Maturango Museum Elaine Wiley–
Join us on Sunday, August 6. Come cool off and enjoy a pleasant Sunday afternoon at the Maturango Museum from 2 pm to 4 pm with Liz Babcock and Mark Pahuta. Babcock and Pahuta collaborated to create the book High Desert Double Exposures – A Photographic Retrospective of Ridgecrest and Its Neighbors. Related to the historical photographs and information in this book is the current exhibit at the museum, “Out of the Past.” This exhibit showcases black and white photographs from the early 1900s to the 1950s.
The Duo will be available to sign their book, High Desert Double Exposures – A Photographic Retrospective of Ridgecrest and Its Neighbors. This book documents the physical changes through photographs of the Ridgecrest community and surrounding area from 1939 through 2019.
In 1989, the Maturango Museum published Ridgecrest California, A Photographic Retrospective, by Mark Pahuta and Donald W. Moore. This book combined “then and now” photographs of early Ridgecrest and Ridgecrest in the 1980s and historical text by Moore. Pahuta selected historical photographs for this publication and painstakingly searched for the same location where the original photographer stood to take the historical photograph. Pahuta then stood in that same location and retook the photograph to give the viewer a” then and now” look at specific buildings or areas in Ridgecrest. Moore carefully researched the story behind the photographs through the use of archival material and the memories of old-timers.
Thirty years later, Pahuta and Babcock embarked on an update to Ridgecrest California, A Photographic Retrospective. Over the years, Ridgecrest continued to change, and it was time to revisit previous sites and add other local areas to the book. In addition to covering the changes in Ridgecrest, the 2020 version also covers Owens Lake, Kern River Valley, Garlock, El Paso Range, and Poison Canyon. Again, Pahuta selected historical photographs, found the “spot” where the historical photograph was taken, and retook the photograph to show the change from “then to now.”
Babcock, historian and author researched and wrote the information for the photographs. The creative and informative historical information written by Moore for the original Photographic Retrospective is included in this updated version.
The museum appreciates Pahuta’s and Babcock’s hard work and dedication to preserving the history of Ridgecrest and the surrounding area.
Enjoy the exhibit and visit with these two extraordinary people.
