mostly neutral in color, plump and limbless

This setting has everything I could possibly want in my photographs. There is absolutely nothing missing except for maybe a piece or two of plywood.
It’s not hard to see what I’m talking about: the color of the car, the wood background, and the two-tone asphalt. And you thought I was just about old, cool cars. This Volkswagen Jetta works just fine.

If you peek just over the top of the car and above the ant, the text of the graffiti on the wall seems a bit confusing. But if you’ve read The Manufacture Of Non-Bleeding Maraschino Cherries by Jillian Ciaccia then you’ll know that it’s a part of the sentence, “The fruit, mostly neutral in color, plump and limbless is easily harvested with an extended reach.”

*If you know the name of the “ant” street artist please contact me.

the driver and the pink jaguar

In the Fall of 2009 The Correspondent® asked me to be her chauffeur in San Francisco for a few days while she conducted business. I agreed but first I had to renew my driver’s license. Mine had been expired for so long that I had to go through the whole DMV process all over again. That meant long lines, driving school, horrible police videos, eye exams, body cavity searches and finally, the road test. My driving instructor was from Kingston, Jamaica and spoke with the most wonderful accent. I barely knew what he was saying half of the time but despite that thick Jamaican patois, I learned to yield, merge and control my road rage all while doing a three-point turn. I passed all of the tests and got my license.

Once in California, a couple of days were spent driving the highways from San Jose to Santa Cruz then down to Monterey and Carmel. In San Francisco we acquired vertigo via the Golden Gate Bridge and negotiated the hairpin turns of Lombardi Street nearly taking out a couple of tourists. There is footage of this somewhere. The rest of the time in the city I set out on foot to soak up some of the unique architecture and neighborhoods and possibly shoot some cars. Most of my photographs require the streets to be pretty flat so I wasn’t sure I would find much in a city known for being steep and hilly but I was optimistic. I had just finished a long walk to the end of Haight Street where it meets Golden Gate Park when I spotted this fantastic pink Jaguar XJ. This is probably the only shot I have where there isn’t a building in the background. I wish I knew who drove this car and the story behind painting the car pink. I think it looks great even if it is slightly beat up. If you look closely you’ll see a small pink ribbon sticker on the rear triangle-shaped side window. Very appropriate for October.

coats, soothes, relieves

Bismuth subsalicylate, also known as pink bismuth is the main ingredient in Pepto-Bismol which has seemed to inform the color of this 1967 Buick Special. The car is supposedly owned by one of The Wau Wau Sisters, a burlesque act from Brooklyn, NY. They dress up like private school studens, talk dirty and dance suggestively. These were the type of women that my mother, a former nun, warned me about. Shake well before use. 1 dose (2 Tbsp or 30 ml) every 1/2 to 1 hour as needed.

plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

This old proverb from Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr came to mind on a recent trip to New Orleans. I wandered around the Garden District absorbing the changes that have taken place where I once lived. Natural and man-made disasters are woven into the fabric of New Orleans and with each crisis the city attempts a rebirth. This stretch of Magazine Street has witnessed many changes with new boutique shops and restaurants but it still has the old holdouts like this pawn shop. I wonder if you still have to be buzzed in the front door?

I came across this 1966(?)Dodge Charger and made a few shots. The light wasn’t quite right at the time (and my vision was a bit nebulous from the previous evening of Irish Channel merriment) so while I was having a nice breakfast at Slim Goodies across the street, I kept my eye on the car hoping the light would change. It never did but I like the shadows now.

Meaning is always imposed on my photographs after the fact. Either by me or by you. When I’m out shooting I don’t think of “old versus new” or “rebirth” or make any attempt at a theme but when you’re in New Orleans these elements surround you like a hot, humid day. There is no escape but why would you want to?

architecture in queens

I like to think that I have hard-and-fast rules when it comes to these car photos but sometimes something like this comes along and everything goes out the window. This street is mostly warehouses and repair shops (see VW shot on this same street) which makes this apartment building really stand out. I wanted to look away yet I was drawn to the pink brick and marble balustrades. Moth. Flame. Either way this Italian-villa background for me is busy and unbalanced, yet strangely perfect for this old Chevrolet.
Fair play to you, Queens.

Ad for the 1954 Chevrolet 210 4-door sedan

pablo picasso drove an eldorado

This car seemed to be saying, “Look at my tone-on-tone color scheme and matching tan house!” I walked toward it to get a closer look when I noticed a group of men playing cards behind the fake-grass covered fence. A young guy jumped up as I eyed the car. He didn’t look too happy. I was explaining to him that I was a photographer and like to take pictures of cars on the street, when an older gentlemen stood up from the card table and walked over. I could tell right away that he was the boss, and I told him I liked the car. “It’s mine and I have another in the back,” he said, and led me to the gate where he kept a sleek black 60′s era Cadillac hidden under a tarp. “You should shoot this one.” Upon hearing that I immediately had a flashback to the movie Goodfellas where the Robert De Niro character tries to get his friend’s wife to enter a building all alone. Did he really want to shoot me? I was relieved when he gave me permission to shoot the Eldorado. I thanked him and vowed to bring him a print next time I was in the area.

the gold bug

The first car I ever owned was a gold Volkswagen Beetle or “Bug” as it was more commonly known. I had a few minor wrecks but I could easily replace a dented fender or two myself since everything bolted on to the frame.

This image contains everything I like: interesting car, good colors and an uncluttered background.

a sunny for sunnyside

This is one of the first photos I took in this automobile series. I actually lived on this street and passed this car many times until one day I saw it parked all alone. At the time of this shot I was concerned with little else but documenting the car but that green hedgerow would later become an important part of an overall composition element in all of my photographs.

This little car is a Datsun B210, known in Japan as the Nissan Sunny. Fitting since it was shot in Sunnyside. There’s a word in Japanese that I think applies to this car, kawaii, which means “cute” or “adorable” among other things. Look at those at honeycomb hubcaps!

deuce-and-a-quarter

Sometimes I’ll get lucky and meet the owner of a car I’ve photographed. I never know how someone will react when I tell them, “I shot your car.” Most seem okay with it and are more than happy to offer up a story. I met the owner of this Buick and gave him a small print, much to his surprise.

This car is a Buick Electra 225 or as its known on the street, the Deuce-and-a-Quarter. It measures 225 inches bumper-to-bumper.

I took this shot very quickly, not caring too much for the framing.  I didn’t think it would work because the background was too busy. I try to stay away from signs and awnings. But once I looked at it on a larger screen it came to life and became one of my favorites.

the importance of being patient

I visited this spot so many times hoping for the right car to fill the space. I love the corrugated aluminum siding and the small windows of this building that occupies most of this triangular block. It reminds me of the side of a ship.

This blue Lincoln Town Car had been parked in various sections of the street but never on its own against this background. I once sat across the street, waiting and waiting for a large idling truck to move so I could shoot the car properly. The driver decided to take a lunch break so I moved on.

Then one morning it finally happened. There was the car all by itself. I quickly snapped a few shots before the street started filling up.  I unconsciously left a bit of blue sky in the top left corner of the frame. It plays nicely with the Lincoln’s body color, and was one of those nice surprises from reviewing shots at the end of the day.