02/27/2026
๐ฃ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐
Credit: Avi Das
Taft, California
On a January afternoon in 2025, I decided to head out for a drive in search of subjects worthy of photographing somewhere. It had started out as a sunny day, but early in the afternoon, clouds started rolling in. I thought it would be a perfect day to photograph on the Carrizo Plain with clouds to bring contrast to the landscape, so I decided to head that way. By the time I got on the road later in the afternoon, the clouds took over most of the sky, which was a very welcome sight for my eyes. However, while driving on Taft Highway towards Maricopa, the clouds looked ominous and dark, and it being winter time, I didn't have a whole lot of daylight left. Moreover, it looked like rain was on the way. Anyone who has driven on the unpaved stretch of Soda Lake Road on the Carrizo Plain would know how nasty the soft clay and mud can be after a rain, especially in the dark. I have experienced both situations in the past, and I have promised myself not to ever do it again. So a few miles into the drive, since I was close to Taft, I decided to get a coffee and head back home. I was quite disappointed having to abort my initial plan, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
After picking up coffee in town, I drove through Center Street, the quaint commercial strip where the Fox Theater is. It was a Sunday evening, and the street was empty, but it looked beautiful as the streetlights came on. I made a turn onto 5th Street and saw the Bank Bar at the end of the block with its colorful neon signs glowing against a dark sky. The scene immediately struck me as an interesting subject to photograph. The composition called for a wide-angle lens to capture the emptiness of the scene. Just the bar, a few parked cars, and not a soul in sight. I took the picture with a 20mm wide lens on 400 ISO film and pushed it one stop to an Exposure Index (EI) of 800 ISO during processing, which heightened the contrast and grain of the film. The picture turned out as I had envisioned it. Forlorn, moody!
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