Cars
Go to any car show and you’ll see almost as many cameras as spectators. To say that show cars are superbly photogenic is an understatement. The combination of sensual shapes, gleaming surfaces, and nostalgia offer a photographer’s dream. But with the usual crowds of enraptured people, photographing at car shows presents several challenges, the biggest of which is to crop the shots without spectators wandering between the cars and the camera or into the background or casting a shadow or reflection on the cars’ shiny surfaces. Nonetheless, early in the day before the crowds thicken to impossibility I shoot many car shows each year.
I chose “Concours Studios” for the obvious connection with the most classic of car shows, the Concours d’Elegance, of which there are a select few, the most well known being the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that happens every year in August. But my all-time favorite Concours d’Elegance was the 2010 Avila Beach Concours d’Elegance. My favorite because it rained. Of course, it dampened the spirit of the event. But the elegant soft light and the low attendance made for great shooting. And how often does any photographer in the world get the opportunity to shoot a 100-point Bugatti or Duesenberg or Ferrari with beads of raindrops streaming off the hoods and fenders? I’ve never been so wet and so happy. Most of the photographs posted on the site for Avila Beach Concours d’Elegance are mine.
Commissions and assignments to shoot cars often come as the result of contacts made at car shows. I make an effort to chat with the owners of the more unique and spectacular cars, often winners in their class or best of show. As a result, I’ve been commissioned to photograph cars in more controlled and isolated environments. In some cases, I have written articles about the owners and their cars. In the best of these, I form valued friendships with people I admire for their skills, knowledge, and persistence.