Shelby Cobra 67-500

This Shelby Cobra is the last of the 67's.  Number 500 in fact!  I saw the documentation and original window sticker to get all the proof I could need.  

So it is also the last of the Cobras in the original Mustang body style.  As you can see the car also wears a special badge signifying the good work of the owners to maintain it in original form.  Yes it still has that wonderful throaty engine sound.  It has about 14,000 original miles on it (well if I remember accurately).

This photo is available for sale if you'd like to have it adorn you wall, christmas cards or coffee mugs....please contact me at www.ehwphotography@gmail.com!  It will help me pay for the website!  Let me know the size you are looking for, and I will get you a price quote!

-ehw

Morning Coffee with a few Legends

This morning, before the raindrops came falling down around us...I got to spend some time with two legendary cars (as well as two younger siblings).  Yes I visited a Shelby Cobra collector and it was fantastic.

These are a '67 Shelby (number 500) and a '68 Shelby KR.  They are wonderful automobiles.  True museum pieces if I ever saw one...except these are working samples.  Both got back inside before the rain started coming down to protect their original coats of paint.  Hearing the engines was also a wonderful experience.  I wish I could give you a sample of the sounds along with the photos.  The owners were fabulous hosts!

I'd just like to extend my thanks to the owner and his family for welcoming me into their home today.  I am excited to return soon and complete the job on a drier fall day. I'd also like to thank them for letting me add these to my public portfolio! 

Thats right, the work you shall see in coming days is now part of my portfolio, and therefore available to you through EHW Photography.

-ehw

Our old Bug

My parents were not hippies (not my Army officer Dad!), but we did have this type of camper back in the 70's.  Since the statue of limitations is over I can tell you we sat five in a car with only three seat belts for several years.  My sister and brother both slept on a hammock over the driver's seat as toddlers.  I can't remember if I was in the tent or not.  I think I did, at least once.  We also went to see the first Superman movie at the drive through in this big bug as a family.  That was a fun night.  I also remember holding the check from the back used to pay for it...and as an adult I drove past that spot and memory every day for two years 30 years later.

This automobile may not be a horse, but it does foster bonds between who we are today and our past.  Maybe it is because we associate travel with growth and freedom here in the USA.  I know this is a poor way to explain an American and their automobiles.  I just had to get those stories out.  The car made me do it!

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with HDR Efex Pro2, Slight color treatment in Nik Color Efex 4.

Classic Lines

This car sat right next to my booth on Sunday.  It was screaming to be photographed.  This is one of my favorites from the car.  The light and reflection of trees in the chrome makes it almost magical.  Well in my opinion!  I hope you agree.  Any feedback is appreciated.

As with so many cars at the show this one brought back memories for my childhood.  This was the car of the Rich and Famous in my teen years.  I could never hope to own one (still can't) but they were very refined and lovely cars for their day.  Today they are just plain old classy.

-ehw

P.S. jpeg HDR conversion, nine shots +/-3EV.  Done in HDR Efex2 by nik.  Color Effex4 chrome correction, and finished in Perfect Effects 8.

A Shelby Day

I'm very excited.  My son and I had a great time at Caffeine and Octane on Sunday morning.  I cannot reveal the details yet, but lets just say this photo is practice for an upcoming project.

Although we had many challenges as a family this weekend, it turned out alright.  Now I'm getting ready for another good work week with great people solving problems.  I can only thank God for the opportunity to care for my family and others whenever possible.  Jesus is the greatest example of selflessness in history...and I hope I am living the calling he set before me.

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 post in Nik Color Effex4..and a touch of sharpening in Aperture with a brush.  As always if you want to know what I did, contact me and I'll share.  

Caffeine and Octane Tomorrow

EHW Photography will be at Caffeine and Octane tomorrow morning from 7A-11AM at 12600 Deerfield Parkway, Alpharetta, Georgia.  I'll be selling photos, and hopefully capturing a few new ones to share!  Over 600 people and their autos usually attend.  So if you want to see classics, hotrods, and modern special editions come on down!

-ehw

Memories of Childhood

Walking through Old Car City an International Harvester pickup sat thinking of glorious days long past...and I thought of shifting my first gears at the age of 7 or so...

See we once had a 1970 Scout, made by IH.  It was the fancy model with dual gas tanks and a four speed manual transmssion.  It ran on anything according to my Dad.  It was pretty smooth going to school down Poverty Lane (yes there is such a road in West Lebanon, N.H.)  It was so smooth in fact that my Dad could drink his coffee in an open cup while changing gears!

I know you are now asking how do you drink coffee nicely when you are driving a stick shift?  Well that is of course easy when you deploy your optional automatic child transmission to shift on command.  I think my Dad was WAY ahead of his time.  I mean this transmission was voice activated!  "Second! Third! Fourth!...slowing down now Four, Three, Two.......stop...First!"  Google car eat your heart out!

I was the proudest second grader on the planet when I got to school.  Not only was my Dad the ONLY Army officer in the state, the only one to understand how to build a Army standard bunker...but I was the ONLY child shifting gears of an automobile!

-ehw

P.S. As for the image this is my first image in the Fall Collection.  After reading the HDR Book by RC (www.aboutRC.com) I went back to work on several older photos.  Using new ideas, tools and skills many images found themselves re-invented...and much improved.  That is the beauty of digital and art...it can grow with you if you challenge yourself from time to time to not live on your laurels.  This will be available for purchase on 12x12 metallic floating mount for $115 by the end of the week.  Larger sizes available on request...I promise you will not be disappointed..Why later?  I am awaiting the proof copy right now to make sure it is just the way I want it!

Strong and silent type

This car just looks plain powerful, like it would knock your socks off just turning it on.  It does not have some of the pretties of the other cars, but it does evoke thoughts of straight ahead speed.

At Old Car City one of the hardest things to do is to isolate your subject.  Just a foot off on either side there were cars.  I tried very hard to isolate my subject so I could focus my concentration on making just one object look good.  By isolating the cars I also tried to let each car be special, and a treasured find.  I often found myself not taking shots when I found no way to achieve my desired isolation of subjects.  Just personal preference, but I wanted one car at a time on this trip whenever possible.

-ehw

PS Fujifilm, 14mm @ f/14 HDR seven shot jpeg bracket.  Emphasis texture in honor of my buddies Bill Fortney and Jim Begley.

The Sentinel

Up in Old Car City I enjoyed a trip down memory lane, and I found myself wanting to shoot photos of my grandfather's cars.  One grandfather (my DjaDja) had a Cadillac.  My other grandfather (my Pappap) like Plymouths.  After previously finding the Caddies, I went searching for a few Plymouths.

This hood ornament was on a Plymouth, and it is one I never remember seeing in the 1970's.  It was long gone before I could remember them.  I thought the ornament was stunning, and it gave the appearance of crystal inside the chrome still perfectly smooth to the naked eye.  This Puritan soldier from Plymouth still looks fierce and ready lead people to the new world!

When I took my class with Bill Fortney, Jim Begley and RC Conception both discussed ways to purify the HDR Chrome in Photoshop.  For whatever reason, HDR turns a lot of chrome blue.  So the way you deal with it is to brush away the blue and doing a mask operation.  Now first I don't own photoshop, and if I did I've never been able to understand the language of Photoshop.  So I turned to my OnOne Perfect Suite 8 and its filters.  I found with a quick application of Purify Highlights, either by brush in or whole photo, I got pretty much the same effect as six actions in Photoshop.

Cheating?  Yep. At least to the Photoshop experts out there.  Perfect?  Probably not.  Can I live with it?  You betcha!  In the end it just goes to show you there are a lot of good tools out there, just find the one  you can understand and exploit the best!

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 with 60mm macro.