Behind-the-scenes look at the making of “An-My Lê: Photographing the Night Sky.” Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and visual artist Sue Ding, the film follows Lê as she mounts her first-ever outdoor installation in Andrea Zittel’s High Desert Test Sites. As Lê explores the site, photographs the night sky, and experiments with new forms and processes, Ding embraces the creative challenges and opportunities the shoot presents, with both filmmaker and photographer approaching the process with curiosity and a willingness to experiment.

In October of 2025, I filmed with An-My Lê as she explored High Desert Test Sites, Joshua Tree National Park, and the surrounding landscapes for a new body of work, Way Station (2026).

The first night that we filmed with An-My Lê in Joshua Tree was quite a unique experience. In order to get the clearest star images, she was photographing during the new moon. This led to an interesting conversation with our cinematographer, since it would be very dark during the shoot. At the same time, bringing in heavy duty lighting would have interfered with An-My’s long exposures of the night sky.

I always try to find creative ways to work within limitations and to embrace the essence of a scene. We were filming in the middle of the night in a national park, so I wanted to capture the feeling of being there under those conditions. An-My and her assistant Alice were already wearing these red headlamps so they could see their equipment in the dark, so we built on that and created a little “night world” with red lighting. Filming in Joshua Tree at midnight with no one else around, it did really feel like we were in our own little world.

A lot of the time, with artist-focused documentaries, you’re in a studio space. Lots of exciting stuff is happening in there, but it’s not always the most attractive or interesting setting. This film was exciting to work on because it took place in an inherently visually rich environment—being in Joshua Tree and High Desert Test Sites, we were always surrounded by striking landscapes.

So much of An-My’s process involved driving around the park, walking the grounds of High Desert Test Sites, and taking in the landscape while thinking about what the project would become—thinking about where to install the work, noticing how the light changes throughout the day and how the installation will respond. A relationship to landscape is such an important part of her work.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to include her series 29 Palms (2003-4), because she made those photographs in this same location 20 years earlier. It was important to show her history with this landscape. It was also important to balance that sense of legacy with An-My’s embrace of the new and unknown. She’s not afraid to tackle a new challenge or medium. With this project, she was putting together her first large-scale outdoor installation and learning to use a star tracker to photograph the night sky. I really admire her willingness to experiment and dive into new territory.

An-My approached everything with this spirit of curiosity and experimentation and wasn’t afraid to try new things. She was very comfortable in this space of not knowing how things are going to turn out, of just trying things and seeing what happens. It’s easy to get stuck in certain ways of doing things, and I loved seeing her explore new ideas and new types of projects. As she says in the film, she’s always trying to ask the next question, push forward to the next step, and I think that’s really inspiring.

—Sue Ding
Director, “An-My Lê: Photographing the Night Sky”