Copyright ©2018 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
I made this image back in August when several friends and I went over to the Eastern Sierras for a long week-end. Bodie State Park stays open at night several times throughout the summer so folks can enjoy the old Ghost Town at night.
Someone had put a light in the doorway to the Chapel and lots of photographers fanned out to photograph this iconic building in Bodie myself included, but seeing The Big Dipper above the Chapel is what caught my eye. The clouds were moving in fast so I acted fast hoping to get the whole constellation in my photograph.
The red light cast you see is a light spill from someone’s red headlamp behind me. They forgot to shut it off. This is the only shot of the Constellation I got over the chapel due to the cloud cover.
For the History Buffs:
Bodie was a mining town in the 1800’s. It was booming for several years after Gold was discovered there. What started with 20 people grew to 10,000 in just over 20 years!
It’s said there were once 65 saloons in Bodie. The town teamed with families, miners, farmers, robbers, prostitutes, and of course gaming halls, and opium dens.
In 1898 the mill burned down, and in June of 1932, the second of two major fires destroyed more of the town leaving what we see today.
There are more than 100 buildings in a state of “arrested decay” one can see while in Bodie. Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods.
In 1962 Bodie became a Register National Historic Landmark, and a State Historic Park.
For a timeline of Bodie’s History and more click the link below.
Nikon D810| Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G| Hoodman STEEL Digital Film| PS CC 2018
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
Very beautiful shot. Thank You.
Thank you so much!!
Another beautiful night shot, Deborah.
Thank you so much Cheryl!
I love your night sky photos.
Awesome, Deborah! Sounds like fun too :-).
That is such an amazing shot and I just love the shade of blue in the night sky. Hopefully one day soon I’ll be able to get a little more practice on night photography…..not very good at it at this time.
Night photography is addicting! I just love it. I don’t get out to do as much of it as I’d like, but when I do it’s amazing.
Like anything else it takes practice.
Thank you so much for this lovely comment!
another cosmic beauty!
Thank you so much Hanna! xx
Fabulous photo!
Gosh, that’s just beautiful!
Thank you so much Joey!
I love this photo! Gorgeous
Thank you so much Lynn!
Stunning Deborah
I love this light painting photography series that you managed to capture on that trip. They have all been so beautiful!!
Thank you so much Amy.
Interesting post and lovely photo!
Thank you so much Belinda!
Gorgeous! You were able to get a few outstanding pics from that trip… definitely a success.
Thank you very much Cindy. It was a good week-end.
Deborah, I’m just gobsmacked… that photo is glorious! And what a perfect midnight blue. I can’t stop looking at it. The history was interesting too. It’s always eerily intriguing when people don’t just leave, but leave their goods behind. That’s worthy of the name ghost town. Great big hug.
I know I keep asking myself what would make me leave that gorgeous stove, the brass bed, lovely bottles, and truck!
Thank you so much! Hugs right back!
Sorry it took me a while to get back. To paint on Sunday for an audience means we have to get out of the house at 7:30 am – a total change my normal schedule, so it takes me a few days to get back on track with sleep!
Beautiful subtlety and colors in your image:) and the significance of the place! Am still awe struck with the effect the gold rush had, and people flocked to those places and settled there.
Love that you added a few more mind boggling skills in your comment to me.
How nerve wracking it would be for me to paint in front of an audience! You’re so skilled and have experience there so I’m not surprised you’re doing that. I’m sure you were a Big hit with them too.
Thank you so much. Bodie is a neat place at night, and the history is very interesting.
Well, since I was there next to you; I’m going to check my photo to see if I got the Big D, (not Deborah) too. Great shot!
Thank you Gordon! If you got set up quickly enough and framed a whole bunch of sky in your image from that spot you probably got the whole constellation too. Those clouds came in fast after that.
Big D…LOL!
What a great photograph Deborah. Bodie is such a strange place. Solidified history. When I was there it had been snowing. The frost creaked under my shoes. It made the place even more out of time. One second I thought I heard children singing in the classroom. Then the cold wind brought me back to reality.
Thank you Peter! I think it’s amazing that you’ve been to Bodie State Park!! I love your memory of the place and almost hearing children singing at the school house.
Fabulous!!!! Bodie has been on my bucket list for years …. someday!
Thank you so much Denise! I hope you get that someday there! I know my bucket list for your area isn’t getting any shorter either.
Beautiful, Deborah. That red hue is intriguing. Thanks for the history lesson
Thank you so much John!
I know it was annoying (the red) at the time but it did add some texture.
Lovely shot, we call the constellation the ‘Plough’
You do? That’s a hoot! I thought it would be the same there as here as I’ve never seen an alternate name for it on my maps or star charts.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Brian!
What a wonderful opportunity to explore and take some very cool photos. I love that you were able to get the stars in. I can’t tell on this monitor if you got the whole constellation. I also don’t see any evidence of red, but…
I like the idea of adding the light. It really makes for a different feeling image. Do you carry lights with you?
Thanks for adding the history. I don’t know much about the west, and it’s fun to learn about these places and those crazy times.
It was neat at night. There were ghost tours available too, but at the time I had signed up they were all sold out. There were interior tours of the mill, the chapel, and other buildings.
I only had my flashlight, and head-lamp that night, but after that week-end I bought some tea lights so I would have some to have on hand.
I’m glad you enjoyed the history!
“Arrested decay” is a quaint way to put it.
Isn’t it! 😜 Thanks so much for the comment!