Photography Project 52: Week 22 – Photographing Classic Cars

Ok – I’ll be the first to admit, I am not mechanically inclined or particularly interested in cars (old or new – it takes desperate circumstances for me to consider buying a new car).  BUT for some reason I am drawn to classic cars – it must be the colors, the shapes, and all of the shiny surfaces.  I convinced Peter to spend a Saturday evening at a classic car show near us, and armed myself with one lens – my very old and very precious 50mm.

Some things I found out:

• People are everywhere – and the shiny surfaces reflect them all.  In many of my photos you will see people standing around me (and you’ll also see me).
• I used the 50mm at it’s lowest aperture which was great at blurring the distracting backgrounds.
• Lettering on the cars is difficult to get sharp, especially if you are using a low aperture to mask some of your surroundings and get faster speeds in low light.
• I preferred the close-ups and details than trying to get the whole car in the shot.  Which would have been close to impossible, because they stacked one right next to the other.
• I liked trying to convey movement like in the cover image – by capturing the tail light and side detailing, but blurring almost everything gave you a sense of the car in motion.
• I’m still having fun with my special processing actions from JHP Actions.  I like the vintage looks, but also, some of the really modern looks that are contrasty.

The only injuries I had to avoid were people tripping over me as I got low to the ground (and spilling beer all over my equipment).

To see these images in full-screen view, click on one to enter slide show mode.