About

About the Artist

Fascinated with the night sky since childhood, Phil recalls, “The first time I saw the Milky Way on a camping trip with my dad I was mesmerized, seeing all those stars.  I’ve been stargazing ever since.”

After meeting a group of other night sky photographers via Instagram, he participated in a photo meetup at Mt. Pinos, Southern California’s most accessible dark sky location.  This was where he shot his first images of the Milky Way, leaving him amazed at what he was able to capture through his lens.  And so, he was hooked!

Now living in California’s Eastern Sierra Mountains near Mono Lake, he has a wide variety of some of the best night sky vistas with clear views of the horizon for his photographer’s eye.

Phil’s laborious process for bringing the beauty of the night sky to life in his finished photographs is quite detailed and time-consuming, requiring location planning, shot composition, digital image processing, and careful coordination with printers for the finished product.

“My older brother once shared his perspective that photography helps us to capture moments in time that will stay with us forever. That is the key to why I do what I do with photography. Nothing about the process is simple, but when everything lines up, I get a great deal of satisfaction seeing how the final image comes together.

“The most enjoyable part of my process is when I share the final image and see people’s reactions to my work.”  ~ Phil Sutphin