Corvette

Corvette

Lighting at the Carolina Auto Show is a strange, fickle thing. It is held in a big, dark expo building. There are low power fluorescent lights for general lighting so visitors can see where they are going. The cars themselves are light by multiple, bright spotlights, plus they are polished to be as reflective as possible.

All of this means that you just can't count on the lighting, but you have to work with it. Add in the people around the cars and it can be a challenge to photograph stuff. How I handle it is by looking for particular details that stand out to me. Rather than photographing the entire car which likely has people inside and all around it, I will photograph the hood ornament, or the name badge, or some unusual set of lines. Basically, I abstract it I suppose.

This photograph is of the hood of one the more popular cars at the show. I helped that it was the first thing you saw when you came through the entrance. The 2010 Corvette had people around it and inside it constantly while I was there. However, I really liked the hood detail and the car's identifiable badge. It is red like a 'Vette should be. It looks like the hood of a fast car. It says to me everything that a Corvette is supposed to be. I didn't really need a picture of the entire car. This one said it all.

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Belated Happy New Year

Hood Art

Well, it is 2010. Time really seems to be speeding by me. It doesn't seem like very long ago we were worrying about the Y2K bug yet it has been ten years since Y2K became a memory. It still feels like I graduated from college just a couple of years ago rather than twenty. *Sigh*


We haven't been out much lately so there haven't been a lot of new photographs to post about. However, this past weekend I went to the Carolina Auto Show in Greenville. This was the third year that I went to the show. It was the first year that I went by myself though. I wanted some time to wander around alone and my wife was gracious enough to watch our son. There had been some things that had been getting me down and I really felt that I needed to get out by myself. I'm glad that I was able to. Walking around the car show with the freedom to photograph at my own pace helped to get me out of my little funk. I've said before that the camera has kept me sane these past couple of years, and this was another time that it was as much therapy as expression.

The car show itself was good, if a bit smaller than previous years. Most of the major manufacturers were represented. However, there were a couple of brands that I wanted to look at that were not at the show. Some of the local car clubs were present showing their Mustangs and Exotic sports cars. There was even a Tesla all-electric sports car. It was the first Tesla that I've seen first hand. I didn't know there was even one in the area until now. Plus, a there were a few after market vendors and organizations with displays as well.

The photograph above is of the work of an after market customization artist. It is the raised hood of a Toyota model that has been completely customized from the paint job, to the engine, to the interior. It was a beautiful car. You can see more of this shop's work at The Artwork of Richard Markham.

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