Mulholland Drive car wrecks decay artfully

Off the edge of the world-famous Mullholland Drive, a two-and-a-half mile trek down a trail and into vegetation, you'll find scenes that look like bone yards of cars from a bygone era.

Los Feliz-based photographer Jason Knight has explored and documented dozens of wrecks on the steep hillsides off Mulholland -- a 55-mile windy, mostly two-lane road constructed in 1924 that stretches from Hollywood to Ventura County. Keep clicking for a look at some of the wrecks resting in a canyon that date back as far as the 1940s.

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

Knight told CBS News, "These cars tumbled 500 feet off the side of Mulholland Drive and there's a lot of meaning and possible tragedy in these car wrecks. You see nature starting to grow up through the cars and reclaim it and can be quite beautiful."

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

Knight says all of these cars seem to have been abandoned for decades. He said, "What I discovered is it was just too expensive for the city to pull these cars out. Maybe they even tried to pull them out. I found a broken cable attached to one of these cars, but it just wasn't successful."

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

The cars sit to rust and weather -- none of them younger than 30 years. Knight suspects that coincides with the addition of a barrier rail and reinforced embankment in the '80s. The half dozen located in Fryman Canyon seem to date back as early as the 1940s.

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

Knight says he thinks about each one -- the people who may have died here and each of their stories. He said of this car, "This car is called the phantom Dodge -- it's actually painted on the right rear fender and it's pretty ironic that it is now a phantom, a ghost."

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

Knight hopes his photos, soon to be showcased in a gallery, will preserve a hidden part of Los Angeles' history. He said, "It shows, to me, the cycle of life the objects we create returning back to nature."

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

A car wreck captured by Jason Knight.

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

The interior of a car wreck captured by Jason Knight.

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

A bent and rusted car frame in the canyon, as captured by Jason Knight.

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.

An overturned car wreck off Mulholland Drive, as captured by Jason Knight.

Watch the full "CTM: Saturday" report on the Mulholland Drive wrecks now.
For more of Jason Knight's work, check out JasonKnightPhotography.com.