I explored Hog Farm, an abandoned hippie commune located on top of a mountain, at night. This is the long, strange trip along the way.
The Hog Farm
The Hog Farm is likely the longest running hippie commune in the United States. Activist Hugh Romney, more famously known as Wavy Gravy, and his wife Jahanara founded this commune.
Wavy Gravy and Jahanara needed to find a place to stay. They heard about a place for free on top of a nearby mountain. They could stay there in exchange for taking care of some hogs. every Sunday, they would have a celebration.
It’s easy to see why they loved this place. It’s perched on a promontory overlooking the city. So close, yet so far, sitting among gently-sloping mesquite slopes. Unfortunately, a fire some years ago destroyed much of what was there.
Walking, walking, and some running
Earlier that day, I had walked three miles for my usual exercise. Then in the evening, I made the 1.3-mile night hike up the steep mountain trail.
I probably walked (or sometimes ran) for about two miles while photographing. I used shorter exposures so the city lights from below wouldn’t become too bright. Consequently, for many of my photos, I ran quickly to get to my spots to light paint the subjects with my handheld light while the camera shutter was open.
During the hike back down, my knees began feeling the weight of the camera bag and the day’s mileage.
How did Wavy Gravy get his name?
Romney was working at the 1969 Texas International Pop Festival, just two weeks after the Woodstock Festival. He was exhausted after spending hours trying to get members of the audience to put their clothes back on. Yes, it was a different time. He said, “They had these conga drummers on the stage, and I said, ‘Don’t dance on the ‘wavy gravy’.”
Later, BB King came up to him and said, “Are you Wavy Gravy?” Romney replied, “Yes, sir.” BB King stood him next to his amplifier, and he and Johnny Winter played all night long. Inspired by this, Romney changed his legal name to Wavy Gravy.
More on light painting!
If you want to learn more about what sorts of lights you can use to light paint, here’s an article for you. And no, it doesn’t need to be expensive! Also, have a look at how I went about light painting the photo with the red-colored windows enshrouded in darkness in this article.