Bodie, California Ghost Town

Last week I went on a trip to Mono County, eastern California (right on the border with Nevada). I took many pictures of Mono Lake, Bodie (an old wild west ghost town, now a State Historic Park) and of two old abandoned gold mines in the hills beyond Bodie. So far I have only processed the Bodie shots. Here are four examples. The two of the car are tone mapped in Photomatix (five exposures, handheld, burst mode).

The most difficult part of photographing Bodie was to avoid getting any of the numerous other photographers in the shot. The whole “ghost town” atmosphere is rather ruined by stuff like that, especially as some people insist on wearing bright red shirts! (Photographers, at least have the courtesy to wear a color like brown, gray or black.) With patience, you can get a clear shot most of the time, but I would advise anyone else thinking of going to Bodie, not to do what I did, which was arrive at 1pm. For one, the light is at its worst at that time. But also, it is the most crowded. By 4pm, most of the other people had gone. (The park is open until 6pm, May 15th - October 31st.)

See the rest of the pictures in my Bodie gallery.