ROCKS...LOTS & LOTS OF 'EM

Mojave Dessert

A funny, original and beautiful shot David...most people would probably have ignored the sign and shot the land alone...you probably did the two shots (with and without) and I am sure this one is the more interesting of the two that particular day...more than a landscape shot, the inclusion of the sign bring a social element...I like the smooth light (late afternoon ?) and the depth with the illumated land far away close to the mountain

Dave Meyer photography - simple, clever framing, very funny. This is a good 98.8 on the nut-o-meter scale. I think that your V8 blood level is very high, Dave. Good, keep it that way. I think the sign could be more to the left in the frame, very close to the left border. Yes, the sunlit mountains and the deep flatland in the shade make it look like a lit stage for the rocks...lots & lots of 'em. Ha ha ha. Keep on pumping that V8, dude. Cheers, Micheal

 

I see I am in good company when I say I like this one a lot. This is, I think, one of your very best shots - and you have a lot of good ones. The incongruity of the whole thing, the nutty graphics of the sign against the Frederick Remington landscape is perfect. In fact, I think Remington himself would have loved this. Sometimes it all just comes together; it sure did here.

 

PS: I can't believe that seven people - seven! - rated this average. I'd sure like to see what they consider good.

I love the sign and the background mountains, thanks much for sharing this. I saw this in the morning, just before leaving for work. On the bus I kept thinking about how much I'd love to have this sign in my yard. My neighbors would probably sue me because of it, but I'd be one happy person to own this sign.

I would have preferred to have it framed in such a way that the highway and fence is not in the background. That may not have been possible and only you know for sure if it is, but that would have been my preference.

Thanks so much. Actually, I was passing by this sign, saw it, and took the next freeway exit to double back to it on a dirt path. I'm an old sign addict. It was early morning.

Thanks dude. It is pretty typical for me isn't it. Does that mean I've developed a style? Bought a new bottle of V8 tonight.

Thanks for the glowing praise and the overrating rate. I too, like this (well, duh!) and I guess I'm just grateful that I didn't get hit by the 3/3 grinch. I don't begrudge the low rates, but it sure does make me wish I could see their work, or their other rates. I suppose that's a silly concern too, since my guess is it would only prove that they don't know the difference between an xray image and a Kodachrome image IMHO. Cheers

The sign is available. Come on down, and I'll help you uproot it so you can take it back to Washington. I don't think anyone will miss it if you take it. Your take on the pic is reasonable, but my feeling was the road with all the cars passing by was metaphorical for the way the sign and the businesses that have used it over the years have now been passed by. It seemed to fit in with the dynamics. But maybe there are two pictures here....

Well if doesn't say 'Great American Road Trip' I don't know what does. Love the sign of course but the position and rolling distance takes me there. Great find and worthy stop.

Thanks. It's not as exotic as the stuff you have been posting lately, but you gotta work with what you got.

Hwy. 58...near Edwards Air Force Base? North bound towards Mojave?

Next stop..."The Twilight Zone".

 

Mojave, Tehachapi and Bakersfield.

 

And you didn't stop to say hello!

Well I would have stopped, but didn't know you were there. Since you seem to be familiar with the area, maybe you can clear up a bit of mystery for me. Sometimes when I look at this sign it seems to say cafe, other times it seems to say rocks, and other times it seems to say something indecipherable. My assumption is that it was a cafe, then a rock shop, then possibly something else. Do you know any of the history? Thanks for looking.

Can do David. There was in the late 70's a building to go along with this sign that was ready to fall at any moment and was finally removed (due to kids, mostly). The paint on the sign has eroded (high winds, blowing sand, etc.) and has revealed it's own history of use. The enemal has held up rather well, all things considered, extreme heat being one element. My understanding this was orignally a mom and pop cafe then the rock store. I work at Edwards AFB and there are still some old timers whom I can ask for more information about the signage. The extra length of the pole may indicate (perhaps) the useage of an additonal sign atop this one.....hummm. Maybe some like "Joe's Cafe"? Ah hell....now I'm curious! I'll ask around next week! lol

BTW....ironic...I run the Sign Shop (and a few others) at Edwards. Glad this is off base! Will get back to you on this one....

 

Larry

Thanks. Very interesting.

Still checking...not giving up!

Used to live ***waaaaay*** up in those mountains back there....Tehachapi. Left when the folks from L.A. all started moving there & bitching about our horses & dogs, developers, buying up old farms & puttin' up, strip malls and tract homes. sad. We moved to Smalltown America, Farmland USA, in Illinois. I do miss the mountains & the beach, and my siblings-- but not so much I'd move back, lol! I remember seeing that sign, and those wind turbines in the background, a lot. This looks a lot like east of Mojave, on I-15 / Hwy. 58? to Vegas, etc.

 

I know ONE thing I don't miss at all--- the desert! The dryness!!! Thank God for someplace green! Now when I see California in all those commercials, esp. green vistas, I laugh...because the green shots were either doctored, orall shot in the three week span of time that things are green in Cali.

 

There was another rocks sign up there....between Mojave and Tehachapi, a handpainted "GOT ROCKS" sign, some old guy used to sell rocks to folks who needed 'em, I guess. Can't imagine needing rocks....I always had too many on my place! (-:

Thanks for checking this image out. I almost envy you living in the land of Lincoln. I was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, and go back frequently. I have lived in California longer now than in Iowa, but I'm still an Iowan at heart. If it weren't for two wonderful grandchildren right here a minute away from me, I might have moved back there. The Midwest has a subtle beauty that one appreciates more in absence than when there. The rolling hills, and the neatly kept farms are so pleasant, and people back there are nicer. They really are. I''l probably be heading back there in June for a short stay, and I'm so looking forward to it. How on earth did you come to see this image is the question that comes to mind.