I heard about Shaniko Ghost Town years ago but never made the three hour trip out there until Sunday. Taking a much needed break away from the office I decided it was time to go see what Shaniko was all about. I traveled east of Portland on I-84 through the Columbia Gorge to just past The Dalles and then turned south on highway 97 winding through rural Oregon with it’s farmland and little towns that time seems to have forgotten. The weather prediction was for partly cloudy which is exactly what I was hoping for and exactly what I got. With old barns, rural America and B&W on my mind I set off to explore new territory. And I was not disappointed as I found a wonderful old homestead with dramatic clouds in the sky; a perfect candidate for my first B&W of the day…
I worked the homestead from a few angles, working with the shadow and light, finding lead in lines to draw the viewer’s eye to the barn, knowing that I was working towards a nostalgic look in the final image.
The more I worked the scene the more images I found as if the old homestead knew I was a friend and began to reveal itself to me inspiring this five shot pano which I finished using NIK Silver Efex Pro to pay tribute to the spirits of those who had toiled on this land generations ago.
Finally continuing on to Shaniko I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in the actual Ghost Town as it is more of a tourist spot than ghost town but, not one to throw in the towel, I did some exploring and was rewarded with the old Shaniko Fire Truck. I have a favorite NIK filter set that I knew was going to be perfect for finishing the fire truck.
The day was just the creative shot in the arm that I needed to get back to work preparing for the final blitz of workshops and safaris of the year.
Images captured with Nikon D300s, AF-S 18-200mm VR II on Lexar Digital Media.
