Sunday 13 July 2014, continued:
Still visiting Randy Johnston's Hard Luck Castle, looking at photos of the castle's construction. And, of course, Pee-Wee Herman.

As described on Randy's Hard Luck Castle website:
The Hard Luck Mine operated from 1897 to around World War II. Gold claims dating back to 1897 signed by President William McKinley, included the Emerson and Hard Luck Lodes, the two twenty-acre patent claims that comprise the Hard Luck Mine. After the war, the mine never reopened. The 40 acres that comprise the Hard Luck Mine and its neighboring Emerson claim were purchased by the current owner Randy Johnston in 1998, and by the year 2000 Randy Johnston began building the Hard Luck Castle.

The four-story, 8,000 square foot fortress has 16-inch walls and was built with 24,000 bricks, over 1000 yards of concrete, and more than seven tons of rebar. The mostly circular citadel is entirely powered by wind and solar, with redundant back-up generators. The estate has a theater and casino game room, auto and wood shops, four bedrooms and three full baths, two kitchens, and a great room with two working pipe organs. Mr. Johnston offers guided tours of the castle and shares his thoughts and dreams of building in the desert.

This remote property is surrounded by thousands of acres of BLM land. Remote, desolate, secluded, private - all describe the Hard Luck Mine Castle. Nearly thirteen years of construction have gone into the building of this Gothic style Castle. With the help of friends, Mr. Johnstons has created a Castle that mirrors that of Death Valley Scotty's Castle (20 miles away). The Castle foundation is 50 feet in diameter and consists of 65 yards of special concrete and the footings are on solid rock - this fortress is not going anywhere soon. There are about 24,000 concrete blocks in the 16 inch thick walls.

The Hard Luck Mine is a unique property that can provide for an escape, retreat, or remote compound for any individual or group desiring the ultimate in remote privacy and looking to disappear from society. Very little mining has been done since the beginning of WWII, but the potential is there. The existing vertical mine shaft descends approximately 160 ft. and there is also a horizontal shaft useful as a tightly secured storage area. The compound is completely self contained, off the grid, and can be separated from the rest of world. Water is trucked in from a nearby spring and stored in a 4,000 gallon underground storage tank providing gravity-fed water. Electricity is provided by Solar and Wind power with 3 types of backup generators - gasoline, LP gas, and diesel. There is no lack in amenities here.

Sunday night came. I left to take more photos, this time of the headframes.

One of the headframes in Gold Point ghost town, a former mining town in Nevada. This one is located very close to the saloon.

Title: Orlean Headframe (3448)
Photo: Ken Lee Photography
Info: Nikon D610, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens at 14mm, 135 seconds, f/8, ISO 200. 2014-07-13 21:10. I used an LED flashlight  to light paint.
Location: Gold Point, NV, USA
~~
Uno de los castilletes de la ciudad fantasma Gold Point, un antiguo pueblo minero en Nevada. Éste está situado muy cerca de la berlina. 

Título: Orlean Headframe (3448) 
Foto: Ken Lee Photography 
Info:. Nikon D610, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED en 14mm, 135 segundos, f/8, ISO 200 13/07/2014 21:10. Utilicé una linterna LED de pintura de luz. 
Lugar: Gold Point, NV, EE.UU.

#night   #nikon  #kenlee  #goldpoint  #lightpainting  #nightskyphotography  #desert  #nevada  #ghosttown  #miningtown  #headframe

Old ghost towns, those abandoned mining towns of yesteryear, are especially fantastic during nightfall. The imagination runs wild, and spirits awake. I illuminated this old headframe during this 169 second long exposure during that time when the sun has long since set, but the sky still retains the last hint of light before falling completely black. As usual, more information can be found by clicking on the photo and looking at the caption. Thank you!

One of the headframes in Gold Point ghost town, a former mining town in Nevada. This one is located very close to the saloon. This is a long exposure photo taken at night. You can see the movement of the stars in this long exposure photo of 169 seconds.

Title: Orlean Headframe (3449)
Photo: Ken Lee Photography
Info: Nikon D610, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens at 14mm, 169 seconds, f/8, ISO 200. 2014-07-13 21:14. I used an LED flashlight  to light paint.
Location: Gold Point, NV, USA
~~
Uno de los castilletes de la ciudad fantasma Gold Point, un antiguo pueblo minero en Nevada. Éste está situado muy cerca de la berlina. Esta es una foto de larga exposición tomada en la noche. Usted puede ver el movimiento de las estrellas en esta larga exposición foto de 169 segundos.

Título: Orlean Headframe (3449) 
Foto: Ken Lee Photography 
Info:. Nikon D610, AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED en 14mm, 169 segundos, f/8, ISO 200 13/07/2014 21:14. Utilicé una linterna LED de pintura de luz. 
Lugar: Gold Point, NV, EE.UU.

#night   #nikon  #kenlee  #goldpoint  #lightpainting  #nightskyphotography  #desert  #nevada  #ghosttown  #miningtown  #headframe   #longexposure   #stars   #pueblodefantasma   #pinturadeluz   #fotografianocturna

The hangman's noose, swaying gently in the breeze.

Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
I think I see my friends coming, Riding many a mile.
Friends, did you get some silver?
Did you get a little gold?
What did you bring me, my dear friends, To keep me from the Gallows Pole?
What did you bring me to keep me from the Gallows Pole?

A star trails photo, showing the celestial movements of the stars in the night sky above a hangman's noose in Gold Point ghost town, located a day's horse ride from the middle of nowhere. The sky was rather cloudy, so you can see some breaks in the star trails, particularly at the lower right of the image, where it was even cloudier. You can see the the blurred movement from the noose softly swaying in the evening breeze on this hot summer night. The photo is facing almost north, and you can see the stars circling around Polaris, which is located just out of frame on the right hand side.

Title: Hangman's Noose Star Trails (8346)
Photo: Ken Lee Photography
Info: Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm lens, Triggertrap. I stacked 36 photos in StarStax to create this image. Each individual image was 3 minutes, f/8, ISO 200. The total exposure was 108 minutes. Begun 2014-07-12 21:59. I used an LED flashlight for light painting. CS4 for everything else.
Location: Gold Point ghost town, NV, USA

Estelas de estrellas de la foto, que muestra los movimientos celestiales de las estrellas en el cielo nocturno en pueblo fantasma Gold Point en Nevada, ubicado cabalgata de un día desde el medio de la nada.

Título: Hangman's Noose Star Trails (8346)
Foto: Ken Lee Fotografía 
Info: Nikon D7000, lente Tokina 11-16mm, Triggertrap. Apilé 36 fotos en StarStax para crear esta imagen. Cada imagen individual fue de 3 minutos, f/8, ISO 200. La exposición total fue de 108 minutos. Comenzado 07/12/2014 21:59. Utilicé una linterna LED para la luz la pintura. 
Ubicación: Gold Point (un pueblo fantasma), Nevada, EE.UU.

#night   #nikon  #kenlee  #goldpoint  #lightpainting  #nightskyphotography  #desert  #nevada  #ghosttown  #miningtown  #headframe #startrails #longexposure #triggertrap

Monday 14 July 2014:
After a nice long snooze, I woke up Monday morning, had a good breakfast, stocked up on drinks, and drove back along that beautiful drive, back to California, back to the White Mountains and the Inyo Forest, back through Route 168, one of my favorite drives.

But first, I stopped off at CARMA Radio Telescope Array in the Inyo Mountains. Although I was informed before that I could photograph this without permission, I figured I'd ask for permission anyway. I would be returning here in the vert early hours of the morning, and wanted to make it all good.

I continued up the road toward Patriarch Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. After all, there was no way I would be able to drive past the ABPF on Route 168 and not stop in!

I arrived at Patriarch Grove, 12 miles further than Schulman Grove along a 12-mile long dirt road, in the late afternoon. The air was thin. It was, after all, 11000 feet in elevation, so between that and a serious lack of sleep from staying out late for five nights in a row, I was gassed walking around this time.

This is the sun shining through one of the ancient bristlecone pines. Bristlecone pines can liv up to 5000 years, and due to the dense wood, remain upright for as long as 5000 years more! They are the oldest living things on the planet, and it is a privilege to walk among these ancient ones.

Go to the next page!

Ken's photos of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as photos of Peru, Burma, India, Morocco, China, Thailand, Ghana, Ecuador, and elsewhere, have appeared in many books, magazines, websites, and galleries.  Visit the Ken Lee Photography Website. Some of Ken's select photos may be purchased through his Imagekind Store.

Join the fun and participation on Ken's Facebook Page.