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SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM presents Mojave Forsaken — a timelapse journey through ghost towns of the Mojave Desert and the magnificent night skies there.Flanking the infamous Death Valley to the north, west and east, once-booming mining towns of Bodie, Cerro Gordo and Rhyolite now sit in decay at mercy of the elements. In the late 19th century, as gold-hungry settlers overran the West, thousands of mining towns, some as numerous as 50,000 inhabitants, each with own Chinatown, numerous brothels and casinos, sprung up across the continent. However, as the gold and silver mines were exhausted, mining boom collapsed by the early 20th century, leaving these towns abandoned virtually overnight.
Today, Bodie, managed by National Park Service, Rhyolite, managed by Bureau of Land Management, and Cerro Gordo, managed by private owners, exist in a state of “controlled decay,” as the authorities protect the structures there from vandalism, but leave them exposed to scorching sun, vicious winds and freezing winter storms. At night, due to high elevation, clarity of the skies, and lack of sources of light pollution, these town give us a glimpse of the night sky as it would have been seen by inhabitants of these towns a century ago. (synopsis via Vimeo)
Woah there Nelly!
I see you racing back and forth, lists in one hand, presents in the other, fruit mince pies and eggnog balanced atop your head with a whole lot of really stalkery sugar plum fairies trailing in your wake.
Can step out of festive fast forward mode? Unable to envisage stopping for just a moment to smell the Christmas roses?
Then you need to start playing this video, Mojave Forsaken by talented filmmakers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinović which vividly and captivatingly takes on an extraordinary journey through the Mojave Desert.
It’s enthrallingly beautiful, and blissfully engrossing, the perfect antidote to the festive pell-mell, and you are going to love it.
Well, maybe not as much as the new piece of jewelery your partner’s bought you for Christmas, but close … very, very close.
(source: Laughing Squid)