I really enjoy a good cup of hot coffee, but that’s not what this story is about. I recently took a drive down to Laurel, Mississippi in search of some photographs. My plan was to take some photographs with my Contax G2 camera. This is a camera that I have owned for many years but rarely have a chance to use. The Contax G2 is a rangefinder-style film camera designed to be used with a series of Zeiss lenses. The lenses for this camera are some of the sharpest lenses that I own. The camera is compact and great for travel without sacrificing quality. On the way to Laurel, I decided to take a detour through Hot Coffee, Mississippi.
According to Wikipedia the towns name came from the story of L.J. Davis. “ L.J. Davis built a store and hung a coffee pot over his door, advertising "the best hot coffee around". His coffee was made from pure spring water and New Orleans beans, and molasses drippings for sweetener. He never served cream with his coffee, believing it ruined the taste. Local politicians would visit Davis' store and buy coffee for constituents and passing travelers. The popularity of Davis' coffee led to the name of the community.”
My choice of film for these images was Kodak Portra 400. This trip was a nice change of pace from my usual photography. I will definitely be taking a few more trips around Mississippi with the Contax G2. After a lifetime in Mississippi, I finally get to check Hot Coffee off my bucket list.