DSLR Photography Forum

On our honeymoon, Jen and I visted Bannack, a ghost town in southwestern Montana, on the Beavherhead River. Bannack was founded in 1862, and was the site of Montana's first major gold discovery. At it's peak, Bannack had 3000 residents, and was the capital of Montana Territory. The last residents left only in the 1970s.

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Great Images, reminds me somewhat of Bodie in California.

It is great that you have bigger pictures.

To be a ghost town it looks very clean, I was expecting to see a dirty place. It looks like an open air museum, or a stage for western movies. How far is it from the closest City or town? How did you go there? Is it promoted as tourist attraction?

About your pictures there are many I like very much. I think you did a great job with bw conversion, btw. Are you working with photomatix for your HDR effect?

Yeah, it's a State Park, maintained by the Montana State Government. Nearest town is Dillon, Montana, which is no more than an hour away. You can get there by car, just along some back roads.

Same for Bodie in Cali, miles from any decent sized town, at 8000-9000 feet so gets LOTS of snow in winter. Was last inhabited in the 60's.

The photo with a jet contrail?
Doesn't belong.

Can't compliment you enough on the rest of them.
A delightful location well captured.

Thanks Keith.

I agree the jet-contrail photo is a bit random; I just included it because it was taken at Bannack. Anyway, do you think I should clone out the contrail?

Hey Cam, I just love these; I'm really impressed at your, eye, control, pp and just about everything you've submitted of late.
Your missis must be missing you...get off the pc now that man!

Don't wanna steal Keith's thunder here..but you could always try a blue grad in pp, or a layering of a grey and a blue?

Great images, all of them! It reminds me of a pioneer village/museum. I am particularly intrigued with the b&w interior shots. I love these kinds of places.

Regards.....Dennis

enviroguy Wrote:I am particularly intrigued with the b&w interior shots. I love these kinds of places.

Regards.....Dennis

Me too. I love all of these, especially the B&W ones. I could have a field day at a place like this. There's an old ghost town a few hours from where I live over in Arkansas, but you can't go in any of the buildings...can't even get very close to them really. It's nice that you were able to go in these.

Zig Wrote:Don't wanna steal Keith's thunder here..but you could always try a blue grad in pp, or a layering of a grey and a blue?

I don't quite understand what you mean?

Well, if you used a gradient filter going from transparent to blue, you could drag this down from the top of the image to just below the horizon: it might be enough to get rid of the plane trail. At least, this is how it is in CS; unsure how to do it in other software.

Ah I see what you mean. Wouldn't that also get rid of the clouds, though?

Just toss it.
Anything you have to process that much, including cloning, isn't worth it.

I like how indoors/outdoors, color/B&W, HDR, nothing suffered or was weak--a solid set that showed great care and skill and an intelligent approach as far as choosing the right way to capture/process each subject.

Actually, I'd say anything that works so well, deserves working with. It's not like we're rescuing and wrestling with emulsion after all. The processing is a creative tool every bit as much as using the camera. Yes, the clouds would go; if it still works and is improved /changed into something even better, then fine. If not, then I'd go to Keith's suggestion of consignment to the "round file".

Tada!!!

sounds like a great trip, and truely awsome pictures there! I think you worked the hdr really well, the effects emphasize the spookiness.

Uli

Well done RP.
Clouds are fairly easy to doctor. It is only white after all. I have sprayed clouds on to a blue grad, with the airbrush before today and no one has complained.
Also a great set.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Bannack was truly an awesome place. Jen and I had planned to spend about an hour there, but ended up spending almost 4. It was so weird walking around the empty buildings and thinking that it was once a busy town.