Inside Bodie

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Stephen Fischer Photography

As a member of the Viewpoint photographic gallery, I had the pleasure of being able to get access and photograph the interior of select buildings inside Bodie Historic State Park of California. Our gallery was able to make special arrangements based on a group fee, our insurance, and our professional commitment in maintaining the delicate settings of this park. From what I understand from the docents, this has only been permitted three times this year.

For the photographic shoot, we met outside the park about 30 minutes before sunrise in a chilly 15 degree (F) morning. We got briefed on the rules about not touching or disturbing any objects, including even putting a lens cap down on the table (which they admonished a previous visitor due to the ring pattern left behind in the dust). We were also warned of the possibility of the hanta virus and to avoid kneeling on the floor such that some of animal feces would get picked up on our clothing. After this briefing we were escorted by a docent and state park employee a few photographers at time into any building of our choosing. We were even allowed the use of tripods, as long as the legs did not touch anything but the floor. This helped immensely as some of the rooms were very dark or had extreme lighting differentials that required the use of bracketing to get the proper exposures.

I was able to then proceed through about eight buildings from about sunrise until noon. For each building I had about 10 to 15 minutes in each, to allow time and a turn for other photographers of our small group as well. In between buildings while allowing others to have their turn, the early morning light also provided an opportunity to also do a little more exterior shots before the tourists arrived at the official parking opening time of 9 AM.

A more detailed map of the buildings at Bodie can be found at the California State Parks Bodie website here.

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