California Photo Scout

Ghosts at Night

You can find one of the strangest places in America next to the Ghost Town of Rhyolite, just outside of Death Valley National Park. The Goldwell Open Air Museum features an unusual collection of sculptures by a group of Belgian artists. The Museum is open 24/7, which inspired me to try some light painting techniques, much to my fellow traveler’s displeasure. The eerie feeling you get when you explore this area for the first time at night, combined with the sounds of metal scraping on a wooden pole and wind whistling through the wooden structures sets the perfect atmosphere for ghost photos.

How to get there

You can find the Museum on Rhyolite Road about one mile north of NV374. From Death Valley, follow the road signs to Beatty leading out of the park. From the main intersection in Beatty it is about 3 ¾ miles to the west. Road signs clearly mark the way to Rhyolite. Before you reach Rhyolite, the museum is on your left.

The sculptures are hard to find at night. Take the drive during the day and plan to come back later. otherwise you need to rely on the GPS coordinates below. I used my strong flashlight that I use for light painting to find the statues.

GPS position

• N36 53.687 W116 49.835

How to photograph Goldwell Open Air Museum

I am always looking for new subjects for light painting since the resulting unique images immediately attract attention. I set out with a powerful flashlight and use it to “paint” the landscape. Setting the camera to a long exposure and sweeping across my subjects with the light source, I can illuminate them any way I wish. Depending on the distance and the time I keep the light on my subjects, they will be brighter or darker in the final image.

I am usually having a great time and a story to tell. Bat swarms, attracted to my light in Joshua Tree National Park, a bunch of coyotes howling at me near Mono Lake or some ghost sounds here at the museum, are engrained in my memory and still make me smile after a long time.

I returned the next day to inspect the area in broad daylight. I took the same shot again, but the night photograph is by far my favorite. The effort of light painting has always paid off for me.

For the day shot, I used a polarizing filter to enhance the perception of the sky and give it a strange black appearance. Normally I consider this too much of a good thing, but it works well in combination with the ghosts of the last supper shown above. I was surprised to find a bunch of cars parked here and I even had to wait for people to walk out of my shot most of the time.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

Mornings are better than evenings if you want to photograph most of the statues, as they are looking east. I suspect you will not travel great distances to get here, so come whenever you are close. It is always worth a detour.

Time required

About 30 minutes during the day and however long you can take it to be spooked at night (30minutes is usually long enough for a few good shots).

Equipment

• Wide-angle lens
• Powerful flashlight
• Tripod
• Cable Release
• Circular Polarizing Filter
• GPS receiver

Close Locations in Death Valley

• Titus Canyon and Leadfield Ghost town
• Furnace Creek
• Mesquite Flat Dunes (near Stovepipe Wells)
• Mosaic Canyon
• Zabriskie Point
• Dante’s View
• Badwater Basin
• Artist’s Drive and Mushroom Rock
• Harrisburg Ghost Town
• Skidoo Ghost  Town
• Wildflowers

Close Locations outside Death Valley

• Rhyolite Ghost Town
• Amargosa Opera House
• Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
• Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Nevada

Restrictions

There is no entrance fee. You can take photos for non-commercial private use, but the owners require you to get permission to use the photographs commercially. You can find details on their official website cited below.

Useful Resources

• Official Website
• My Ghost Town Photos

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