Ghost Town from Hell!

History of Bodie, CA "Ghost Town"

Bodie was a gold mining town that started in the mid 1880's by a man named Bodey. The spelling was changed when a sign painter misspelled it and was never changed. This gold mining town was the home of as many as 10,000 people during its hey days. The mine produced millions of dollars in gold during its years of operation.

It had the reputation of being the closest thing to hell! 

There were killings there almost everyday. Over 60 saloons on Main street, gambling halls, women of the night and everything else you could imagine.

2 major fires destroyed 2/3 of the town. Today, only 1/3 of the town still remains in a frozen "State of Arrested Decay". In 1964 it became a California State Park, that is protected from the outside world.

It is a 13 mile drive off Route 395. The first 3 miles are smooth sailing and all of a sudden, you are back in the Old West driving on a dirt road with potholes and rocks everywhere. (This is no exaggeration!)

Amazing!

This place is amazing!

It's a photographers dream come true! A least for me that is! Actually there where photographers everywhere on Sunday morning. I was at the rangers station at about 8:40 am just waiting for the place to open at 9am sharp.

I wanted to get a chance to take photos without the crowds of people walking into my view and having to wait for the right moment to come. It wasn't long, after I parked my car, and started walking towards the location, I had been eyeing up the day before, that a line of cars and trucks rolled into the place.

I was in my own world and nothing could stop me from getting the shots I wanted.

The day was calm and clear and there were even white clouds in the sky, which is rare for California! What a day, what a wonderful day!


SPECIAL NOTE:
Nikon D600 let me down when I got home and processed these pictures from Bodie.
Most pictures had spots on the left top corner which is caused by oil that is coming off the shutter. It is a Nikon issues with this camera! I will have to have it cleaned before using it again!

Heading to Bodie, CA

Well, it's just a week away

and I ask my wife if we have anything planned for the weekend of September 28th-29th. She looks at me and already sees my wheels turning! I tell her about my plans to go 565 miles North to Bridgeport, California.

I was going to leave early Saturday morning, head up to Bodie for a day of photographing, go 30 more miles to the nearest town, Bridgeport, and stay overnight there. The next day, get up early and be the first one on line in Bodie for more photographs and head back home around noon. I figured I would be in my driveway by 8pm. Not bad for a photography weekend of fun!

Photo Road Trip

I had been planning a photo adventure for a few months... 

My plan was to start traveling up the coastline of California, stopping along the way at Santa Monica Pier, Morro Bay, Rocky Creek Bridge, 17 mile drive, Rodeo Beach, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco and go East across to Bridgeport and Bodie, California. It is a 1,400 mile trip!

Needless to say, I just couldn't find enough time or money to trek myself all that way this year. The warmer Summer weather was coming to a close and the couple of days I alotted was just not enough to take my time to photograph everything I wanted to photograph. I wanted to be at some of these locations at sunrise and sunset and into the night time hours. It would have taken a week between traveling and looking for the perfect spots at the right times to take pictures.

I ended up changing my plans for this year and going straight to Bridgeport and Bodie, CA.

Watch for more about my Bodie adventure!