Night 1st place winner

Bodie is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town.

In 1875, a mine cave-in revealed a rich vein of ore, which led to purchase of the mine by the Standard Company in 1877. People flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown. In 1881, Bodie's "bust" began and the town's population declined drastically. The town's population continuing to decline until only a few remained.

Only a small part of the town survives, preserved in a state of "arrested decay." Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state of "arrested decay". Today this once thriving mining camp is visited by tourists who continue to travel to Bodie from all over the world, just as they did back in Bodie's boom years.

I’am a travel and landscape photographer. I’am based in Cologne / Germany and my journey into photography actually started way before I ever picked up a camera. I was actually always into art and drawing and that’s pretty much what I was focused on throughout school. As a photographer I love the challenge of trying to include just enough subjects into the frame to plant a seed of a story and then make the viewer to imagine the rest. I want my viewers to feel like they are right in the middle of the scene.