Bodie

Photographer's Note

"Basically, ore extraction means digging. Digging for A LOT of solid rock out of mountains. The way to get that rock is by digging hallways to the rocks that have the most gold in them. Those hallways are called tunnels and mine shafts. Bodie has hundreds of miles of mine shafts. Some that connect to others, some are short, others are long, and some so deep they fill with water from the underground water table. Those shafts need to be pumped out so the miners can do their work.
When a suitable location is found for recovering gold-rich ore, a horizontal shaft is excavated, then a vertical shaft drilled. The ore is then cut out of the mountain by using large drills and black powder or dynamite, then hoisting those chunks of rock to the surface with ore carts and other bucket type rigs. As the ore is removed from the mountain, the tunnels and shafts an become unstable and cave-in, so they must be shored up to keep the men safe and the tunnels open."

----- reference: http://www.bodie.com

Noel_Byrne, delpeoples has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Noel_Byrne (8055) 2013-02-04 10:45

hi Ray,
A nice history of this dangerous work, something I would not fancy doing for a living. This is complimented perfectly by the cool shot of the cool little vehicle. I would imagine in its normal working place, nobody would notice the charm of this, and the rich textures of the iron, but placed here in the sun, it present a great photo opp. Excellent positioning wiht the background too, the buildings look as cool as seemingly all the buildings in this place.

All the best
Noel

delpeoples (45684) 2013-02-07 12:21

Gidday DiggerRay

Another characteristic shot of this historical area, one which is rich in tradition and is part of the folklore of Californication. I love the rust colours and the wonderful textures between wood and metal. You composed the shot superbly.

Nice one!
Lisa