Series in Progress - Classic Cars with a Retro Camera

Last spring, I started throwing one of my many old/antique cameras in my camera bag when I went to car events - a Sabre 620. In order to use it, I have to re-roll 120 film onto 620 reels - yes, I roll my own. Film! I wanted to shoot classic cars with a camera that is about as old as they are, and I really dug the results when I developed the first rolls. I've seen a lot of digital photos post-processed to look "old" or "retro," but actually using film gives it an authenticity that can't be replicated in Photoshop.

Last night, I was hosting a friend who was a JFK Airport refugee - she was stuck here because of the blizzard, halfway to her destination. Before she arrived I had been scanning some film I shot at a restoration shop in Texas, and the roll hadn't turned out all that well. It was way too dark in the shop for a simple box camera with no exposure control. I left the one frame that was salvageable open in Photoshop, and when she woke up my laptop to check her flight status, she exclaimed, "Wow, I like that!" Great, all was not lost. If Lecia from my art school days likes it, I guess it's got some merit - I am my own worst editor and critic.

This is a series-in-progress - I'm still not sure what it will ultimately be or when it will end (maybe a Blurb book?), but I'm having fun with it for now - and it will go to Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend with me! I bought the tickets months ago...

12.23.2010, Houston, TX:

6.12.2010, Rumble in the Country, Terryville, CT:

8.21.2010, Woodward Dream Cruise, Detroit, MI:

11.3.2010, SEMA, Las Vegas, NV:

10.9.2010, Riff Raff Riot, Greenlawn, NY:

If you "Like" my Pony Car Girl facebook page, there are a few more shots there. Looking at these, I realize I need to shoot more rat rods! I'll post more as the series goes on... but right now, all of the cool cars are in hibernation here in the cold, snowy Northeast.