Ghost towns of the Old West.

One of the very good, not to mention nicest photographers I correspond with at DPReview, Steve Bingham, created this excellent video of his ghost town photography. He has been chronicling and shooting these towns for decades. Click through and watch it on Vimeo.

This a photographic essay of ghost towns of the Old West and those hearty souls who struggled and toiled with nothing but the basic necessities - and sometimes without.

These were the hearty pioneers who asked little and gave much. The very backbone that made America great. They were the determined explorers that visited every mountain top, every creek, and every nook and cranny where gold might be found.

With miners having an average lifespan only into the late 30s, it was a short and very hard life. And then the women followed. Children were born. The mines ran out and many tried to settle the land. The railroads came - and left - leaving many small towns to wither and die. It was a life of toil with little reward. And so my journey began.

In all of my photographs I try to go further than graphic representation. Sometimes I simply wander in the area for hours without taking a single photograph. Waiting for the place to speak. To tell its story. Then I pretty much let my subconscious dictate from there. Often times the real message does not come through until I am post-processing the image. I try very hard NOT to have preconceptions, but to let the work flow - to tell its own story.

So, sit back, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy a bit of history - along with some great music created just for the documentary.

This video is available for purchase on a Blu-ray disc from ghost-town-photography.com or by calling 928-474-1849. 16" x 24" giclee prints (on heavy Ilford archival paper) of the 200 images used in this production are also available, These fine art prints are signed and numbered..

Ghost Towns of the Old West from Steve Bingham on Vimeo.