Blue Star Talc Mine - Big Pine Canyon, California

[acidman1968]

We didn't really have the time while we were there on vacation to hike up to this place, so someday when I go back to my old home town I'll have to fit it into my schedule.

These pics were taken in Big Pine Canyon near Glacier Lodge, just up the road from Big Pine, California. The mine was called the "Blue Star", and it was a talc- soapstone operation. It doesn't look like it was in operation for too long though, because the tailings piles aren't too large - although if you check this place out on Google Earth, it looks like they may have dumped the majority of the tailings into the gulch on the right, so the mines could be a bit larger than they look. As you can see from the pics, there are some collapsing buildings and a collapsed headframe/ore bin, as well as the remains of the old inclined rail/tram system that they used to lower the product from the mine to the bottom of the slope.

[ghostshot]

Nice pic's!!! What where you using for those shots?

[acidman1968]

Nice pic's!!! What where you using for those shots?

The camera I use is a Fuji S-9100 "bridge" type camera - those are the ones that are between the point and shoot and DSLR cameras... They have most of the features of a DSLR, except you can't exchange lenses. They do, however, have an "all-in-one" lens that covers between wide-angle to telephoto. Mine has a lens that covers 28mm - 310mm.

I do a lot of hiking (under normal circumstances - and this year has been pretty much anything but normal for me), and I didn't want to be carrying a bunch of different lenses, so I selected a camera that will do super-macro shots where the subject is within 1/2 inch of the lens, to 10x telephoto shots.

[ghostshot]

From you photo's on this report,the set up that you have does a very fine job. Where you using a tripod? I can't take a decent pic if I hold the camera.

[acidman1968]

From you photo's on this report,the set up that you have does a very fine job. Where you using a tripod? I can't take a decent pic if I hold the camera.

Nope. I wasn't using a tripod at all, just good old freehand. When I do use a tripod, I usually use one of those "Gorilla-Pods", because it's small, and I can fit it into my backpack without much effort.

Here's some other pics that I've taken over the years. Most of them were taken with the Fuji S-9100, but some of them (the older ones) were taken with the Fuji S-5200.

http://www.panoramio.com/user/767266

These two pics were taken with the Gorilla-Pod hung on the gate across the entrance into the Emilie Mine up by Jacob City (I think I had the shutter speed held to about two seconds or so, and I was using the self-timer to take the shot so I wouldn't be touching the camera at the time the pic was taken):





I was using a rechargeable 1,000,000 candle power spotlight to illuminate the tunnel. I'd love to see more of this mine, but as far as I know, the only entrances are caged over.

Here's the same tunnel, without the spotlight illuminating the tunnel (there's a second entrance above and to the left that's also been caged over):

[ghostshot]

Nice shots! With or with out the flash. Great to see a picture of a mine that still has the rail. The little experience of mines that I've seen,the rail has been pulled for scrap or taken for souvenirs. I've got some,but it came from the upper yard in Helper.

So,does anybody still use 35mm? I'm starting to get the same look from people about using film as do when I tell them that my computer is Windows 98se.