THE NEXT YEAR... is still a good distance away, but you can bet that people who make calendars already are thinking about 2018. And while most calendar companies have their on-staff photographers and artists, there are those treasured places that will, on occasion, turn to shutterbugs who happen to be devoted fans of the spot. Bodie Foundation, the organization that lends a lot of love to Bodie State Historic Park, holds a calendar contest each year, one that many mavens of the Mono County ghost town dig. Why? Because Bodie, as a general rule, is simply one of the most stunning spots to capture visually. That's subjective, of course, and "stunning" can't be quantified, but flip through a web site devoted to the 1800s-era mining town, a place kept in "arrested decay," and you can't help but marvel at how marvelous the buildings, mountains, and streets look. Calling them a similar to a movie set isn't quite accurate, though, for Bodie is a real place, once the home to thousands of hopeful, silver-seeking dreamers. But photographs of Bodie do possess a movie-like quality, making them ideal for a calendar.
READY TO SEE IF YOUR SNAPS HAVE THE STUFF? The deadline to enter is Saturday, Feb. 4. There's a "(n)ew maximum" of entry photos — you may submit five — and some other good-to-know details, so peruse the Bodie Foundation site before setting your sights on which ghost-town-y photos you'll send in. It would be mighty brag-worthy to have a picture you took of a hazy window or vintage rocking chair or the mountains beyond town in an honest-to-rootin'-tootin' calendar. If you are a Bodie buff, through and through, and consider it one of your favorite places to visit (and take pictures), enter now.
