Drive Thru

Convertible or Hard Top?

Little GTO....

... really lookin' fine. Only in the 60s could this car be considered "little".

Jump like a Willys in 4-wheel drive...

Seen parked on Capitol Street in Charleston.

Field Element

Car Park

Tree Drops

Smart Christmas Car....

... spotted on Capitol Street today. I have no idea what this is about.

Vehicular Sunset

This is similar to this one.

On the Horizon

There's something you don't see every day...

... a Delorean. When I commented on it to the owner she said "Oh that? We've got two".

At the car wash...

... sing it one time.

Another Bug Post

And some fall foliage too!

Daisy Wheels

Seen on the WV Turnpike

Holy cow... there's something I haven't seen in a while. It's one of the first Honda automobiles sold in America. I recall that it had a 600cc engine. It's tiny. In those days, it seemed crazy that Honda, the company that made those cute little motorcycles, would actually sell cars.

Headlight Overlay

Here's another car show photo. I'm not much into Photoshop "tricks" but I've been experimenting with this "Blur Overlay" effect and it sure is effective at making a dull photo more interesting.

Car Show Blahs

I shot last year's car show in January and got so many shots I did 5 posts full of pictures. This car show was something of a letdown. There were hardly any concept cars... just mostly showroom cars and some unexciting classics.

BTW... that first shot of the Jaguar hood ornament was done not with my little Fuji F30, but with my Nikon D200 and my new 18-200mm VR lens. The VR (vibration reduction) lenses allow the camera to shoot at lower shutter speeds without camera-shake blur. The hood ornament photo was shot at 1/45th of a second at 135mm and I easily got a good sharp image without using a tripod. A rule of thumb has always been that you need a shutter speed "equal to" the focal length. For instance, if you are shooting a 200mm lens you'd need a shutter speed of 1/200th second... or if you were using a 28mm lens, you'd need a shutter speed of 1/30th second to get a sharp image. I've always found this rule of thumb to be pretty accurate. Using the VR lens, I can usually shoot with 2 or 3 stops lower shutter speed than before.

I've been testing this lens and I'm really happy with it. The huge focal length range of 18mm to 200mm means that I'll be changing lenses much less often. I'll miss fewer shots that require quick reactions because I won't have to change lenses in the middle of shooting. It also means less dust inside the camera and less dust falling on my sensor. Cleaning the sensor is a real pain.

New Element Discovered

No, not radioactive 118... my new ride... just like the old ride, only better.

Define Chutzpa

The Prancing Horse

Seen at Easton Town Center, Columbus. I can't help but notice that every time I go to Easton I see some sort of super-hot car parked in very conspicuous parking spot. How long do these guys have to drive around the block before they get these parking slots?