This is a follow-up to my prior post Out And About V.1. Finally got a chance to post as I’ve been sick for a bit and just felt too beat to work on much of anything. Good now though, so let’s get it on.

If you read the earlier post, I posted some photos I took a short while back from one of our trips to nearby Mill Creek State Park. Mostly it was of the wetlands and scenes from the Fellows Riverside Gardens area. Today’s photos are from an even more recent outing and are from the Lanterman’s Mill & Falls area of the park.

One thing I should point out is that often we go to the park on a whim without having planned to do so. That’s usually because we’re shopping in the area and have some time to kill so decide to get out in nature a bit. This time was no exception and so I had only had my G12 with me which is what I shot these with. Great little camera, the G12, and it’s more than capable of producing quality results as long as you know its limitations. The day these were shot was fairly warm, but quite overcast, so didn’t have to deal with the wide dynamic range that you’d get in full sunlight. You lose a bit of contrast and color saturation, but that’s natural and how the scene looked at the time, so it’s acceptable I feel. The G12 handles these kind of days nicely, and the proof is in the shots I’m posting here. Enjoy!

And for variety’s sake, an abstract taken on the same outing:

Haven’t posted much on personal activities lately, so today I’m going to start making up for that. With the weather having been reasonably decent over the last month or so, me and the fam made a few outings to our favorite spot, Mill Creek State Park in Youngstown, Ohio. As as a result, I have a few batches of photos to share which I’ll spread out over a few posts just to keep each one within a reasonable size.

Today’s batch was from a few weeks back. The weather was fairly comfy, but overcast, and I had the D3 w/ 80-200 f2.8 for the day. Unlike some photogs, I’m not one to carry a big kit with me when I shoot – at least not for unpaid, pleasure work. Instead, I’m usually one lens/one camera, and maybe a flash if I think I’ll be in a situation where I’ll need it. Any more than that and it becomes a hassle to me and also to my family as I’d be more worried about my gear than them or the outing. Besides, I’m lazy – shit gets heavy after 3-4 hours of traipsing around with my whole kit.

Anyway, like I said, this time out I had the long zoom on for a change because the reach is actually pretty handy when hiking near the river and also because I’m kind of bored shooting wide/normal all the time. Glad I made the choice because I had a few nice ops for candid shots that would have been impossible with the 24-70. I also processed the shots mostly as B&W as it was so cloudy the colors were crap anyway and B&W would let me get serious enough with the contrast to give them the pop they’d be missing otherwise because of the weather.

With that, here’s my faves from the day. Mostly landscapes, with a few candids thrown in for variety. But then, that’s pretty much Mill Creek in a nutshell, so there ya’ go. Enjoy!

Posted up the second half of the 2011 Cars In The Park show at Boardman Park in Boardman, OH. The main gallery is here, but I’ve posted some of my faves from this batch below for a quick look.

This next one is a bit nostalgic for me. Years ago, we used to have a ’77 Ford LTD II that basically had the exact same front end as this Ranchero and was like driving an easy chair with wheels. Fun car, but got beat to hell in Chicago winters and died an inglorious death from rust and age.

For the 80′s, Grand Nationals were totally bonerific, and they still hold their own today too, I think.

And finally, a Fiero GT! I remember wanting one of these so bad when I was in high school because it looked somewhat Ferrari-ish, but instead I got stuck with a POS ’73 Toyota Celica that was painted with house paint (the paint was in the trunk when we bought it), and started up in the middle of winter on the first try with only about a quart of oil in it and after having sat for nearly half a year in the same parking space before being sold. It was rough, but that car had character. Would love to have a restored one.

Posting up the first batch of photos from this past weekend’s 2011 Cars In The Park show at Boardman Park, in Boardman, OH.

For those that want to skip straight to the gallery: 2011 Cars In The Park Gallery

First show in August I’ve had a chance to shoot, and it was quite a good one. This is the second year that I’ve shot the show and both times I’ve really enjoyed the variety of vehicles and ease of access to them that this show provides. Last year, I shot it casually with a little Canon Canonet rangefinder film camera because I wanted to experiment a bit with a vintage camera and film. That was great fun, but this year I shot it like I do most shows with my D3, mainly because I didn’t have any film handy and also because I didn’t feel like ponying up for processing this time. Cheapskate? Nah, just had some other priorities that needed funding first (framing prints for a show).

If you’ve read my post for this show from last year, then there’s really not that much to add to it. What I like most about it is that there is a wide variety of vehicles to look at – everything from a 1909 REO to a 2010 Z-06, and they also have a habit of arranging the displays in groups of similar vehicles, i.e. Mustangs in one area, Corvettes in another. This makes for ease in shooting and also can give some clever group shots of similar vehicles that I can’t get at many other shows. Plus, on a non-photographic level, Boardman Park also has a fantastic playground for kids, so you can take the family too and they can go play while you take in the show at a more leisurely pace. The atmosphere is pretty friendly too, and most attendees seemed easygoing and truly enjoying themselves. Wrap all of that up, and add in the fact that there are a ton of restaurants, stores, and entertaiment spots nearby, and you have a winner.

Some highlights from this first batch of photos:

And finally, this handbuilt one-off roadster that caught my eye because of the somewhat longish hood and overall style. Gotta show respect to anyone who can design and build their own car.

Full gallery: 2011 Choppers Rod & Custom Show

Here’s my picks from the last batch:

I took the GR-D III with me and it was the first real chance to take some pics with it that were more than just junk snaps around the house. It did quite well too, I must say, and if there’s anything to complain about it’d be that the LCD is somewhat hard to see in the bright sun, the dynamic range is somewhat limited (compared to a DSLR that is), and that under certain conditions there can be a fairly pronounced amount of CA present. Other than that, it was super comfy to shoot with, fast handling, exposures were pretty much right on, and it was very lightweight and easy to carry. As a take-everywhere pocket cam it’s just about perfect, and the “complaints” listed above are pretty true for all pocket cams across the board, so they’re not any fault of the camera itself. Sure, a DSLR will give greater quality results, but you can’t put it in your pocket. For times where that’s important, the trade-off in IQ is worth it. And it’s still better then a cellphone cam.

Below are some snaps from throughout the day. There’s a lot this time since I wanted to show a range of what the camera is capable of, so they’re posted as thumbnails to make them easier to deal with. Just click the thumbnail to see the larger version. All were taken between 64 and 200 ISO, and either f4 or f5.6 in almost all instances. I only tweaked them a bit for exposure and white balance, with a few getting a monochrome treatment; otherwise, they’re pretty much as shot.

Here are my picks from the latest upload:

Stay tuned for the next batch!

Pretty cool graphic, huh? Wish I could take the credit, but no, it’s a scan of the cover of the program from the 2011 Choppers Rod and Custom Show held in North Olmsted, Ohio. I wanted to show it to you though, because this is a show I highly recommend going to if you get the chance.

Before I go any further though, for those who’re looking to go straight to the gallery, here’s the link: 2011 Choppers Rod and Custom Show gallery

Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get down to business. This is the second year I’ve shot and attended this show, and so far, I’d say it’s probably my favorite. The reason for this is that it’s a very intimate show with a lot of character and some truly excellent cars on display. It also has variety in it’s favor, and by that I mean that there aren’t a lot of repeats on display from last year. That’s great because compared to some of the larger shows like the Autorama and World of Wheels, you have more fresh metal to look at and enjoy. As a photographer, I really like and enjoy shooting new material, so having good turnover every year is a plus. One of the factors contributing to this is that the show has a theme every year. This year’s theme featured vehicles from 1956. Of course, there are other vehicles present, but since the theme changes every year it guarantees at least a certain amount of new rides on display. I like this idea and it helps greatly to make the show interesting.

As for the cars themselves, hmm, where to begin? It’s always difficult to write about the vehicles in attendance at a show because there are simply too many, even at smaller shows, and so you’d be reading a book instead of this blog. For individual cars it’s better to highlight just a few and let the pics talk for themselves, so as always I’ll have my picks at the end for your enjoyment with some brief captions. Generally speaking though, the cars at this show display a high level of workmanship and finish, with a kind of down-to-Earth feel to them that I don’t always pick up on at the larger shows. Maybe it’s the fact that the show itself is smaller and more personal than most. Or possibly that because it’s essentially a club show, that basic connection shows through in the display and atmosphere of the show. Whatever it may be, the cars in attendance have great presence and that makes for a worthwhile and enjoyable time spent viewing them.

At Choppers, the general make-up of entries is primarily hotrods, older classics, and drag cars – quite a few drag cars in fact, which I particularly enjoy. There are also some bikes, scooters, and specialty vehicles. One thing you don’t have is a lot of modern vehicles, but there are a few, and they’re primarily dragsters. You also don’t see a lot of muscle cars like I tend to find at the bigger shows and at smaller shows in western PA. If you like older vehicles and more classically styled grass roots hotrods, then this may be show you need to go to.

OK, so enough writing, lets see some pics. These are my picks out of the first batch of photos that I’ve posted. How and why I pick particular vehicles to show is a closely guarded secret (LOL, actually I just wing it and go with what catches my attention), so enjoy my mad curator skillz and let’s jump right in.

First up is this great 1948 Willys Jeep. I just love the color combo and the finish is simply stunning in person. Must be great to ride around in and see the looks people give.

Next, this 1932 Ford Coupe stands out quite a bit to me because of the overall classiness of its simple design, and also because admittedly I’m a sucker for race cars and cars that tend to feature functional style over pure looks. Either way, it’s a beaut.

The sign on this barn find reads, “BARN FIND! 40 Ford Deluxe Coupe, ’65 327 CID w/ 350 Turbo 10 bolt Chevy r/axle, 12 volt system, Stored in a barn in Medina since the late 60′s/I’m not for sale!, What you see is what we found.” That pretty much says it all.

This 1929 Chrysler 66 is a real wolf in sheep’s clothing if you ask me. Notice anything unusual about it perhaps? No? Nothing? That seems to be the point. Take the time to give it a true once over however, and it’s hard to ignore the “Viper” logo on the valve covers and the five exhaust runners per side. Of course, that’s assuming you have enough time to look before all you see is its tail lights. Very sweet.

Lastly, a car that I came across at the recent 2011 Cleveland Autorama, this 1951 Henry J is a real treat. Love the color and its clean smooth lines. Missed a shot of the interior at the Autorama, so made up for that here. So very nice!

And that’s it for now. More photos to come in the next few days, and I will post here as always whenever there’s an update. Thanks for looking!

Today’s highlights:

A very sweet Ford hot rod:

A fantastic ’57 Chevy Bel-Air ratty dragster:

A beautifully restored ’65 Jag:

Haven’t seen a DeTomaso in quite a while, especially one this nice:

And an 80′s Porsche 930 Slant Nose to go with it:

And to wrap up, a Chevy-powered BMW 325e:

Still more to come, so stay tuned!

This is the second time I’ve shot it and this time I was able to pretty much cover the whole deal, barring a few cars that weren’t convenient to shoot at the time. Like last year, this show had a good mix of vehicles and vehicle styles, and overall the quality level was quite high. In some ways I like it better than the Pittsburgh World of Wheels show because there seems to be a larger number of unusual vehicles on display, plus there also seems to be a bigger crop of new entries and not as many repeats. It also has a good sized swap meet/flea market and lots of miscellaneous vendors, which WOW doesn’t, so it makes for a wider variety of attractions. That said, they’re both good shows, just different, so definitely go visit them both and decide for yourself.

This year saw some interesting rides that I hadn’t seen before. They maybe were around before and I just missed them, but more than a few times while shooting I had participants tell me they just finished their car and this is the first show for it. That’s good, because I like to see fresh blood coming out and displaying their rides; it makes for a bit of excitement and something to look forward to each year. Perhaps it’s the timing of the show, what with being so close to the end of winter and people rolling out their fresh winter projects that causes it to be like this. In any case, it makes for a good show and one fun to shoot. I came home with over 200+ photos after about 6 1/2 hours, so there was no lack of material, that’s for sure.

Hard to say what my favorites were this time through. All of the cars were very high quality and very clean and well presented. Usually, I tend to gravitate towards the rat rod/drag cars as a personal preference, but not many rats to be found this year compared to last I think, so I was a bit disappointed. Drag cars were plentiful, same as before, so there was some solace in that. More than explanations, though, I think the best thing is to just show you what caught my eye out of the lot, so here’s my highlights and notes from the first batch of photos posted.

This Chucky inspired Charger is pretty sweet. I have a soft-spot for Chucky because Child’s Play was filmed in Chicago where I grew up, and we went to go see them film it for the scene where they blow up the toy store. That toy store BTW, was a dance club we used to go to in High School, so it has extra nostalgia value packed in. Anyway, the car’s cool.

Next up is this Joker inspired ‘Vette that has some of the best paintwork and airbrushing I’ve seen in a while. The 3D layering effect is flawless and really adds dimension to the car (bad pun I know). The rear rims are also some of the deepest I’ve seen ever. And, it’s got eyes, and you know eyes are badass.

On the extreme end, you have this beastie sporting some serious cat-killer rims. There isn’t an animal in town that could escape those. For reference, I’m 5’9″ and the rims topped out near shoulder height. I feel sorry for the brakes.

This was by far the best display at the show I’d say. Modelled after a gas station and garage, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it. Apparently, the owner runs a dealership, and the details show it. Very original and well put together.

This seriously blown ‘Vette also caught my attention. Would love to see and hear it run, I’m sure it would be spectacular.

And finally for today, a stand out set of His n’ Hers Ford Mustangs, covering not only the gender gap, but the generation gap as well. Most excellent!

More to come shortly!