Astoria Garages, 3.13.11

I wandered down to Shore Blvd., and P., the '55 Bel Air owner, drove by and said he was going to Serino's. So off we went. Serino Hot Rod is a shop in Astoria that has been around since 1935 - this is the 3rd generation running it. Beaters in various phases of restoration lined the street; it was car and photo heaven. They were kind enough to let me poke around, uncover cars, and shoot at will. I'm feeling a little sick of digital, so here are a few Holga shots... I plan on doing another post with the digital shots.

All photographs ©2011 Megan Green, All Rights Reserved. Do not copy, download, or screengrab without my permission.

Shore Blvd, Astoria 2.27.11 - Early Signs of Spring

Sunday was bright, sunny, and slightly above freezing in Astoria. Since it was a brutal winter, I had an inkling that some car people would be anxious to take their hot rods out of the garage and cruise a little. My intuition proved right. There were some later model muscle cars sunning along the river as I walked, but I didn't see anything that truly caught my eye until I backtracked and walked north - and spotted a '72 Charger. I took a few shots, and then the owner came along and had to take off. I kept walking, and got to a '55 Bel Air just in time to take a picture of *it* driving off! I watched it drive away... then I backtracked, and it was parked again. I started chatting with the owner, and he let me have the run of it - get inside, open the hood, the works - and then as luck would have it, the Charger came back and parked. Yes, spring is hopefully in the air.

'55 Bel Air:

'72 Charger:

For all you Mopar people, his 440 engine:

Note the sticker: right here in Queens, the Connecting Highway is legend in street racing. Check out the history here.