Old Mack Fire Truck Abandoned Outside of Jerome, Arizona. by Edward M. Fielding
My vacation plans probably seem a bit strange to non-photographers. I seek out some rather off-beat places to visit. Old roadside relics, abandoned movie sets, old ghost towns and empty old mining towns.
Lately I’ve had a few opportunities to tag along with my wife on a few business trips. While she meets or conferences away, I’ve been able to play.
To maximize my few days in a location, my research begins online scouting out areas for interesting subjects to explore and photograph. I usually like to go beyond the “Trip Adviser Top 10” type locations.
I might start out with a guide book but I like to seek out places that don’t typically show up in travel magazines or travel guidebooks. My locations typically don’t have tickets to buy or guides to hire. They are out of the way and probably usually get passed by.
The photograph above was taken at an abandoned gold mine and ghost town outside of Jerome, Arizona where a free-spirit sort of hippy guy lived with his collection of old vehicles and junk.
One great source for finding off-beat locations is the Atlas Obscura which has an entry about the Gold King Mine –
In 1890, the Haynes Copper Company sunk a 1200-foot shaft into the middle of one of the richest copper deposits ever discovered. Much to their chagrin, they found no copper. Luckily, they struck gold instead, creating the small boom town of Haynes, the remnants of which are today an intriguing mix of ghost town and mechanical hobbyist’s paradise.