3rd place
bronze star award
Lee Saloutos
united states 
title
Belmont Nevada Courthouse
Many of these structures have been vandalized or have since been destroyed, or are significantly degraded. These sites can be quite significant and are often lost in the vastness of the Great Basin.
These images are all from a single structure in remote central Nevada, the Belmont Nevada Court House. Belmont itself is not yet a ghost town. The court house is of historical significance and is in remarkable condition considering that is has been abandoned for a century. The graffiti alone makes it worth preservation as most of it was written by central Nevada locals decades ago. Much of it is written in longhand, and there is almost no profanity. The structure itself is beautiful, with high windows and ceilings, and pastel blue plaster. The light and feel of the high desert and surrounding mountains pervade the structure.
Educated at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I spent 3 years in the Fine Art program, then 3 ½ years in Electrical Engineering, graduated BSEE in 1977.
20 years working in technology, photographing part time; photographing full time since 1999.
Essentially all of my photography is in the arid west. I prefer locations and man made sites that are unknown or anonymous. I am interested in the literal and visual debris that we leave in the remote parts of the West.
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entry description
I am fascinated by the ongoing consumption and abandonment of the western landscape by commercial, military, and industrial processes. The literal and visual debris they leave behind in the form of structures and alterations to the landscape are a source of disturbing and beautiful contrast. The quiet and more personal interior spaces found in many of these photographs are a subtle but stark reminder of the much larger scale of the external environment, and the often destructive operations now abandoned.Many of these structures have been vandalized or have since been destroyed, or are significantly degraded. These sites can be quite significant and are often lost in the vastness of the Great Basin.
These images are all from a single structure in remote central Nevada, the Belmont Nevada Court House. Belmont itself is not yet a ghost town. The court house is of historical significance and is in remarkable condition considering that is has been abandoned for a century. The graffiti alone makes it worth preservation as most of it was written by central Nevada locals decades ago. Much of it is written in longhand, and there is almost no profanity. The structure itself is beautiful, with high windows and ceilings, and pastel blue plaster. The light and feel of the high desert and surrounding mountains pervade the structure.
about the photographer
Born in Wisconsin, 1953. Lived in Northern California from 1977 to 1993. Currently living in Central Virginia.Educated at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I spent 3 years in the Fine Art program, then 3 ½ years in Electrical Engineering, graduated BSEE in 1977.
20 years working in technology, photographing part time; photographing full time since 1999.
Essentially all of my photography is in the arid west. I prefer locations and man made sites that are unknown or anonymous. I am interested in the literal and visual debris that we leave in the remote parts of the West.
back to gallery
