Jack Jeffers - FROM THE WYOMING OUTBACK ©2001

EARLY SETTLERS GRAVE SITE NEAR SOUTH PASS CITY, WY

When Henry Reedall struck pay dirt in 1867, one of the most god-forsaken areas in the country suddenly sprang into a boomtown. The mere mention of the word gold did crazy things to people and hordes of outsiders descended on South Pass from the nearby Oregon Trail. They all had dreams of getting rich quick, but only a few of the lucky ones were successful.

It only took three years for the town to go from boom to bust. South Pass City became a ghost town almost overnight.

One noteworthy historical fact emerged from this rough and ready frontier town. A saloonkeeper by the name of William Bright wrote and introduced a woman’s suffrage bill. The bill passed and the Governor signed it into history in December 1869. Wyoming became the first territory to allow women to vote and hold office. Esther Morris, a resident of South Pass City, was appointed justice of the peace in February 1870 making her the nation’s first female judge. She tried twenty-six cases.

There are still a few die-hard miners and prospectors who are either panning or digging for the illusive mother lode that always lay just beyond their grasp. Just like the ghosts that reportedly inhabit old South Pass City, the yellow gold is also lurking in some remote draw or beyond the next butte.
GRAVE SITE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SOUTH PASS CITY

A notation on the head stones reads:
In memory of Earnest Williams
Born in California 1901
Died in Atlantic City 1905
Son of EJ & AP Williams

Ma Belr
Born Tuscarora, NV September 1880
Died November 9,1899
Daughter of AP & EJ Williams

To view more of Jack's work click on OLDER POSTS at the bottom of the page.

CLASSICAL GUITARIST 1986

CLASSICAL GUITAR

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One of my most enjoyable one-on-one portrait sessions was when I was working for Radford University back in SW Virginia.

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It has been my experience that most artists and performers were usually easy to work with and this results in an enjoyable session. In addition, I savored every moment of listening to this well known musician as he played selections from various classical themes

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I used two reflector umbrellas for this session with each being placed at different points to provide the lighting I needed.

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The only musician I ever had trouble with was Steve Allen and that was because he had requested that any photographs would be made strictly to his specifications. He thought he had a bad side and a good side and from a certain angle, but that is open for debate.

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Most of the younger generation probably would not recognize these people but in my day they were top performers. Heck, I still remember listening to Jack Benny on a vacuum tube radio.

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To view a larger image of Carlos, left click on the image. To View more imges and stories, click on OLDER POSTS below.

TAKING ON WATER ©1977

SHAY LOCOMOTIVE AT CASS, W VA

In a much earlier post, I featured an image of locomotive #5 while undergoing a boiler check. It was during that same trip to West Virginia that I was fortunate enough to make an image of #2 taking on water. This locomotive was built in 1928.

As a rule I do not make many fine art images during the course of a day trip, but this outing produced several fine originals.

To view a larger image left click on the water tank.

SPLIT CHESTNUT SHINGLES ©1972

TYPICAL WOOD SHINGLES ON AN EARLY MOUNTAIN CABIN

After posting the image of the Cash family cabin in the previous post, I decided to show the reader a close-up view of what such a roof looked like and why they need fairly regular upkeep.

When a shingle roof gets to this point, the entire roof will soon fail and cave in. And it dosn't take but a few years for the remainter of the house to self-destruct from rain, snow and wind.

For a more detailed view, left click on the image above.

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN HOMESTEAD ©1972

CASH FAMILY HOMESTEAD

This old home place for a mountain family no longer exists. Over the years, it has been reduced to a pile of decayed rubble, thanks to the elements.

When this image was made in 1972, it was a perfect example of a historical settler's cabin. The roof was made of split chestnut shingles and the outside structure consisted of hand-hewed logs from the surrounding forest.

From what Cyrus told me, they had built this structure around the turn of the last century and lived in it unti the late sixties before they moved to another nearby cabin. For more information about the mountain people go to my web site at http://www.jeffersfineart.com/ where an article titled, Mountain People is posted.

For a larger image of the Cash cabin, click on the above photograph.

SHERANDO BARN ©1975

Sherando Barn
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This image was the result of previsualizaton and being in the right spot at the right time.

When I lived in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, I was right at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and as you will see, if you follow my blog, I made good use of the subject matter.

I had driven by this old barn many times on my way to and from the mountains. In fact, it was within a half mile of my home. The concept was formulated over a period of time because it was a pretty little shack but the foreground and background were littered with distractions. My feeling was that a good snow would solve my problem, and living so close by, all I would have to do is head down the road during the first snow. And that is exactly how it happened.

This is a case where I used a clear plastic bag over the camera and when the moment was right I would jerk the bag off and make my exposure. I made several exposures just to be on the safe side and this one shows the snow blowing in from the left which is where I figured it would come from. This white stuff completed my concept.

This edition sold out quite fast and was copied by more than one painter. They never seem to learn that photographs are copyrighted and to paint and market the image as their own is against the law and carries a pretty stiff penalty. Toward the end of my blog you will see a good example of a copyright infringement and the painter paid dearly for it after I saw her image published in SOUTHWEST ART MAGAZINE.


To view a larger image left click on the barn.

FORK MOUNTAIN HOMESTEAD ©1971

This image represents one of my early prints from the old cabin series. It is hard to believe that I made this print thirty-eight years ago, and I had to hike up the side of the mountain from the North Fork of the Tye River with my forty- pound camera pack.

Mountain dwellings such as this have mostly disappeared from the landscape. These two buildings have long since fallen down and the rotted remains have likely been covered with briars and honeysuckle vines.

This was an edition of forty-eight originals and no more remain in my collection.

---To view a larger image, click on the cabin.