This weeks photo is of the Cain House in the old gold mining town of  Bodie, California. If you are into ghost hunting, the Cain House is one of the better places to hang around in Bodie. It is said that the past maid killed herself in this house. This supposedly has something to do with some doings that Mr. Cain had going on behind the back of his dear wife. He was found out and this was no longer a happy home.

I think the thing that catches the eye of most people visiting Bodie and seeing this house is the great sun porch on the front of it. It would be a great place to warm up on a winters day when that storm cleared and the sun came out. On the other hand that may not work. I have been told that in some winters the snow drifts can get as high as 11 feet.

Bodie is a tough place to shoot. It is a California State Park and they are very strict on their hours. This means you don’t get in early or stay late to get great light. This image shows the harsh mid morning light that you are stuck with. Another thing to keep in mind is that shooting in the morning, if you are there at opening, throws the mine itself into some pretty deep shadows. The mine area is fenced off from the public other than the guided tours. I really think to avoid harsh sunlight you are almost better shooting the mine with a medium telephoto and a tripod. If you are lucky and have a partly cloudy day you may be able to take advantage of the changing lighting.

Speaking of weather and Bodie, it is one of those places you have to be prepared for. At about 8000 feet in elevation there are a few things to remember. If the sun is out, you will sunburn. The air is also thin at 8000 feet and you will feel it if you are on your feet and walking a lot. Mornings can be very chilly in the spring and fall. It can get pretty warm in the middle of the day in the summer.

Bodie is about 150 miles South of Reno off of US 395. I would really suggest spending a night at Lee Vining, California. Rooms are reasonable and you are close to Bodie and right at Mono Lake.

This image was really suffering from the late morning harsh sunlight problem you run into at Bodie. A cure for that which I think worked pretty well is the preset I used on it in Lightroom.  OnOne Perfect Presets has a free set of presets that you can download and install. It is very simple to install them. Just make sure you have Lightroom closed when you start the install.

In Volume 2 of the presets there is one called Antique 10. It is the one I used on this image after doing my lighting adjustments. I did end up going back into Elements that turning whites down some. I also bumped up the blacks just a touch to get into the shadows a little more. For an antique or “old” look I think the Number 10 is a great place to start. No preset you download or even those that come with Lightroom are not etched in stone. Make your virtual copy of the image, apply the preset and play with it until you have the look you want. Don’t forget that you can save your own presets after you tweak a canned one.

Image info for those that may care..

  • Camera: Canon 40D
  • Lens: Canon 24mm TS
  • Exposure: 1/60 Sec
  • F Stop: 7.1
  • ISO: 100
  • Flash: None
  • Tripod: Used

Happy developing,

Mike

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