photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty One: Ruins and wrecks: photographing the rusted, busted past > Dusk, Bodie Historical Park, California, 2006
previous | next
21-OCT-2006

Dusk, Bodie Historical Park, California, 2006

The hills just to the west of this old ghost town turn gold at sunset. These golden hills are in the western facing windows of buildings such as this one, providing a set of hauntingly illuminated rooms in empty houses. I include the two privies in the foreground of this house to add a sense of depth, as well as making the point that many of Bodie’s residents did without plumbing.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
1/60s f/3.6 at 61.9mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
share
Phil Douglis26-May-2008 16:58
Thanks, Michael. Beauty comes in all forms. In his case, the beauty is in the light, the textures, and the mood of the image.
Michal Leszczynski25-May-2008 20:11
Beautiful photo. V.
Phil Douglis24-Oct-2007 19:46
Thanks, Zyzia. The sun does bring the windows to life. They look as if the light is coming from within -- representing a gathering, perhaps, of the ghosts of people who lived to live in this house. And that is what I was trying to express here: a haunted house full of ghosts in this remote ghost town.
zyziza24-Oct-2007 14:57
windows looks like alive, with peoples there, v
Phil Douglis24-Jan-2007 05:29
Thanks for the memories, Iris. This was one of the most expressive sunset images I've made to date. We don't see the sun itself, but rather the effect of the sun on a long abandoned home, and that, as you say, illuminates the essense of the plase -- its ghosts.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)24-Jan-2007 01:11
What wonderful fun we had shooting this unique sunset! For me, that wonderful glow in the windows reflects the lights of history. The rooms may be empty, but they are full of the spirit of the people who lived here and the many tales of Bodie that have survived the emptiness.
Phil Douglis06-Nov-2006 19:12
Thanks, Jenene and Ai Li, for seeing the vitality that the reflected light brings to these windows. It may be a dead town, but the orange glow of the setting sun energizes the scene, and the dual outhouses bring us back to the fact that life, even in its most basic forms, once flourished here.
AL06-Nov-2006 10:41
They looked alive indeed! And the house were not in poor condition at all. I still can't believe it's a dead town. I'm just as amazed as Jenene.
JSWaters31-Oct-2006 17:40
How better to suggest the presence of long lost spirits in this place than to have the windows glow with golden light? Amazing.
Jenene
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment