Bodie, California, is located in the dry sagebrush country in view of the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, not too far from Mono Lake. In July 1859, William S. Bodey discovered gold in what was to be called Taylor Gulch, a place named after his friend, Black Taylor. The winter of 1859 was quite severe, and William Bodey became separated from his friend while out trying to get food during a blizzard. Taylor didn’t find the remains of his friend until much later. He tried to continue to work the claim alone for a while but finally gave up and settled at nearby Benton Hot Springs, where one night, alone in his cabin, he was killed by hostile Piutes who frequented the thermal waters.
Miners drifted in and out of the area of Bodey’s discovery. But more stayed then left. By 1879, with ten thousand people living and working in Taylor’s gulch, the memory of William Bodey was revived, albeit with a new spelling.
By late 1881 the town, boasting two newspapers, showed the first signs of decline. And then in July 1892, the downtown area was destroyed by fire. Despite a full reservoir, the fire hydrant failed to work! When the town rebuilt, it was quite a bit smaller. Testifying to Bodie’s economic success in these years is the fact that in 1893 Bodie was the first mining town to have electricity. In 1895, the discovery of the cyanide process provided much needed economic help. But then fire struck again in 1899 and consumed one of the major stamp mills. It, too, was rebuilt. On June 23, 1932, main-street Bodie was again hit by fire, this one more wide-spread than the one of 1892. Mining operations were closed during World War II and were reopened in 1946 only to be closed when the Klipstein-Rosencrans mill burned to the ground a few months after it was opened. With the mines shut down, Bodie quickly turned into a ghost town. Today, it is protected by the State of California as an Historic State Park and maintained in a state of "arrested decay."
Photo Tips: Bodie rests at an elevation of 8,375 feet. The air is extremely dry and does not hold heat, so that even in summer when the days are hot, nights can drop to freezing. Winters are particularly cold and severe and can easily be deadly for those who are ill-prepared. With an almost constant wind, dust is a constant problem for photographers. And at 8,300 feet, the color photographer must use a 81A or 81B filter to adjust for the excess of ultraviolet (blue) light. The color temperature of Bodie light is 6,500 degrees Kelvin, compared to standard color film which is balanced to 5,200-5,500 degrees Kelvin. Since blue absorbs light, if you don’t compensate, not only will your photos will be bluish, the contrast is increased so that 4 to 5½ stop differences are not uncommon. Plan your shots well. An excellent guide to photographing Bodie by Thomas I. Morse with Linda Joseph is available at Global Preservation Projects (805) 682-3398 and includes numerous practical and technical suggestions, including a calendar of color temperatures for the year.
