Tuesday, January 27, 2009

#19- Mono County.org video of Bodie



http://www.monocounty.org Traveling on US 395 will give you a great view of all that Mono County has to offer. US 395 has been described as taking a "National Geographic Tour through your Windshield Take a tour of Bodie, California's official gold mining ghost town, once notorious as the wildest town in the West. From 1877 to 1888, the community swelled to more than 10,000 residents and produced over $35 million in gold and silver. Now a State Historic Park, Bodie is the largest unrestored ghost town in the West. Visitors can explore the museum, follow a self guided tour, or wander the dirt streets peaking in the windows of the homes, stores, saloons, barbershops, and the church for a glimpse into life of a bygone era. For more information visit MonoCounty.org or call 800-845-7922.

#18- 2008 FM_NorCal 3 day Photo Workshop report















It's almost time for the schedules to come out...
So keep "checking back" cuz as SOON as
they are confirmed, I will post the info HERE.

I know many want to attend the 3rd Sat Photog
Days
and want to see this years of
Official Workshops Permitted.

If there are any other NEW workshops
offered
I will, also post them here or
at least
give you the link....OK?

So remember.... the Dust is Archival,
Do NOT touch anything inside, and
STAY with your Leader! and MOST
of all... Appreciate what you see
and make some GREAT images
to preserve our History, OK?

News to follow.......soon ;-)
*********************************

Here's the report from the 2008
3 day Bodie Photographic Workshop.

It's was a long time in the planning and we
were
VERY LUCKY that Jill graciously let
our group
have first dibs to fill this workshop.
We did have the
entire workshop filled, but
then "Life" interrupted
a few members plans,
so a Canuck was lucky enough
at the last minute
to tag along and we can thank him

for the Group Photo ;-) Thanks, Bruce.

Hint:
We (FM_NorCal) are already taking names
for next years workshop.
Get your name ON
the list if you are interested "at all."


FM_NorCal participants: Ed Nunez,
Allen Hirsh,
Shelah aka "Digital-She",
Jean Christopher,
Ed's friend Luis Morales.

Trip Report by:
FM_NorCal in the field reporter: Allen Hirsh


All six of us met with Jill & Kelly on the night
before
our workshop for dinner and a little
preview of our
three days in Bodie, since we
were staying in
different lodging locations.
Jill stressed that we couldn't
"move or touch" ANYTHING,
and that
space is tight, so we HAD to be careful

with our tripods inside all the buildings.


For some buildings, not all six of us could
be inside
at the same time, but when
that occurred,
Jill would open one building
and Kelly would
man another, so we could
all be "working",
then switch shooting locations.
This served to
maximize our available
image making time.


During regular park hours, we often had
park visitors
peering into the buildings while
we were making images,
and Jill would
let them know this was a
VERY "private workshop."


The workshop gave us access to something
like
17 or 18 buildings you can "NOT go into"
as a
public visitor. The only building that has
a regular
public tour is the Standard Mill,
but we got more time in there
and could go
beyond the roped off areas, -

and at hours when the park isn't open,
which gave us that great early and late light
for more interesting images.

Our venues included: "Ranger's roost" -
the rock outcrop
overlooking town from
the parking lot side,
Boone "General Store",
Morgue/funeral home,
Lottie Johl's house,
Wheaton-Hollis and Bodie Hotel -

(twice, once in am, once in pm
- very different lighting each time),
Pat Reddy house, Lester Bell house,
Cameron house, Firehouse,

Main Street at Sunrise,
Dechambeau Hotel/Saloon,

Sam Leon Bar/casino & barbershop,
IOOF building (which housed
the Bodie Athletic Club),

Standard Mill, Schoolhouse,
Methodist Church,

UP on the Mining Ridge Hill,
Station House and
reservoir with the
Sierra mountain range backdrop,

and McDonald house.

We met at the Bodie SHP parking lot at
6:30am
each morning (usually 25F then -
and it was often 65F
just two hours later!),
and would play until around noon
or 1pm,
then take a couple hour lunch break.

We'd meet back at the parking lot again
at 3 or 4pm.

The 2nd day when we did the SPECIAL Event
-the night photographic session, we met later,
and went until 9pm. The first day, we left
the park
around 6 or 7pm
(after it closed to the public, which is 5pm).

The last day, the "official workshop" ended
about 10:30am,
but then were free to stay
and make exterior images the
rest of the day
while the park was open.


The first day was the only lunch we had
together,
when some of us shared
photographic portfolios;
Jill showed us
quite a few of her Bodie images,

for inspiration.


The night session was something the
whole group
"really came together for",
as we collaborated to make sure
everyone
who "wanted to" create a night image COULD,

no matter the limitations of our respective
cameras and gear.
When we finished
photographing the church, we went on
to
do a couple "night sculptures".

I firmly believe, if Jill hadn't been concerned
we'd
overstayed our permit for the evening
session,
we'd have kept going as a group
for many hours longer,
as everyone was
excited with the images we were getting

and the considerable other night possibilities
we saw
within Bodie.

After the 3 days were over, Edward, Jean
and Shelah stayed
and photographed around
the area the next morning
and Ed also stayed
a couple extra days after our workshop

and was rewarded with a change of weather -
storm clouds and snow, so he got very
different
exterior images than we had
during our workshop,
when the weather
was crystal clear.


The night session was a real highlight for me,
not only
because I got an image that will be
published in the
2009 Bodie Foundation
Calendar, a juried contest,
and because it
was a new form of photography for me.

The "new" Bodie Foundation was formed to
raise
funds to help SAVE and stabilize Bodie.
My image that was Accepted is below...and
was a 3-minute exposure of the Methodist
Church
(taken "within" a 20-minute exposure
for star trails
that most of the others
in the group did during our night session)
Kelly "painted" the church with a flashlight
several times
during our exposure, and we
had an incredibly clear sky
with very bright
stars, as is often the case in the high desert.


I'm pretty sure we all left feeling like Bodie
was our favorite ghost town, and someplace
worth
many more visits, given the richness
of its history
and the scenes it still holds
to this day.
~ Allen H.
********************************

Thanks Jill for helping me arrange this
SPECIAL opportunity
for the members of
FM_NorCal, and show some of them

why we are SO Bodie crazy ;-)
....and Kudos to Allen for his first
publication
and we look forward to the
2009 BF Calendar
coming out...

BOTH Logos below will link you
to the BF and also to the BodieStore thru
which
the calendar will be available and
where you can Join the Bodie Foundation.

To see everyone's images please be sure
to check their websites listed on the
right-side
of this blog.

PS: Can't get the URL image links to work
so here are the links to the
and












#17- 2009 has come to Bodie

Well, it a New Year and a New regime in charge.
We know the new "Keepers-in-charge" have
actually been IN Bodie for MANY years already....
So we hope that not only many of the
Best of the old Traditions will be kept
and maybe some NEW Traditions will be started.
One thing I think we ALL hope for is
that we all work for the Preservation of Bodie FIRST
and continue to make it easy for the public
to come and Appreciate "Our History"
and record it as much as possible.
I know many Volunteers are ready to Help
to fill in the gap of the CA Budget this year..
And I hope maybe those in the SSPF
will let some new members try to assist them also
so that ONLY the Best can be the outcome.
May 2009 prove to be a year of profitable
change for Bodie's legacy and her fans.