Ruth Sprain
October 2026 - Gilman Ghost Town
Original
About the Image(s)
My husband and I drove by Gilman, Colorado, an abandoned cliffside ghost town last weekend. The town was established in 1886 and mined silver, then switched to zinc, lead, and gold. It was a company-owned mining center. In 1984, the EPA ordered that the town be abandoned due to severe heavy metal contamination (arsenic and cadmium) in the soil and groundwater.
The aspen trees were golden on that overcast day. I used my Canon R6 at 30 mm, f/20, 1/60. In Lightroom and PhotoShop, I cropped, adjusted highlights and shadows, and saturated. Hope you enjoy this piece of Colorado history.
3 comments posted
Ruth this is a nice image, and the color of the Aspen trees bring warmth to the image and abandoned buildings. The lighting is very nice in the shot. I wonder if the sky could have depicted a filtered light source through the clouds to further support the nice light falling on the trees to the left of the image. Posted: 10/05/2026 01:39:21
Ruth, what an interesting place. The contrast between the abandoned homes, with the empty window holes, and the beautiful glow of the aspens makes a very dramatic presentation. You did a nice job with the adjustments to make it crisper. I'm curious what you did to the sky. It appears so different from the original and also expanded. Posted: 10/08/2026 02:17:32
Andres, I lowered the exposure level and lowered the highlights for the sky. The original I posted is a different shot that I took as part of the series taken. You looked closely to note that the angle of the sky is slightly different. Posted: 10/10/2026 19:47:13