AutoMotïf

A friend of my wife gave us VIP passes to one of the car auctions here yesterday. We had never been to a car auction, so I decided to take the day off from work and go with my wife. We got there about 8:00 AM and stayed until 2:00 PM when we left to pick up our daughter from school, returning with her from 3:30 to 7:30 PM. It was a very exciting day, filled with lots of photographic opportunities. I took 235 digital photos... that's about a years worth of production with large format, but the percentage of keepers is much higher with large format. Oh, what I would do with the 4x5 if I had a few days, no people and access to these magnificent vehicles!

I never really photographed automobiles, but it's hard not to at an event like this, where there are hundreds, if not thousands, of historic and classic cars. My first car was well represented this year... the Chevelle SS... although these cars were much nicer than the beater 1971 model I bought for $500 in 1983, going for anywhere between $55,000 and $112,000 today! Man, I wish I had the foresight to keep that car and fix it up.



Of course, I tended to look a little closer at the details, finding compositions consisting of lines and color. Below are a few of my favorites from the day. I think I am going to produce a small format (4x5" or 8x10") limited edition portfolio of these images. Stay tuned.











One of the Bidder Assistants was a great subject. He was very animated when he had a bidder.



There are always a few "celebrity" cars at this event. My daughter took this photo of me in front of an exact replica of the original Batmobile. There's also a shot of the cockpit.



Even got a cool family portrait... all three of us are in the reflections.



And, what day would be complete without some photographs of that contemporary American culture that we are so famous for?