Junk Yard Lights

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It has been said that the Chinese word for chaos and opportunity are one and the same.

Glenn Olson will be leading three trips into the field to capture the eerie essence of old and rusty automobiles under the starry night skies. This is a follow-up to the trip a few members made last April during the daytime to the junk yard at Sierra Hwy and Ave G. That troupe found old Hudsons, Studebakers, and Lincolns as well as a Hippie Bus, bullet-ridden police cars, and many other strange sights.

Unfortunately the night selected to return to that junk yard has already been rented by another troupe of nighttime photographers (the Pearsonville Boys). Fortunately a Phoenix has arisen from the ashes and Glenn is now offering to lead three nights of photographing old cars. Those nights are as follows:

Saturdays, July 17th and July 31st, at the Sierra Hwy and Ave G yard. We will meet at 8 p.m. on Ave G just West of Sierra Hwy and go to about 10 p.m. Glenn has enough lighting equipment so all you have to do is show up with your cameras and tripods (but you can bring any flashlights and other lights you want). These will be fairly long exposures, 15-60 seconds. We will be shooting cars from about 10-30 ft so you won't need telephoto lenses. The weather for all three nights is expected to be warm and windy (when is it not in July?) but you might want to take a windbreaker anyway.

Saturday, July 24th, we'll be on Sierra Hwy just South of Backus Road, about 10 minutes from Rosamond. The easiest way to get there is to take Hwy 14 North past Rosamond about 6 miles, turn right on Backus Road, right again on Sierra Hwy, then go 1/2 mile to Winfield's Rod and Custom shop. Winfield's does restoration, chopping, and customizing of old cars. They have a number of 1940's and 1950's cars in various stages of work that are easy to get to and they are expecting us. Again, we meet at 8 p.m.

Please sign up (Login Required) if you think you might go to one or more of these so that you can be contacted if anything changes at the last minute. There are no limits to the number of attendees and no one will be turned away.

If you need more information then feel free to post a reply below, e-mail Glenn at glenn@glenn-olson.com, or call at 816-8278. Keep that number handy in case you have trouble finding the location(s).

Field Trip Information for Junk Yard Photography

The old junkyard is full of photographic relics, but one needs to be aware of the hazards that may be encountered.

Participant should be aware that this location can be frequented by poisonous snakes, coyotes, and other wildlife. There may be uneven footing, rocks, slippery surfaces, and underbrush.

Locations that involve old rusty relics require extreme caution. Such objects may not be safe to enter and one should do so after determining it is safe to do so. Historical cars may include broken glass and other sharp objects.

Trips that start before dawn as well as ones that end after sunset present warrant extra caution. Trails that seemed perfectly clear in the daylight may look totally different in the dark. Carry a light source.

Participant should be at all times aware of his/her surroundings.

The above mentioned are some, but not all of the hazards that could be encountered on this trip.

Visit the forum for some sample pictures and discussion.