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Hi all,
Interesting group you have here. A bit out of the mainstream, but I'll bet you like it that way. LOL!
I've been poking around old mines since I was little and following my Dad around southern Arizona on his hunting trips. The old buildings and equipment fascinated me then and continue to do so even today. In high school I became interested in photography. (you can see where this is going…) I also did a bit of caving with a couple of guys I knew. College found me doing some technical rock climbing and being a search & rescue volunteer. As seems to happen to so many of us, life got in the way of all the fun I used to have. It's been a lot of years since I've done any climbing or rope work, but I have continued to take mine photos as the opportunity has presented itself.
Recently a friend of mine loaned me a book by Will Meyerriecks named "Drills and Mills...Precious Metal Mining and Milling Methods of the Frontier Westâ€. For those who haven't seen the book, it's an amazing discussion of mining techniques, equipment, refining, and smelting during the 1800s and 1900s. I'm going to buy a copy for myself as well as a friend of mine who worked as a geologist in his younger years. Needless to say the book has rekindled my interested in the old mines. One great thing about living in Las Vegas is that there are hundreds of mines within a few hours drive.
About a year ago I went on a run with a local off-road club and we ended up at a neat mine south and west of Vegas. It has an ore hopper (I’m sure that’s the wrong term for it) that is significantly deteriorated, but still recognizable and a great photo opportunity. A few of the members decided to explore the entrance of the mine, and although I was taught from a very young age to NEVER go in a mine, I decided to take a quick look too. We didn’t go very far into the mine but I was intrigued by the various ore chutes, ladders and drifts leading off the main adit.
This past weekend a friend from work and I headed back out to the mine to do some photography and a little further mine exploration. We spent a few hours hiking around the area looking at the tailings piles and the different entrances into the mine at the various levels. I had wanted to try some photography inside the mine so we walked back into the working part of the mine to start shooting. This was my first experience at trying to photograph underground and found it to be a bit of a learning experience. The guy I was with had recently purchased an external flash for his Cannon and I immediately saw the benefit of a high power flash in an underground setting. I’ll post some photos as soon as I get a chance. The only issue the whole day was when I was working my way down the tailing pile and lost my footing. I’m now nursing a skinned up knee and a large bruise on my right hip. (It sucks to get old and clumsy).
As an aside, I also do a lot of Dutch Oven cooking and camping in the teardrop style camping trailer that I built. I run a website for camp cooking and one for the build of my camping trailer, but when I read the Forum Rules it indicated we are not supposed to give links to other websites. (I don’t want to get in trouble on my very first posting. LOL!)
Anyway, I’ll post up some of my various mine photos in the next couple of weeks. They aren’t anything special, but for a bunch of “mine geeks†they’ll probably be interesting to look through.
Joanne
Interesting group you have here. A bit out of the mainstream, but I'll bet you like it that way. LOL!
I've been poking around old mines since I was little and following my Dad around southern Arizona on his hunting trips. The old buildings and equipment fascinated me then and continue to do so even today. In high school I became interested in photography. (you can see where this is going…) I also did a bit of caving with a couple of guys I knew. College found me doing some technical rock climbing and being a search & rescue volunteer. As seems to happen to so many of us, life got in the way of all the fun I used to have. It's been a lot of years since I've done any climbing or rope work, but I have continued to take mine photos as the opportunity has presented itself.
Recently a friend of mine loaned me a book by Will Meyerriecks named "Drills and Mills...Precious Metal Mining and Milling Methods of the Frontier Westâ€. For those who haven't seen the book, it's an amazing discussion of mining techniques, equipment, refining, and smelting during the 1800s and 1900s. I'm going to buy a copy for myself as well as a friend of mine who worked as a geologist in his younger years. Needless to say the book has rekindled my interested in the old mines. One great thing about living in Las Vegas is that there are hundreds of mines within a few hours drive.
About a year ago I went on a run with a local off-road club and we ended up at a neat mine south and west of Vegas. It has an ore hopper (I’m sure that’s the wrong term for it) that is significantly deteriorated, but still recognizable and a great photo opportunity. A few of the members decided to explore the entrance of the mine, and although I was taught from a very young age to NEVER go in a mine, I decided to take a quick look too. We didn’t go very far into the mine but I was intrigued by the various ore chutes, ladders and drifts leading off the main adit.
This past weekend a friend from work and I headed back out to the mine to do some photography and a little further mine exploration. We spent a few hours hiking around the area looking at the tailings piles and the different entrances into the mine at the various levels. I had wanted to try some photography inside the mine so we walked back into the working part of the mine to start shooting. This was my first experience at trying to photograph underground and found it to be a bit of a learning experience. The guy I was with had recently purchased an external flash for his Cannon and I immediately saw the benefit of a high power flash in an underground setting. I’ll post some photos as soon as I get a chance. The only issue the whole day was when I was working my way down the tailing pile and lost my footing. I’m now nursing a skinned up knee and a large bruise on my right hip. (It sucks to get old and clumsy).
As an aside, I also do a lot of Dutch Oven cooking and camping in the teardrop style camping trailer that I built. I run a website for camp cooking and one for the build of my camping trailer, but when I read the Forum Rules it indicated we are not supposed to give links to other websites. (I don’t want to get in trouble on my very first posting. LOL!)
Anyway, I’ll post up some of my various mine photos in the next couple of weeks. They aren’t anything special, but for a bunch of “mine geeks†they’ll probably be interesting to look through.
Joanne
) 
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