For three decades, Gabe Biderman has been pushing the boundaries of what’s possible when the sun goes down. From his early film days capturing abandoned ruins in the Bay Area to co-founding National Parks at Night, one of the most respected night photography education programs in the world, Gabe has dedicated his career to revealing the hidden beauty that emerges after dark.
As a longtime B&H Photo team member and passionate educator, Gabe has witnessed firsthand how night photography has evolved from a niche pursuit to a thriving genre that manufacturers actively support. His journey from a small camera store customer to industry expert offers valuable insights for anyone looking to explore the magic of nighttime capture.
We sat down with Gabe to discuss his path to co-founding National Parks at Night, his experiences at B&H Photo, and what makes certain locations perfect for capturing the night sky. Here’s what we learned about turning darkness into art.
“Everyone has a story to tell, but finding the right outlet is essential.” – Gabe Biderman
What inspired you to co-found National Parks at Night, and how has 20 years of exploring night photography influenced this venture?
I first started doing night photography in the 90’s with film. We’d plan our night photography adventures around the full moon and abandoned “ruinism” in the Bay Area and beyond. This theme then embraced urban night photography when I moved to NYC in 2001. Then in 2008, I was introduced to Matt Hill, who was also in the industry and had a passion for creative long exposures at night. We started offering workshops in New York at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Bannerman Castle. I was also teaching with Tim Cooper from Rocky Mountain School of Photography. We had created a popular Vegas to Zion from Dusk to Dawn night photography workshop that showcased the variety of what we can create and capture at night—the bright lights, car trails, neon and ghost towns of Vegas to the pristine dark skies of Zion.
Matt and I would find ourselves in Vegas a couple times a year for conferences and we’d always plan extra time to explore the darker skies like Valley of Fire, Nelson Ghost Town, and others. It was on a trip to Arches National Park in 2014 that Matt and I were able to experience the night sky grandeur together, and came up with the name “National Parks at Night” or NPAN. Our ultimate goal is to visit all the National Parks and reveal the flip side of these beautiful locations once the sun goes down.
We realized this was a huge endeavor, so we also recruited Tim Cooper, Lance Keimig and Chris Nicholson into the fold. Each one of us has a special skill set that we bring to the table and together we formed one of the earliest workshop programs that dedicated itself just to the education of night photography. The year 2016 was the 100th anniversary of the National Park System, and we wanted to celebrate alongside! We got right to work launching five workshops during our talk at Photo Plus in October of 2015.
Ten years later, we now average about 25 workshops each year and have checked off many of our National Park units as well as other dark sky and urban locations all over the world. It continues to be a true partnership. The desire and access to explore our night skies is at an all time high. We remain dedicated to not just focusing on the Milky Way, but instead featuring the diversity of what you can create at night—from light painting to star trails, time-lapses to true video capture. After ten years with NPAN and close to 30 years of pushing those shutter speeds longer, I still love exploring what the night can offer. It still excites me, especially when our attendees have and capture those “Ah-ha” moments.
What are the biggest challenges in organizing photography events in national parks, and how do you overcome them?
There is a lot of preliminary work to be done before you even announce the workshop. You need to scout and explore the park. That’s the fun part. We also learn from the rangers, who live in the park, about their favorite locations, the logistics of hiking, and what places make sense to access with a group at night. Applying for your permit with the NPS is essential and that requires insurance, forms, and paperwork. Once you get the park logistics sorted, you also need to figure out where you are staying. Are we camping in the park or staying in a hotel with a block of rooms? Many of our national parks are remote and accommodations can be far away.
A huge hurdle to overcome has been the public’s, and some parks’, general misconception of the night. We, as humans, have a natural tendency to be afraid of the dark. We can’t see what’s around us, we hear sounds that we are unfamiliar with, and it is unsettling. Many of our parks are so expansive, it can be unnerving with no cell reception and absolute quiet and darkness. So, educating not only the parks, but the people about the beauty of these dark skies has been a huge challenge. Even now, when words like Astro-Tourism are a growing marketing sector and many parks have dedicated night sky programs, many people still are wary of the dark.
Which national parks offer the best conditions for night photography and why? Can you share a specific experience or image that stands out?
The classic Dark Sky National Parks offer the most pristine night skies where many can experience the Milky Way and millions of stars, planets, and constellations that make up our universe. The organization called Dark Sky International works with parks to adjust their light pollution impact and certifies them as Dark Sky Parks. There are close to 100 dark sky parks in the US with the most popular being Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Crater Lake, Big Bend, and Joshua Tree. However two of my personal favorites are Capitol Reef National Park (the least visited of the Big 5 Parks in Utah) and Great Basin which is also very remote, along the Loneliest Road in America.
With very little light pollution this makes them Gold Tier Dark Sky experiences. Each park offers decent experiences along the main scenic views but by either legally off-roading or hiking you can really surround yourself with epic rock formations like the Temple of the Sun and Moon in Capitol Reef and the 4,000-year-old Bristlecone trees of Great Basin. The reflecting lakes in Great Basin capture twice the amount of stars and bring them within reach.
We’ve been to Capitol Reef several times, but the most unique experience was when we planned a workshop around the Ring of Fire Eclipse in October of 2023. To experience day turning into night was so special and the park was not overrun, so everyone could experience it comfortably. We planned our Great Basin workshop around the Perseids meteor shower in August of 2024, and as we aimed our cameras for an all night star party, we were treated to lower latitude auroras during the solar maximum.
Can you tell us more about your early days at B&H Photo and how the transition from a small mom-and-pop store to a major retailer shaped your career?
I was first introduced to B&H Photo while living in San Francisco and a professional photographer noticed I was getting interested in photography. He gave me the (then newspaper print) B&H catalog and told me to upgrade my point and shoot camera to a Pentax K1000 and a brick of Kodak TriX film.
I would order my darkroom supplies and film from B&H on a monthly basis and when I moved to NYC, the second thing I did upon landing on a red eye was visit the store. (I visited the Empire State Building first as it was open an hour earlier.) I was in awe of the one floor B&H Superstore on 34th and 9th Ave. I spent well over 2 hours there and never wanted to leave. I bought a tripod and light meter from a salesperson named Adam, who was training me on the sales floor 2 weeks later! I really enjoyed working in the store, we’d see thousands of people come through each day and B&H had a sales team that could speak any language. The digital department had just started and I was soon the manager of the photo and then digital department, managing a team of over 75 sales associates.
I missed the small “Mom and Pop” days of Warren Street and heard stories of the store on 17th Street. But I saw the B&H Superstore grow extensively – from one floor and 35,000 square feet to two floors and over 70,000 square feet. B&H was early to adapt weekly education in our Event Space in 2007 and our EDU and Marketing Road Teams in the early 2000’s. As much as B&H grew, I felt our voices were always heard—from surveys to trainings and town halls.
I joined the Marketing Road Team in 2004 and that greatly affected the trajectory of my career. Our team was supporting and attending over 200 events every year from trade shows to seminars, and workshops. I was able to learn from some of the best educators in the business. My free time at night I’d spend chasing car trails in urban locations or finding the closest national park to seize the night.
What are the latest trends in photography gear that you’ve noticed working at B&H Photo, and how do they enhance night photography?
First, we live in a Golden Age for Night Photography. Night photography has definitely become a strong niche that manufacturers are marketing to. Fast lenses that let in copious amount of light and don’t suffer from comatic aberrations are readily available and digital cameras are comfortably shooting at ISO’s unheard of 5-10 years ago. Companies like Nikon and FUJIFILM offer extended shutter speeds past 30 seconds, while OM System and Panasonic provide unique features such as Starry Sky AF, allowing you to easily and accurately focus on stars billions of miles away, as well as Live Composite, which lets you watch your light painting build up without overexposing the scene.
There is still room to grow and I look forward to these tools assisting us to “seeing in the dark” even more in the near future.
You’ve been representing B&H at various workshops, trade shows, and seminars. Can you share an experience from one of these events that was particularly impactful or memorable?
I really enjoyed my times visiting the photography schools Rocky Mountain School of Photography and Maine Media Workshops while repping B&H. I had dreamed of going to MMW as an aspiring photographer and, as B&H reps, we’d go up for a week, have the opportunity to take a class and fully immerse ourselves in the whole experience. Our job was to promote our EDU program. I was able to meet and befriend icons in the industry: from Arnold Newman and his classic two+ hour slideshow, to darkroom classes from George Tice, who really helped me hone those developing skills.
And the Alternative Processing class with Brenton Hamilton opened up a whole new world of translating your image. I also met so many other artists that I was unfamiliar with and MMW’s bookstore was infamous for turning me into a fine art book collector.
At RMSP, I would come out and teach night photography to their Summer and Professional Intensive students. This really honed my teaching skills as a lecturer and hands-on instructor in the field at ghost towns.
What are your favorite photography accessories that you always bring to night sessions? How do they help you push the limits of capturing time?
So, obvious accessories are a tripod and good head to make sure your camera is secure and able to capture those long exposures for many hours at night. Other key items are cable releases and dew heaters. Cable releases help you do time-lapses and longer exposures in bulb mode. Dew heaters are something photographers have adapted from astronomers that prevent the build up of dew on our optics.
Memory cards need to be incredibly reliable and while night photographers might not need the speed that sports photographers need, reliability, larger sizes, and durability are key factors to us. I have not been let down with my ProGrade memory cards and downloading the CF Express cards on their readers is incredibly quick.
What are your future plans for night photography and National Parks at Night? Do you have any upcoming projects or goals, such as creating an epic image of each national park at night?
Well, we still have National Parks that we have not yet visited. So that goal of photographing all 63 of the big National Parks is still our long term project. I also really enjoy traveling and learning from the 400+ National Park Units from our Monuments, historic sights, battlefields, lakeshores, and more. We need to support, protect and preserve them now, more than ever. Yes, I want to have an epic shot that unveils the beauty of the night at each particular park. A collaborative coffee table book with the team at NPAN is the perfect dream of how we can share, celebrate and continue to inspire others to discover national parks all over the world.
Any other tips or highlights from your career you’d like to share?
Like most photographers and creatives, I had explored a lot of different styles before I found something that excited me like night photography. I then dedicated myself to being an expert of this genre and learning from others in the field, asking a lot of questions and learning the rules, but also learning when to break them.
My advice would be similar. Experiment and hone your vision. Everyone has a story to tell, but finding the right outlet is essential. Is it photos on a wall? Or videos, or shorter form content creation? Projections on buildings, or being the best wedding/portrait/commercial photographer out there. Always continue to educate yourself and be inspired by other art forms. Go to museums and galleries. Once you find the right tools to fuel your vision, you’ll be unstoppable.
Turning Darkness into Art
Gabe Biderman’s three-decade journey from film photographer to night photography educator demonstrates the power of following your passion and sharing knowledge with others. Through National Parks at Night, he’s capturing stunning images, and he’s also helping others overcome their fear of the dark and discover the incredible beauty waiting once the sun goes down.
As astro-tourism continues to grow and technology makes night photography more accessible than ever, Gabe’s work preserving and celebrating our dark skies becomes increasingly important. For anyone curious about night photography, his message is simple: grab your camera, find a dark sky, and prepare to be amazed by what the night reveals.
Whether you’re planning your first nighttime shoot or looking to join one of National Parks at Night’s workshops, remember that every expert was once a beginner willing to venture into the darkness. The stars are waiting.
