Bodie California Interior Day Bed

The skeletonized remains of a day bed. What was once a piece of fine comfy furniture now seems as foreboding as a dead alien in his pilot seat as imagined by the likes of H.R. Giger. Unlike the celebrity globetrotting photographers we all admire, this civilian photo tourist did not have access to any of the cool Bodie interiors. We general public are limited to shooting through the dirty windows of California's gold mining ghost town, which is preserved in a state of arrested deterioration. I was also limited to normal Park Service hours which means "bad light", but tried to make the best of it with shots like this and a bit of post processing with ColorEfexPro4 from the Google Nik Collection. Get the Big Picture on paper, canvas or metal.

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The Magical Abandoned Truck of Bodie California

This ugly beauty pulls photographers to it like a tractor beam. Moments before the shutter-box of my Nikon D800 zombie-fied and crapped out I managed to check off a major bucket list item by capturing a nine shot HDR of this abandoned truck in Bodie, California - a gold mining ghost town in the High Sierras close to Mono Lake and the Nevada border. Been wanting to try a shot like this ever since reading "The HDR Book" by RC Concepcion. I especially like the little Iris flower blooming by the front tire. Not what you'd expect in the high desert, but it has been a wet summer with occasional afternoon thunder showers, you can see some brewing in the distance. Edited with Google Nik Collection HDR Efex Pro2 . Get the Big Picture on paper, canvas or metal.

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Bodie Panorama

I've often read that the best camera for imaging any given situation is the one you have on hand. This five shot panorama of Bodie was captured using my Samsung Galaxy S3 cell phone. After wandering around town for two hours or so I was kinda short of breath at this point; not certain if that was due to the 8,400 foot altitude or my near panic attack at the flashing Err/ISO/Auto LCD readout on my Nikon D800 announcing the dreaded stuck mirror shutter box defect . . . Doh!

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Wagon Wheels Stuck in Time

I love this broken down wagon from my visit to Bodie with the magical truck energizing its photographer's tractor beam in the background. Seems like an odd amalgam of horse and buggy era design married to iron horse engineering. Stylized with various tools from the Google Nik Collection. Total Man-Cave material, print it big on metal.

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Bodie Saloon

A peek through the window of a saloon in Bodie California. Frozen in time; the dusty remains of the day make it seem like this gold mining ghost town was suddenly abandoned rather than slowly withered away. Stylized with Color Efx Pro 4 from the Google Nik Collection.

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Parlor Stove

Spotted this antique wood/coal Parlor Stove while peering through the dusty windows of an abandoned home in Bodie California. Stylized with Color Efex Pro 4 from the Google Nik Collection and Tiffen Dfx . 

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Corner Pocket

Another MacGyver'ed interior through a filthy window from my visit to California's gold mining Ghost Town at Bodie . One last trick shot was left set up on this dusty billiards table; might be even easier to make today considering the entire room felt like it was leaning toward that far corner pocket. Many interesting details here including the pressed tin wall covering, carved lion table legs, and yesteryears' final daily special - liver and onions for 25 cents. Stylized using Color Efex Pro 4 from the Google Nik Collection.

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Dune Buggy Wheel Chair

Rather than material things for her birthday, Kelly now insists that I gift her with annual experiences, and in 2015 she requested a Mono Lake road trip to see the Tufa formations and hike up into a young volcano. On the way home we detoured for a brief visit to Bodie where I proceeded to check off several photography bucket list items! I've long admired the portrait images and inspirational words of Alan Shapiro. On this day, totally out of character for me, upon spotting a cheerful mother / daughter pair with their unique and comfy dune buggy wheel chair contraption exploring California's most notorious ghost town; I struck up a friendly conversation with two perfect strangers and asked permission to capture the fun moment with my camera . . . and they said yes.

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