We made our first trip to the ghost town of Bodie, California in 1998. During the following years we have returned numerous times to photograph in this icon of the gold rush. I have well over 100 negatives from this place, some early 4×5 and later 8×10. My catalog database shows I have printed 56 photographs of Bodie. There is something about being there that just can’t be explained. Our first few trips I shot only 4×5 film, but soon I was able to pack an 8×10 and this opened up a whole new world of expression for me.
With an 8×10 camera I was able to capture what I felt was some of my best images of Bodie, though I have several enlarged photos from 4×5 film that I like also. As 8×10 became my every day format, I began to experiment with pyro staining film developers. Some of my first serious field test with pyro developers were done in Bodie. Susan and I worked out a method enabling us to shoot through windows. We learned to expose film inside buildings under difficult and extreme lighting conditions. Bodie yielded a wealth of images and refined shooting techniques for both of us.
Bodie is just like any other place we have worked. It requires you go back over and over. Things you see one trip may only register subconsciously at the time. It may take numerous trips, and attempts, to materialize into something that satisfies the artistic vision.
I had looked at the bed frame in the window of the Kirkwood House numerous times, but mostly from the east facing window, which is opposite the window I eventually photographed which faces west. The west window sits in a deep ‘U’ formed by the way the house is constructed. The west facing window, in the ‘U’ of the house, always posed a problem with the angle and lighting. This day the sun was reflecting between the two walls in the ‘U’ which made the rusty metal glow. This side of the house faces north and the light is always very quiet and subdued. I knew I had to attempt making this image no matter how difficult it may be.
This was a frustrating and difficult image to frame, even with a view camera. I had to get the camera up high enough to look in the window and frame the bed post just below the center of the window pane. The camera was so high that I could barely see the top of the ground glass, but I finally wrestled everything into place. Seems like it took forever to get the framing just as I wanted it. Luckily the light was steady and unchanging while I worked.
I carefully metered, then immortalized my view on an 8×10 sheet of Tri-X film with a one second exposure. The film was developed in PyroCat HD, some of my early experiments with pyro, which yielded a negative that was stunning to look upon. Well worth the effort and numerous trips to Bodie.
JB
I had looked at the bed frame in the window of the Kirkwood House numerous times, but mostly from the east facing window, which is opposite the window I eventually photographed which faces west. The west window sits in a deep ‘U’ formed by the way the house is constructed. The west facing window, in the ‘U’ of the house, always posed a problem with the angle and lighting. This day the sun was reflecting between the two walls in the ‘U’ which made the rusty metal glow. This side of the house faces north and the light is always very quiet and subdued. I knew I had to attempt making this image no matter how difficult it may be.