Cars

Monster 4x4's of 16th Avenue

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This will be a very practical vehicle once the ice caps fully melt.

A few months ago I first drove past a pair of jacked-up monster 4x4 trucks.  I thought it was pretty unusual for such vehicles to be seemingly left for naught at a rundown looking garage.  I felt bad for them in a way.  My business the past few months took me past them maybe a dozen more times, and I said each time I passed them, "I've got to photograph them when I get a chance."  Finally today I had the chance.

This monster 4x4 could be the most intimidating tailgater on the road!

It was fun to stand next to these sky high trucks and think about what it would be like to drive one, heck what it would be like to just try and get into the driver's seat!  Two guys walked by me while I was making these photographs and we chatted a bit about the trucks.  They said the trucks were definitely weekend only vehicles, and not something you want to take your girl out in!  

The intricacies of the lift kit.

As a photographer, it always feels good to check something off your personal list of things to photograph, and I highly recommend making and having a list of things in your neighborhood you want to photograph.  Now the next time when I drive past these trucks on 16th Avenue they will feel like friends since I made the time to introduce myself.  I think they liked having someone pay attention to them again.  

Outdoor Classic Car Show in Saint Petersburg in brief

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This real (not replica) green Ford Cobra was a real show stopper.

I really like to photograph cars, but I very rarely get to do it on purpose.  I had no idea a classic car show was going on just a few miles from my Saint Petersburg home until I happened upon it as I was leaving a meeting about an upcoming HDR gallery exhibition.  I was very glad I did though.  There were some real beauties at the show, but I focused on the Ford Cobras and a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette split window.

This Ford Cobra was a replica, but from this angle looked pretty true to form.

Lately I have been thinking about how only old things have any value.  For cars, to me, it is absolutely true.  These classics are beloved works of art.  I think of the cars rolling off robotic assembly lines today and think, how many will be in car shows 40 years from now?  Probably not any.

Staring up the nose of a beautiful 1963 Chevrolet Corvette split window..

The 1963 Chevrolet Corvette split window is one of the all-time classics and a rarity.  It's a truly beautiful car with so much character that one cannot even compare it to any car of today, not even another Corvette.  

The split rear window of the famous 1963 Chevrolet Corvette as seen at a Saint Petersburg classic car show.

I just hope there are enough of these classic cars in good condition still around by the time I can afford one of them.  What a feeling it must be to cruise down the street in a piece of motoring history!

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If you have a classic car, get it professionally photographed today!

Classic Ford Galaxie mini shoot

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Nice chrome fenders on this classic Ford Galaxie

I went to Crescent Lake Park with the fam to check out a community yard sale in search of a cheap tennis racquet and beyond hope an old, sturdy tripod that could tie me over until I get my dream Gitzo carbon fiber tripod.  I found neither, but there was something unexpected, a classic Ford Galaxie.  It was owned by a retired gentleman from my home state of Rhode Island!  I struck up a conversation with him about this and that.  

the front end of a classic Ford Galaxie with sweet antique Rhode Island license plate

Naturally I asked him if he minded if I took a few photos.  He said not at all.  So I whipped out the D300 which had my Nikkor 105mm VR Micro f/2.8G lens on it, not the ideal lens for photographing a car in whole.  Also, it was sitting in the middle of a huge grass field in the bright noon Florida sun.  So I just made the photos I could in that situation with the gear I had.

left tail-light of a classic Ford Galaxie

I gave the owner my business card and said I'd love to have another chance to photograph his classic ride for free with my usual car photography kit with me.  I'm not sure if he'll take me up on that offer, but I do know he and some other old-timers hangout at this donut shop on 9th Avenue where all kinds of stories are told.  So I will most definitely go and check out that place because I of course love donuts, and I would really like to hear stories about the old days and what they used to do in their cars.

the interior of a classic Ford Galaxie -- she was a beauty inside, and out for that matter

2010 Mercedes Benz S-550 photo session

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2010 Mercedes Benz S-550 at Riverwalk, Tampa

I've been advertising my Classic Car Photography package on and off for the past month and a half and got my first client from it two weeks ago.  There were several delays in finally doing the shoot, however.  The first scheduled time was rained out.  Then the next scheduled time was canceled by the client because he was assaulted and in the hospital!  When things did finally align we had good weather and very interesting skies.

The retiree-aged client was a long-time Mercedes owner.  This was his 4th or 5th Mercedes S-class and he was as giddy about it as a 16-year old getting his first car.  When observing his S-550's wide, round girth, he could not contain his excitement and gave out a "yeeeeah!"  I respected his enthusiasm.  I mean, if you own a $70k+ vehicle, you should feel that way about it.  

2010 Mercedes S-550 at University of Tampa

Many of my portrait photography sessions have been on the University of Tampa campus.  I found out that it's also a decent setting for car photography as well.  Now when I mentioned before that the client was very enthusiastic about his S-550 and the photo shoot in general, I mean he was really willing to do anything.  He gave me directions on which angles he wanted his S-550 shot from and with what backdrops.  He wanted an all grass footprint for his Mercedes to be photographed on and said he'd drive right into the middle of the lawn on the UT campus!  I told him that I did not feel comfortable with that because I use UT campus for a lot of my photography work and I did not fancy getting banned!  Still, he quickly backed up too much by "accident" ending up on enough grass to get an all-grass footprint shot (not pictured).  

2010 Mercedes Benz S-550 led grill lightsThe client was also very excited about the sweet LED grill lights in the 2010 S-550 model.  I have seen the exciting new Benz commercials lately and those LED grill lights had me wishing I had the minimum $50k lying around to rush to my nearest Mercedes dealership with.  Although our session did not last until dark, I tried to make due with the pre-sunset diminishing light levels to try and bring the LED lights out in an image for the client.  

This was a very satisfying photography job as I got to do something totally different and work with an enthusiastic client that ended up very satisfied with the photography product I provided.

Special for this client, I made not only all the images into iPhone sized wallpapers (standard in the car photography package), but also resized them to his exact laptop screen resolution.

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