Tag Archives: ruins

Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range

Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range
Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range

Abandoned Mining Cabin Ruins, Panamint Range. Death Valley National Park, California. March 29, 2011. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of the ruins of an abandoned mining cabin high in the Panamint Mountain Range of Death Valley National Park.

There are a number of things that make Death Valley National Park, to the best of my knowledge, rather unique. One is the extensive history of human habitation inside the park boundaries, quite a bit of which is visible –  though some takes a bit more effort and attention to spot. The history of mining in the park is well-known, and many of the icons of the park have connections to this history. If you visit Furnace Creek, for example, you cannot miss the displays of old wagons and so forth used to move ore out of the Valley. It doesn’t take a lot of careful study to figure out that many park roads originated in an era of prospecting and mining. There are several well-known examples of structures left over from that era in and around the park, too.

It is largely because of this history that many areas of this national park are (or have been – some are now reverting to wilderness status) accessible by gravel road or four-wheel-drive routes. I would argue that you can’t really get to know this park if you just stick to the paved roads and the points of interest that they access. If you drive any of these other routes and keep your eyes open you will often be surprised by the left overs from relatively recent mining and prospecting, much of which isn’t really written about or described in the usual guides to the park. (And I’m not going to offer specific details about where to find such places here, since I don’t want to be even a little bit responsible for damage to them. If you do visit, treat them with care and respect.)

As I drove along a gravel road in one of the many mountain ranges of the park, returning from a site that is somewhat well-known, I began to notice evidence of fairly recent mining and prospecting. Faint tracks depart from the main “road” and cross valleys and hills, here and there tailing piles and mine entrances are visible, and sometimes you come across old structures such as cabins, storage bunkers, or wooden towers above mine entrances. I spotted the ruins of this old cabin above the road at one point and decided to walk up and investigate.

I’m almost always surprised at how “modern” many of the traces found at these places seem to be. I guess I am expecting something from the 1800s, but quite a few of these places look like they were build and occupied much later than that. I find modern things like linoleum flooring or modern-looking nails or electrical wire in many of them. There obviously isn’t much left of this cabin now, but from the detritus lying around near it and the form and materials found here, it must have been a reasonably comfortable place to live. As I walk around such places I often try to imagine what it must have been like to wake up every morning in this silent desert and head out for another day of physical labor.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Rhyolite Bank Ruins, Full Moon Light

Rhyolite Bank Ruins, Full Moon Light
Rhyolite Bank Ruins, Full Moon Light

Rhyolite Bank Ruins, Full Moon Light. Rhyolite, Nevada. March 27, 2010.© Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The light of the rising full moon illuminates the ruins of the old bank building against a star-filled sky in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada.

I have photographed the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada on several occasions in the past, but always in the very early morning. (I have a habit of hitting Rhyolite before dawn, shooting as long as the light allows, visiting Beatty for cheap gas and breakfast, then heading back to Death Valley via Titus Canyon.) I have wanted to try photographing the location both at sunset and under a full moon, and the timing for both worked out on my late March visit to Death Valley National Park. Late on my second afternoon I headed east out of the Valley and over the pass and arrived at Rhyolite before sunset.

I spent some time wandering around the familiar locations in the unfamiliar late-day light. In the end, my suspicion that Rhyolite is more of an early morning location than an evening location seemed to be confirmed. At this time of year the sun sets a bit too far to the “right” as you look west, and the the light is blocked by a low hill at just the time it would otherwise become interesting. I did make some photographs of the ruins of the ghost town in the fading light… then I settled in to make a few night photographs of the tall bank building ruins.

I’m thinking of this as sort of a practice run for a return visit for more Rhyolite night photography. I think that the full moon timing has potential, but I want to try again and think more about the placement of the structures relative to the North Star. One more thing… when I arrived there was essentially no one else there. Soon a couple other photographers showed up, but the place was still relatively deserted. Then, after dark, I was surprised when a number of cars showed up. There was apparently some sort of night photography workshop visiting the place – perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that they acted like they owned the place and that the rest of us didn’t matter. Most night photographers would know better than to drive into a shooting location with headlights blazing, and they might ask photographers who were already there if their light painting would interfere with shots underway. Just sayin’…

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Technical Data:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM at 22mm
ISO 200, f/11, 432 seconds

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Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog

Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog
Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog

Cliff House, Pacific Winter Surf and Fog. San Francisco, California. January 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of Pacific Ocean fog and winter surf beating against shoreline below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

There is an overlook just north of the ruins of the Sutro Baths that provides a clear view of the historic (and iconic) Cliff House Restaurant atop the cliffs near Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California. On a day like this one, the surf from winter Pacific Ocean storms pounds the base of the cliffs. At the lower left a bit of the old ruins of the Sutro Baths can be seen – it is hard to imagine how anyone constructed the walls and platforms and then the buildings of this facility.

(I posted a possibly more dramatic vertical format version of this scene a few days ago.)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths

Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths
Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths

Visitors to the Ruins of the Sutro Baths. San Francisco, California. January 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photographs of visitors to the ruins of the Sutro Baths below the Cliff House, San Francisco, California.

I have known of the Sutro Baths ruins for a long time – since I was a child, really – and I’ve seen them before from the top of the bluff near the iconic Cliff House Restaurant at the north end of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. But this was my first visit to the actual site. The story is that this is the site of what was once a large privately-operated pool and bath complex that sat right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Decades ago it was being demolished (or so I understand) when there was a fire that destroyed the buildings and left only the foundations and what appear to be the outlines of old pools. To me the site feels like visiting some very ancient ruins.

On the day we visited the surf was fairly large. While I’m sure it gets even larger in the middle of a bit Pacific winter storm, it was impressive nonetheless, especially since the site of the baths is right on the edge of the ocean. The light was wonderful. Even though it was essentially midday when we visited, the light was softened and diffused by a combination of clouds and the thick mist created by the spray from the waves. Although I had a tripod with me, I had left it in the car – so this is a hand held photograph. I think that actually turned out to my benefit, since without the tripod I could shoot more spontaneously. I had been watching and thinking about this particular spot and a composition that included the lines and shadows and angles of these walls with the Cliff House beyond. But all of a sudden I saw the people in the scene move into positions that I thought were interesting and I had to react quickly.

I’m not sure how well this photograph will work for most viewers, but at the moment it is one of my favorite recent images. Especially in the 13″ x 19″ test print I made this evening, there is – to me at least – a ton of interesting stuff going on in the scene. (Unfortunately, some of that detail may well be lost in this small jpg version.)

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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