I wanted to write last week when I got back from Mt. Shasta, but life got in
the way, and I didn’t have the time. I’m kind of glad now, because I have two shoots to write about.
Mt. Shasta covered with snow was awesome the way it towers over the landscape, which seemingly comes into view from over 100 miles out. My dad, brother and I started out really early in the morning to get to Shasta, so we could spend some time there since daylight is still pretty short, and it takes about four hours to get there.
In trying to find a great picture of mountain, we somehow ended up in the town of McCloud, and while the Mt. Shasta was in the background, the town was home to many rail cars, some covered in snow, and it made a wonderful shoot.
What really amazed me about shooting Shasta was how far away from it we were, how high up it is, and yet, how much detail of the mountain I picked up with my camera. With it, I could even tell where it looked like a broken off snow ridge and an avalanche occurred. With the naked eye, you couldn’t see where it that easy. If you’re ever in the area in the winter time when the mountain is snowcapped, do yourself a photographic favor, and stop by. You can see the images of Mt. Shasta here, and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did making them.
Now, Clarksville, just outside of El Droado Hills, is a town of local historical significance, and it’s going to be torn down for development. In several ways, it reminded me of Bodie since it was deserted, but unlike Bodie, isn’t in a state of arrested decay, and the land is privately owned.
On the ground are the reminants of an old Wells Fargo Bank, an empty open space where a shcoolhouse once sat, and a few homes. The schoolhouse was moved up the hill a bit and turned into stables. Also, there are a few old homes that are falling apart and looking kind of like shanties that a peroson can picture in the deep South.
I was privledged to get to shoot one-time town of Clarksville and document what had been there because it isn’t open to public, and I will probalby be one of the last professional photographers to really photograph the place. As for the images of Clarksville I’ve published, you can see them here. With all but one, I gave them an old looking flavor to add to the time-period.
I was really proud to do the kind of work I did in Clarksville because I got to help preserve something for the historical record that will probably not be there in the next couple of years.
