen, from eight French families. Schools were often taught by a single teacher in one-room schools throughout rural Kansas until the 1950s and 1960s, when they were consolidated.
The Great Chalk Pyramids of Kansas
The Chalk Pyramids, otherwise known as Monument Rocks, are located in the Western part of Kansas. 80 million years ago, Kansas was underwater, part of the Western Interior Seaway, which split North America into two land masses. These enormous chalk formations in Monument Rocks are the remains of carbonate deposits.
Monument Rocks is on private property. Mike obtained permission by contacting the owner.
BRRRRRRRRR!
While photographing here, the temperature plummeted to 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9.44 Celsius). This is unseasonably cold for October, where the norm is closer to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Throughout this trip, we encountered unusually cold weather and more rain than is typical for this time of year. We warmed our hands with Hot Hands, and our toes with Hot Hands Toe Warmers. At the end of the evening, my face was so cold that I was having some difficulty physically speaking as clearly as I would have liked. In the Southwest, I sometimes photograph at night in temperatures just below freezing. This was next-level cold, however!
Flap flap, flap flap, flap flap!
While staying in Western Kansas, my old boots finally gave way. Both soles separated from the rest of the boot, producing a comical flapping sound as I walked. This surely wouldn’t do. We went to a small shopping center so I could purchase some new boots.
Dr. Jones, I presume?
Located in Flint Hills, Dr. W.B. Jones built this beautiful home in the 1870s. He and his wife Sarah only lived here for a few years. However, the house remains, standing alone and isolated in this beautiful setting. Dr. Jones practiced in Florence for much of his life while his children went to school. We found the setting of his house to be particularly beautiful and photogenic.
How us Nightaxians create the images
All three of us Nightaxians use Pentax K-1 DSLR cameras. While they are a little long in the tooth, they continue to be outstanding cameras for night photography.
We create these photos by setting our cameras on tripods. We open the camera shutter for long periods of time. While the shutter is open, we walk around with a handheld flashlight capable of producing different colors. During the exposure, all the light we shine on the subject is cumulative. This process is called “light painting.” Why? Because one uses the flashlight as a paint brush, “brushing” on light, not paint. Light painting to illuminate subjects is a beautiful, addictive art, as you can walk around the scene, deciding what to bring to light and what to keep in shadow.
We photographed near a full moon. In this way, the moon illuminates some of the surrounding landscape. We can augment this moonlight in very subtle ways, or we can bring the weirdness by using different angles or even using different colors. We hold night photography workshops, which I post on my Ken Lee Photography website.
The best part of the journey
We were rained out during the first night. However, we weren’t even upset about it because we were hanging out together. The main point is the friendship and the fun during the entire time we spend together. The long journeys across many miles are a lot of fun, with great conversations along the way. And in between are the fun times over barbecue, blueberry pancakes, and tacos.
Sure, night photography can be a solitary activity. We get to the location and often spread out, taking photos and doing our own thing. But we’re never far away from each other.
We drove across much of Kansas listening to Van Halen. This is in part because Van Halen is pretty great. However, it might also have something to do with Mike only having Van Halen CDs* in his vehicle.
*For history buffs, CDs are these shiny disks that people would slip into a thin slot to produce music. Whether exploring 1800s schoolhouses or using yesterday’s music media, Mike has a strong appreciation for history in so different ways.
Warning: This article was written under the influence of the first two Van Halen albums.
Wonderful photos and descriptions of your Nightaxians travel adventures in Kansas. Who would have known you’d find so many interesting things to photograph there. I guess Mike did.
Yes, Mike certainly did. Kansas is a beautiful state, and has many interesting things, historical and otherwise. I find that there are beautiful, historical, and fascinating things to photograph and visit in every state. I’m sorry I didn’t include photos of the State Capitol in Topeka, but that’s a place well worth visiting as well, certainly for the John Brown mural as much as anything else.
Beautiful pictures. was fun to read about your travels.
Thank you very much! So glad you enjoyed it!
Those are some beautiful photos. I love to experiment with night photography and long exposure pictures. Although I only have my cellphone to do it with. I especially loved the airplane.
Thank you very much for your kind words. While you can do this with a cellphone and an app that allows you to do long exposure photos, it’s ideal with some sort of DSLR or mirrorless. But you CAN do this with a cellphone and a small tripod and get some surprisingly great results. Glad you like the airplane. I promised not to mention the whereabouts of the plane, so I’ve modified your question (apologies).