Rhyolite Nevada
Rhyolite is a mining ghost town located just outside the entrance to Death Valley National Park, and one of the most photographed ghost towns in the western United States. The Rhyolite townsite is maintained by the Bureau of Land Management and contains many ruins and a house made from bottles.
What to Photograph:
The ruins of the old buildings, many of which were made of stone, including the 8 room school, a few banks, stores, railroad depot, and a jail.
The Tom Kelly Bottle House was completed in 1906, built from nearly 30,000 beer and liquor bottles collected from the 53 saloons in Rhyloite.
The Goldwell Open Air Museum is a unique attraction of sculptures created by Belgium Artists.
Best Time for Photographers:
Just about anytime can be good for photography here, of course midday light can be very high contrast and hard to work with and the use of HDR photography can be the solution. The ghost town and the Goldwell Open Air Museum are both open to visitors 24 hours a day making this a great location for night sky photography.
Where it is:
Rhyolite is located 4 miles west of the town of Beatty, Nevada on HWY 374, heading toward the East entrance to Death Valley National Park.
Maps:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.
Interactive map of Rhyolite
Cost:
Both the Goldwell Open Air Museum and the Rhyolite Township are open to the public with no fees.
Facilities:
Hey this is a Ghost Town, there are none!
Links:
Rhyolitesite.com A very extensive site on the history of the town.
http://www.rhyolitenevada.com/ Another great site on the history.
Beatty Nevada Chamber of Commerce
Location Contact Information:
Address:
Battle Mountain District Office
50 Bastian Road
Battle Mountain NV 89820
Phone:
775-635-4000
Email:
bmfoweb@blm.gov
Organization:
BLM – Bureau of Land Management
Nearest City or Town:
Beatty Nevada
Beatty has a population of approximately 1,000 people. 4 miles from the Ghost town of Rhyolite, NV and The Gateway to Death Valley National Park, located only 7 miles away.
Tips for the Photographer:
Equipment:
You can get great photos with just about any equipment, even cell phones. The buildings are pretty well spread out and you can get a near or far away as needed for the photo you desire. A polarizing filter for enhancing the sky is a great asset.
For night shots a tripod and cable release are essential, and two flashlights, one to see with, and a more powerful light for illuminating the buildings.
Photography Tips:
Composition is the key to good photos here, use the elements of line and shape. As with any old photography site texture is a very important element. To capture texture you need to use side lighting, and since you can move around freely, you can find an angle that will emphasize the textural elements.
If you have a great sky with lots of clouds it can add drama to the photo. If on the other hand you have a clear sky, try to keep it out of the photo.
Old buildings and ghost towns are an excellent location for black and white photography as well. I always recommend shooting in color and converting to black and white in post process to give more control over the image, plus you have both color and black and white images.
Weather:
Rhyolite Photo Gallery
Click Here for full page gallery
More Photographic Destinations in Nevada:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.
Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State
Great Places for Great Photos
Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure. I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography. I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination. I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip. I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!
Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.
All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need. Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.
If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom. This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.
Leave a Reply