Something a little different for me:
Structures in Bodie, California
2011 © Suzanne Révy
We spent an afternoon last summer in the old mining ghost town of Bodie, California in the eastern Sierra Nevada. It's a striking place to visit, and though there were a lot of tourists, the town feels very authentic. It's described as being in a state of "arrested decay", meaning, I guess, that they won't let it decay any further, but neither will they renovate it... and presumably people it with actors wearing period dress like so many historic sites here in New England. It offers a glimpse into the remote and rough life of those folks looking to strike it rich in the California's gold rush of the 19th century, while leaving a lot to your imagination.
Most of the buildings are closed, and we could only peer in through the windows; I liked that, a lot:
Windows of Bodie
2011 © Suzanne Révy
It was a hot afternoon, we picnicked there, we walked, but the air and light inside the barns, and on the north side of the buildings was refreshing.
Wagon Wheel
2011 © Suzanne Révy
It was a great afternoon...
Today, of course, Bodie is something of a
mecca for photographers, especially those enamored of what I think of as the "California School", gorgeous black and white landscapes, still life, abstract studies of weathered textured wood. You know... Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Minor White. It's difficult to make a bad picture here, but it's even more difficult to make pictures that
aren't clichés (see all of the above). I figure, the only way to make pictures here
that really seem unique- to find your own voice in such a well and frequently photographed place would require some serious time and
commitment, neither of which I have for Bodie.
There is something to be said, however, for "sketching" in such a place. I understand why this place attracts photographers. I found myself loving the textures, the light, the spaces, the windows. All things we've seen photographed over and over, but sometimes it's good to embrace it, go toward it... make a few cliché pictures for their own sake. A word of caution: don't make a habit of it, as the Online Photographer so eloquently and articulately explained yesterday, here.
There is something to be said, however, for "sketching" in such a place. I understand why this place attracts photographers. I found myself loving the textures, the light, the spaces, the windows. All things we've seen photographed over and over, but sometimes it's good to embrace it, go toward it... make a few cliché pictures for their own sake. A word of caution: don't make a habit of it, as the Online Photographer so eloquently and articulately explained yesterday, here.
2 comments:
As you probably know, a lot of my work has been in the far west, especially NM, CO, AZ, NV, TX, and, of course, CA (but not coastal CA). Those of us who hunt photographically in those regions are known as "desert rats." I think my mentor, Oliver Gagliani talking about why this fascination with what once was, said it best: "It's as if I lived a former life there." We are bombarded with so much movie making about how it was "then - in those days" makes a place like Bodie (I never made it to Bodie) even more interesting because it is "like it was." We can't worry about what others have done photographically before us, if we do, we'll never make another image. Minor White said it best, and I'm paraphrasing here: it doesn't matter if it's been photographed before, it only matters where your heart is when you make your image.
Well said, Frank.
And I love the sentiment your mentor talks about... and indeed, the past feels palpable in a place like Bodie, you could feel it; I was moved to make pictures, despite all that have photographed before me. The cliché may not be a bad place to start looking at a subject like this, but, as I mentioned... I'd want to give it serious time and commitment. (Not just an afternoon with the family along!)
I have no doubt- no doubt- that there are unique and personal pictures to be made here. If I ever move back to my native state of California, I just might...
Thanks for your great comment.
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