Mammoth Mine Compressor
Crumbling remains is all that is left of Mammoth Consolidated Mine. Rotting Machinery and old wooden barns, partially crushed by the harsh weather barely make for good photography. Since you can quickly walk the self-guided loop, the mine may be worth your time regardless.
The mine is not very interesting photographically, but serves quite well as a reminder of the rough conditions and the many people who did not get rich during the Gold Rush. The mine is thus a bleak reminder to the harsh realities of life in the Sierra Nevada a century ago.
No wonder the ranger at the Mammoth Lakes visitor center was surprised when I asked her for a booklet for the self-guided tour. To her own amazement, she was able to produce what I asked for, after looking through a number of drawers. The mine was accordingly desolate during my Labor Day weekend visit, which made the short trail somewhat pleasant. The booklet provides some historic background information, but you can easily do without, as long as you do not miss the site of the old compressor.
How to get there
Mammoth Lakes Map (click to enlarge)
From Lake Mary, (see my article on the Mammoth Lakes Basin) follow the turnoff to Ducks Pass. The road leads through a campground to the parking area for day hikers. Follow the road to the second parking area. The trail to Mammoth Consolidated Mine starts to the east of the parking area.
GPS position
Parking:
Visitor Center:
How to photograph Mammoth Consolidated Mine
Mammoth Mine Ranger Guide
Mammoth Consolidated Mine is not a photographical highlight by any means. Tucked away in the woods with hardly any signs pointing towards the mine, it is no surprise that nobody seems to care about its existence. A few old buildings and rusty machinery hardly make great photography subjects, but the lack of visitors give you plenty of time to experiment without disturbance.
Equipment and Mountains
A ranger lead horseback tour passed us during our visit. Unfortunately, I was ill prepared, having the wrong lens and no noteworthy backdrop. I tried to ensure that the ranger did not blend into the trees in the background and that the movement is not out of the frame (placing the horse to the left). In the future, I shall carry my Canon S3 with me again for just these occasions where I need a specific focal length and where I need to be ready at a moment’s notice. Maybe this is something you should consider as well during your hikes.
I took the most interesting shots of the air compressor plant. The plant is easy to miss. You have to take a short side trail to get here. In case you did not get the brochure, just walk uphill from the bunkhouses (maybe 300 yards or so). I took the shot of the belt wheel (first photograph of this article) and the shot of the portable compressor (vertical photograph of machinery) here. For the portable compressor, I used a normal zoom lens, stepped back, and zoomed in. This brought the peak in the background much closer to the compressor, by reducing the space between the two. I switched my camera to the A-DEP mode and made sure that at least one focal point was on the compressor (closest object) and at least one was on the mountain (farthest object). After reading the required aperture setting to achieve the desired depth of field from the camera, I switched the lens to manual focus.
Log House
This allows me to recompose without losing my focus setting calculated in the A-DEP mode. I also switched to Aperture Priority Mode and set the camera to the previously determined aperture setting.
You can use Depth of Field charts or other methods to determine the correct aperture. Keep in mind that longer focal lengths require a much smaller aperture due to their special compression. If you are shooting for very large prints, you need to keep diffraction in mind. Focus stacking is a possible way out of the dilemma, but you do need a tripod.
For this subject I did not want to go through all the trouble and chose an aperture with a good tradeoff between sharpness limits due to depth of field and sharpness limits due to diffraction.
The bunkhouses, outhouse and log house are fascinating from a historic perspective. Imagining the life of a miner in those days is educational. As photographic subjects, they are far less interesting though.
Best Time of the Day and Best Season
With the morning sun behind your back, you can shoot some of the machinery while having the peaks of the Sierra Nevada as your backdrop.
Time required
You will need less than one hour to visit and photograph this place.
Equipment
- Medium range zoom lens
- Small superzoom camera (good for encounters of all sorts)
- A tripod (only if you are serious about this location)
- Bug spray
Fees
A visit to Mammoth Consolidated Mine is free of charge.
Close Locations
- Mammoth Lakes
- Devils Postpile National Monument and Rainbow Falls
- Mono Lake
- Tioga Pass
- Mono Craters
- June Lake Scenic Loop
- Convict Lake
- Hot Creek
- Bodie SHP
- Chemung Mine and Masonic Town
- Crowley Lake
- Carson Pass, Carson Creek and Monitor Pass
Useful Resources
Subscribe to my feed and be the first to learn about the secret places to photograph.
If you like this post, use the buttons below to bookmark it or vote for it.
Tweet This! :: 
E-Mail This!
Do you find this post 
de.licio.us? Tell people that you 
reddit!
