Thursday, January 23, 2025 (continued)
As I mentioned in the last blog, I was a little rushed there at the end so that I could make my dinner date with Toni. While I don’t think that I rushed through the edits at all, I didn’t go through the initial culls like I will normally do before I start the blog. I didn’t even look back through as I was recounting the events. It was all just about getting those final photos into the blog and onto the website as quick as I could. I reduced some of the fluff of the blog, which I’m sure was appreciated as I know I can get a little long winded, so that didn’t bother me either. The only thing that I really regretted was not being able to go back through the photos from the day before deleting the ones that I didn’t care to process. I knew that I would be coming back to those soon though and left Lightroom opened on the computer. This morning after responding to a very nice email about setting up a time to come and see the studio and talk about how I find all of these decay subjects, I started the process of going back through the 37 frames that I had shot paying particular attention to those that got a single star rating from the first culling.
I agreed with all of my choices save for one after I started to work some basic edits with those early dismissals. The one that I liked was of the Mercury and its taillight. I certainly wasn’t shocked at this fact because I really had loved that taillight and the way that it was sculpted into the body of the wagon. Initially, I had shot this composition figuring that I would do it as a color presentation because as I had mentioned the colors really worked well together on this car. When I started looking at it for a second time, the colors really didn’t hit me the same. I still liked them, but the colors seemed to make the image a little less exciting because it was just about the colors and not the shapes that had drawn me to the car in the first place. I had other compositions that added excitement through composition and the colors worked well in those photos. This one was striking me more as a black and white image.
I applied the basic edit that I had done for the other black and white photo of the car and immediately saw what I wanted to see out of the photo. I tweaked a few of the global settings and then did a few masks to complete the presentation. It turned out to be a very strong photograph which worked very well for what I had intended in the first place. There was a lot going for this composition that was now visible which had been masked by the colors originally. It had turned rather striking and well worth adding to the collection.
One of the main aspects of this photo is the implied “S-curve” that is now visible. As you come in through the rear bumper, you will curve up and to the left though the reverse light and then jump up to the taillight which will take you through the three bits of trim before coming back into the frame to explore some more. The textures were more apparent here as well which I really liked. There was simply more character without the color in my opinion with this particular composition. It was one that required a bit more thought behind the edit than the others had, so I’m very glad that I revisited it this morning before trashing the outtakes from the day.
This additional photo brings my total of the day up to nine which is far and away more than what I had counted on when I was going through the process of getting the photographs in the first place. I was really thinking three or four keepers and really would have been happy with that. I’m really trying to focus more on quicker treks with fewer photos in the end so that I can concentrate on single subjects more than just having a full day behind the camera. This trek kind of worked along that theory because it was a spur of the moment decision based on spotting the cars during an errand. It just so happens that both of the cars were rather unique and kind of forced my hand at experimenting with different compositions giving me a wide range of potential photographs to process. I didn’t stick with any composition more than a few frames which meant that I was doing a lot with what amounted to a roll of film. Because of the uniqueness of the subjects, I was happy to have a few extra photos to go through for the portfolio. I mean, I have a ton of tri-five Chevys in there, but how many Mercury wagons have I photographed? This might be the only one that I’ve ever seen, which means that the photos that I have gotten from it, might just be the only ones that I will ever have. That makes this a very special subject for sure.
Thanks for joining me for this little addendum from yesterday. I do hope that you have enjoyed this new photo from the day and that you agree that it was worth adding in. I do believe that it is one that will go into the gallery as a portfolio piece which is always exciting. I do try to keep the best of the best in those gallery rooms, so you are always welcome to drop by and view the different collections. Many times, it is easier to find those photos that you really like rather than trying to go through all of the different blogs to find them that way.
