Went out to shoot the 2010 Memories car show here in downtown New Castle  on Sunday, 8/29/10. Before I go into details about it, I should say that I really am lucky to be living where I am in many ways. While not a bastion of urban style or trendiness, we do have easy access to a few major automotive events right here in town that are something to be proud of – the Back To the 50′s Weekend, the Downtown Cruise-In around the 4th of July, and the Memories show. (don’t forget the weekly Friday night Riverplex cruise-ins either, as well as a few others) With all that access to awesome and fantastic rides, you tend to get a little spoiled, and that’s great in my eye.

Anyway, this year’s Memories show brought in 500 cars I’m told. And compared to when I last attended in ’08, the difference in attendance was quite apparent. Not only did cars park along the main drag downtown, but also on the side streets, parking lots, turn-a-bout, and even a bridge as well. I was quite impressed, and it made deciding what cars to shoot even more difficult. For the record, at most large shows I attend, unless I’m there all day or multiple days, it’s almost impossible to shoot every car in attendance to post online. And to be honest, it’s often not worth shooting them all. That’s not to say that the one’s I don’t shoot suck or anything, but after a while you start to see the same thing over and over, so I tend to shoot what catches my eye or stands out from the pack in some way. Sometimes it’s the color or the way a car’s built, the unique features it has (double blowers, for example), or subject matter (vintage racer). Sometimes, it’s even being in the right place at the right time and presenting a nice composition. I can’t say I’m not biased by what I like, but definitely I try to be fair and mix it up, and of course sometimes I just miss an awesome car that didn’t catch me for some reason, but turns out it’s really cool had I looked closer. Eh, that’s just the way it goes, so if you see me at an event and think I’m missing a particularly great ride, stop and say hi and point it out. I’ve found some doozies that way, so it’s always welcome.

Well, enough talking, the main gallery for the show is here, and I’ve picked some faves which I’ve posted in this blog entry for you to enjoy right away. As always, thanks for looking!

How about this – all original w/ no restoration:

And here’s a good example of a car that doesn’t immediately show its charm points unless you look closely. Full LS3 ‘Vette drivetrain in a ’50 Olds wagon. Sweet, and the swap work looks flawless.

And I LOVE this old school hotrod, which if I were going to build a car it’d be something just like this. Very well done!

Attended the second night of the New Castle Cruise Nights this past weekend. Held in downtown New Castle, 7/1/10 – 7/2/10, this event ran concurrant to the Back To The 50′s show that was also taking place in town at Cascade Park. Many cars present I saw at both events, and from talking to some of their owners, many make it a point to attend both as the atmosphere is completely unique to each event. Truth be told, I think the Cruise Night is the better of the two because it’s more open and has somewhat of a festival feeling to it. This year it also seemed to have more spectators and the ones there seemed to be having a better time. Same for the car owners too, based on what I heard from those I spoke to.

In any case, this year I went more to relax than to shoot, so I decided to try an experiment and took my ’63 Konica Auto-S with some 200 ISO print film instead of my usual gear. Lightweight and easy to use, the Konica caused no stress at all, and with its fast f1.9 lens and excellent low-speed handheld capability, let me shoot well into the evening. Considering it’s 47 years old, it did a bang-up job. Sharp, clear pics with excellent contrast and color, minimal distortion, and a nice vintage feel that went well with the cars, especially since many were contemporary to the camera in its day.

Here’s the gallery link for the full set. I only shot one roll because it was late and it got dark fast, but that’s enough to give a feel for the show. Definitely, I plan on shooting another show with this camera; I’m thinking the Steeltown Shakedown would be an awesome match-up for it!

These are the highlights form the first batch:

First up is a cut-away car of the new and soon-to-be-released Honda CR-Z hybrid. First time to see one in person, but a shame that it was only this cut-away. Also, oddly enough, this was tucked way out of the way in a corner of the entrance gallery on the second floor, and nowhere near the Honda booth itself.

Next up was this somewhat unusual custom Lexus IS 350C built by Clark Ishihara and David Rahemi for VIP Auto Salon and JTuned.com. The paint is completely flat with no shine whatsoever, which is great for photos, but I think I like my cars with some sparkle. Still, very well executed and unique compared to any of the other showcars present.

Lastly, just one detail shot of a wheel from a 50′s Triumph TR2 on display for the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. I liked the way the light worked with the chrome, so here it is:

More to come shortly, so keep checking back!

It’s that time again. Got my gear all packed up and ready to go,  here’s hoping the weather will be kind enough to actually let me get there. I’ve shot this for the past two years, though we’ve been going on and off since we got here in 2004. Last year’s was a bit disappointing and I took only a few pics, but we’ll see what this year brings. To bring you up to speed, here’s the slideshows from the last two years’ shows. Enjoy!

2008 Pittsburgh International Auto Show

2009 Pittsburgh International Auto Show

Being this is the final post from the show, I’m including the slideshow for the full gallery, as well as my final highlight picks – this time some rockin’ rat rods courtesy of the Pittsburgh Drifters Car Club. I hope the pictures were enjoyed by everyone, I know I had a great time shooting and posting them. See you again in a few weeks!

RAT ROOOODS!!

Today’s highlights are of a pristine 1956 Chevy showcar. A different beast compared to the drag cars from prior installments, but still a work of art nonetheless. Enjoy!