Group Effort at the Gas Station

 I was driving through the more-or-less ghost town of Desert Center and couldn't resist stopping for a few photos. The town has a long and interesting history. It used to be much more photogenic, but a few years back a single individual bought the entire town and had a huge auction. All the old interesting artifacts were sold, including mining equipment, an old railroad caboose, signs, gas pumps... it's a long list. Much of what was photogenic is gone. It's like the soul has been ripped away from this little town. Rumor has it the current owner of Desert Center owns a trucking company and wants to use the acreage for truck storage, and perhaps a truck rest stop. What little is left is in decay and slowly being reclaimed by the desert.

Desert Center Trailer Park (or what's left of it). It looks like some old trailers are still in the park, but the area is all fenced off with clearly marked No Trespassing signs. I like the remains of the old sign. Looks like it's from the 50's or 60's. 

 

Screenshot from Google Maps inside the trailer park.

 

Desert Center Elementary School

 

 

Gas pump skeletons

 

"Downtown" Desert Center. In the foreground is the original gas station, open back in the day when someone would run out and pump your gas and wash your windows! "Can I check that oil for you, Mam??" The adjacent building looks like it was used for storage. Across the street is a tiny post office that looks like it is still open and operating. A google search tells me Desert Center has a current population of about 150 people, although I only saw a few people milling about. Also attached to the gas station (photo below) is the old cafe. I've never been able to figure out why Desert Center isn't thriving. It's right next to the 10 Freeway with easy access (Highway 177 exit) and no gas station or cafe for miles around. 

 

This old gas station is a little further from the main town but is easily accessed by a road that parallels the 10 Freeway. I like the look of it, and I made a mental note that it might be a candidate for a night photo.

Looking in the window of the gas staton. I won't be going in here at night!
 

Fast forward about 8 hours. It's about 8PM, I've completed a long hike and taken photos of petroglyphs under the stars (to be shared in a future post). I'm really tired and have a long drive home ahead of me. I pull the Jeep up in front of the station, take a look around, and decide nope, too tired and too much work to get a photo. Jump back in the Jeep, start to drive off, then stop. I have the distinct feeling I'll be sorry if I don't at least make an attempt at a photo. My camera is still mounted to the tripod. So I leave the Jeep idling, grab the camera, level the tripod, and point it in the general direction of the gas station. I don't focus... just estimate distance and adjust the focus ring. Too much work to use live view to compose the photo so I hope I'm pointing the camera in the right direction. I estimate camera settings and take the shot using my headlamp to light up the foreground. First attemp is totally underexposed. I decide to take a different approach. I notice the cars and big rigs wizzing by on the freeway, their headlights partially lighting up the gas station. It occurs to me I can use the lights from passing cars and trucks to expose the photo. Kind of a group effort! Of course, they will have no idea they are helping to make the photo. I adjust my camera settings: 20 second exposure, ISO 1600, f 3.2. First try, there is a bit of a lull in traffic and it's underexposed. Second try, a cluster of big rigs pass by and the photo is overexposed. Third try, I get lucky and it's just the right number of cars and trucks passing by to provide perfect lighting. Thanks everyone!

The bright light on the left is from headlights of eastbound traffic on the 10. I'm amazed that the stars are visible with so much light pollution from the freeway. I'm not sure how many cars passed by during my 20 second exposure. Maybe 20 or 30? Wish there was a way I could tell them "thanks for helping me make this photo!"

 

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for stopping by!!