I’m happy to be joining the National Parks at Night team for the fourth annual Night Photo Summit next month!

This will be my fourth time presenting at the Night Photo Summit, and the previous three have been really fun, so I’m excited to be invited back! This online conference is devoted exclusively to night photography, and I’ll be joining over 30 other distinguished instructors, including Josh Cripps, Sean Bagshaw, Jess Santos, Chris Smith, Jessica Rojas, Royce Bair, Melissa Kaelin, Lance Keimig, Tim Cooper, Chris Nicholson, Gabriel Biderman, and many more.

I’ll be presenting The Magic of Moonlight. I think moonlight offers tremendous possibilities for night photographers – but those possibilities are often overlooked.

Maybe that’s because people usually think of photographing under the full moon, with the moon high overhead. But that’s the least interesting kind of moonlight. You wouldn’t photograph with the sun high in the sky, would you? Of course not. The light is much more interesting when the sun is low, raking across the landscape, and casting warm colors like gold, orange, and red. The same is true of moonlight. Low-angle moonlight can create all the same wonderful effects as low-angle sunlight – but with stars in the sky to add some nighttime mystery and magic.

And a less-than-full moon adds more stars to the scene. The weaker the moonlight, the more stars you’ll see. You can even capture a vivid Milky Way with the right kind of moonlight.

I’ll be showing some of the beautiful, creative possibilities of moonlight, then covering how to execute your own moonlit ideas – including how to plan photos with PhotoPills and The Photographer’s Ephemeris, and how to expose for moonlit scenes.

The dates for the Summit are February 2nd through 4th. All the sessions will be recorded, so if you miss something you can always watch it later.

This promises to be a great learning experience, and a lot of fun, so I hope you’ll join us! You can learn more and sign up here:

Night Photo Summit, February 2-4, 2024

— Michael Frye

Misty moonrise, Half Dome and the Merced River, Yosemite NP, California

Clearing storm by moonlight from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, California

Comet NEOWISE over moonlit sand dunes, Death Valley NP, California

Related Posts: Comet Fever; Misty Moonrise; Moonset, Death Valley; A Lunar Experience

Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He lives near Yosemite National Park in California, but travels extensively to photograph natural landscapes in the American West and throughout the world.

Michael uses light, weather, and design to make photographs that capture the mood of the landscape, and convey the beauty, power, and mystery of nature. His work has received numerous awards, and appeared in publications around the world. He’s the author and/or principal photographer of several books, including Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, and The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite.

Michael loves to share his knowledge of photography through articles, books, workshops, online courses, and his blog. He’s taught over 200 workshops focused on landscape photography, night photography, digital image processing, and printing.