Historic Microstock
Taking pictures of period subjects gets tricky. Trying to capture this mood car in a time when the light was uneven and strange, amid shadows and foot traffic, with limited access to the subject, made a unique photo opportunity I had to get right. The compelxities of the challange amde for some nail-biting problem solving moments both at the shutter point and in the editing bay.
The first requirement for an authentic looking picture was the subject itself. I verified that this 1932 model Ford could have been made and in existence by the time the Bob’s Big Boy diner was extablished in 1946. That meant that I was not creating an anachronistic awkwardness to the image. But the rest of the shot composition was not so easy.
The car was stationary, parked next to an electronic fuse box and a pair of concrete reinforced bumper poles. These were to serve to ward off cars curving through the dirve-in part of the restaurant from hitting the fuse box with ancillary parts of their (modern) car. The dingy fuse box and the yellow poles couldn’t be blocked from a full shot of the car unless I gave up capturing the very details that made it interesting.
The cement drive-in had a lot of electric light flashing from other cars, nearby restaurants, and the flash of other cameras. The full car as a photographic subject was not mine to command from all angles however. Pedestrian car show enthusiasts would come near and linger around the car. careful study had to be done in between full car “privacy” windows.
Then came the flux and pitch of my lens debate. An actual straight on lensed shot captured the cars but only the actual subject, a dark car with so much light absorbed and corrected it merely looked dull and mined out detail. Too much bright light exposed the peeling paint and chips evinced by surgically bright flashes.
The car is about 70 years old and possessed of much of its original hardware and parts. Many onlookers observed “this car has a soul”. Many newer cars had less mystique. But the exposed engine block with shining chrome engine parts had to be shielded as well for an authentic look. Too much light or “night” effects gave a weird glow with imprecise detail.
The best setting was a “museum” lens frame setting. This absorbed the right detail but didn’t brighten the shot beyond all bounds. This image capture is something I might do some experimentation on with filters and actions in one of the photo software labs.
Or maybe not.
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