1936 Coupe Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Bodie State Historic Park,
California

Scene
Bodie State Park is a ghost town – one of the best preserved in the country. Bodie in it’s heyday, 1880’s, boasted a population of over 10,000 people. From about 1900 Bodie began its decline both from the mines playing out and the loss of population. By 1959 there was only one or two residents left in the town. The State of California took over Bodie and in 1962 it was designated a state historic park and is now maintained is a state of “arrested decay.” Meaning the state maintains the buildings in their original condition and does enough maintenance to keep them safe for the visitors and to keep them standing. If they can not do the minimum the building is left to nature. Here is one of the abandoned pieces of machinery around the park. I believe this is a 1936 sedan. If you look in the WS you will see another view of this vehicle.

Background
I was on a week long get-away trip to the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Bodie has always remained a fascination of mine since I first saw over 30 years ago. Little has changed in that time but it is always enjoyable to make the trip and try to find something new. The last time I was here was in 2007 with a TE group and this time I did find something I missed the last time; namely, this automobile and the cemetery. I played with different lenses and compositions this time and with this scene I used my super wide angle to exaggerate the object and in the WS I exaggerated the sky.

yquem46, lucasgalodoido, Urs, dareco, HimalAnda, feather, gervaso, jhm, ktanska, plimrn, Wandering_Dan, CLODO, PaulVDV has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (37342) 2009-08-20 13:55

Hello John,
Very good pov !
Wonderfull compo with many nice details. Perfect layout and nice effect.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

devimeuxbe (56406) 2009-08-20 13:57

Hi John
i like a lot this beautifull composition with a good cropping and a very nice old style
well done
Bertrand

yquem46 (8475) 2009-08-20 14:00

hi John
Bodie, a place that I always missed even though I toured your country many times
using this old car as the FG is an excellent idea
Everything looks abandonned and even without knowing Bodie everybody immediately guess that this was shot in a ghost city
very well done
cheers
patrick

lucasgalodoido (16851) 2009-08-20 14:45

Olá John,
interesting picture of this old sedan, and I like of the picture colors and quality of your capture. Great job.
Regards,
Lucas

maria (2836) 2009-08-20 14:46

Hi John,
Tired I was of seeing this car turned into sepia or B&W as to increase the neglected atmosphere of the area.
Your POV is also different which I enjoy very much.
Well managed light too.
Regards,
Maria

JudyR (903) 2009-08-20 15:28

Hi John -- You are so right, little has changed since I first saw Bodie in the 40's. I remembered this car and recognized it right on in this superb portrait. Bodie: you've captured the essence of progress come to a halt, resurrected, and then back to a halt. Nicely done. Thanks, Judy

Urs (3318) 2009-08-20 18:14

Hi John

The Coupe looks at today's world, as it comes from a decade where cars were still cars and humans were humans. It was a time when you did not need to have the latest gadgets, where you were happy with what you had. It's also a symbol for the U.S. automotive industry, in particular the former big 3, to be humble and willing to learn lessons. In plain English I like your picture a lot. It's well composed and executed with great sharpness, fine colors and perfect DOF due to the car and the house in the background. Well done

Best regards
Urs

gneufeld (15237) 2009-08-20 18:21

Hi John,
An interesting perspective, maybe a bit too straight on for my liking, but he vertical presentation helps. Hey, Bodie is definitely on my wish list for a future visit - you're lucky you could make it and take this shot. Great work and TFS. Gerald

dareco (17104) 2009-08-20 19:51

I love this, excellent composition, colors, detail, everything! Nice pp work. TFS

HimalAnda (1072) 2009-08-20 22:27

Hello John,

This is a beautiful picture, a picture of America as we can imagine it. Perfect composition with this dead car, then the wood house and a nice sky...

Stephane

wolf38 (13087) 2009-08-20 22:42

Hello John. A wonderful motive. With your skillful photo you set a monument for this car. Very beautifully. regards, Wolfgang.

Waylim (11163) 2009-08-21 0:03

Hi John,
Any closer it would be head on collusion here with this rusty mobile. I was here may be 6 or 7 years ago when I was still using film camera. I got some nice shot but not the same after scanning it. I do like this head to head POV. It look like a creature with the two headlights as its eyes, big chubby cheeks and big buck teeth chomping on the grass. Look like you got very strong light but you managed well to get good details and colors. The sky is always fantastically clear here, so blue and with some soft white cloud to add a little contrast is just perfect.
Thanks and have great weekend. Enjoy the remaining days of summer.
Way

feather (50230) 2009-08-21 4:16

The previous posts I have seen of this car have been B&W and from a different angle. The front-on composition is less obvious and as you are tall it seems like a high POV, which works well. I like how it is buried in the grass and the buildings in the background left there for context. I guess getting down low would have eliminated the buildings behind the car. Nice work John.
Kath

LOOOK13 (3377) 2009-08-21 15:25

Salut.Grande photo.Ca me donne envie de faire un peu de mécanique...Belles couleurs et super cadrage, on dirait que le véhicule porte des moustaches.Bravo.

gunbud (28181) 2009-08-21 18:36

Hi John,
Love how this old hulk of a roadster with no hit of what its colors was (probably black) and how it stands out in the high desert grass with a stunning ghost town and blue sky backdrop.
The tightly cropped vertical treatment works very well here.
Regards, Tom

baba_flies (8133) 2009-08-22 3:34

Hello John! Incredible to read your note and how many people came to find a new life, to find their luck in the mines. Imagine if you were the two remaining people, what a strange life this must have been. Great photo of the car - or what is left of it - with the grass slowly growing around. Good to keep the whole area in tact but not too much to keep some of the "old days" feeling for us. Excellent presentation! Have a great weekend, Barbara.

gervaso (5710) 2009-08-22 12:22

Hello, John!

The old car itself is already a great subject to your picture, and the POV and environment around make it even more interesting! The sky is wonderful! Good job!

jhm (83446) 2009-08-23 4:55

Hello John,

This shall be very difficult for restauration these old bolide.
Sharpness and clarity are wonderful.
I think that the background is a ruin.
Composition and presentation are superb. TFS.

Have a nice sunday,
John.

guillaumejm (32) 2009-08-23 10:22

hello john,
a very nice composition. I like these diominante colours green & brown. Great perspective too.
Best regards
JMarc

ktanska (16695) 2009-08-25 2:18

Hi John,
I knew I had seen this car before. Funny how some elements become familiar over time spent in TE. And such give ideas of places I want to visit some day.
Quite stylish symmetric view. Rust and grass tones go well together.
Kari

plimrn (19754) 2009-08-25 16:44

Hi John,
I like the way the wide angle emphasized the curves. I also like the way you framed against the old house and sky with the fg grass contrasting well against the warm, rusty tones.

I thought it was a Plymouth, but Larry convinced me that it was a chev.

No worries about the smiles, I wouldn't even have noticed if you hadn't said something.
HLJ, Pat

Wandering_Dan (3299) 2009-08-29 20:21

Hi, John -

Bodie is a place of endless surprises and opportunities! I have to admit that when I saw this in thumbnail, my first thought was that it looked like a lobster. Great positioning of the elements, but I have to say the image looks a little washed out. So I hope you don't mind - I did a small WS using Curves.

Best,
Dan

[workshop] [compare] +

batalay (21223) 2009-08-31 20:21

Hello John,

I like the bucolic scene you've captured in this image. The wide angle lens magnifies the length of the car, and the symmetry embodied in the perspective is nicely broken up by the shack in the back.

Warm regards,

Bulent

CLODO (4643) 2009-09-01 6:35

Hi John
you've had the right POV and lens to take this old abandonned car. The background helps understand the picture.
Well done
CLODO

PaulVDV (5395) 2009-09-27 13:28

Hello John,
Great presentation of this ghost town with the car on the foreground slowly overgrown by the grass. I also like the composition of the picture very much.
Best regards, Paul

john1 (2437) 2009-10-20 12:03

Hi John,

Very beautiful composition, I had once seen a single composition or as NED ENGINE his name made me laugh
Thank you for sharing.
Actually we still find your compositions.
Good evening.
john