There are two challenges of photographing car shows. First, it seems like the cars are different owners but the same cars, the same colors, and the same accessories. Second, with the cars so close together it’s hard to isolate only one. In a previous post I mentioned that I decided to focus on hood ornaments to solve the problem. I still look for unique hood ornaments when I’m in a car viewing situation and over time I expect I’ll end up with a large collection. Here us another trick to do something different.

My first trick, or tool as I like to categorize it, is to shoot people at the event. Here’s a picture I couldn’t resist. I was walking by and Betty Boop called out to me as I passed by. Knowing she was a victim of the censors always get’s me, along with the rumors of which Hollywood starlet was the model for her legs. As I looked up I noticed the owner of the car in this perfect mirror pose. I asked her if I could take her photo and she resumed the same space and pose. A perfect set of twins! She and her husband had a nonmatching pair of 69 Camaros. This one is light purple.

While I was at it, why not expand the cars and people tool to a little street photography? Here are a couple of non-car photos of this event. Doing street photography with a film 645 camera can be a bit of a challenge (it’s not small or silent) but the quality of the photo makes it worth it!

The second trick is the decision to use black and white film. Without the trusty monitor on the back of the camera, shooting film makes for a slower experience. It was a little slower still as my Mamiya 645 is manual advance and manual focus. Using film instead of digital capture with a flip to black and white slowed this down a bit also. Effectively shooting black and white means looking at tone instead of color. Where will this purple fit on the grey scale? Will it contrast well with something else in the frame? Of course I could have shot color and made the decisions sitting in front of the computer, but so many cars at a car show are the same as every other show. Making on-the-spot decisions gave me something to focus on as I wandered the event.

Let me leave you with a few last pics of some unique cars (AKA not Chevy’s or Mustangs), a Woody and a Rambler. Summertime is car show time. Go out and take a few pictures!

Okay, I have to include a Tri-Five Chevy.