Hot Wheels

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing an old favorite of mine. As I was approaching 16 and my drivers license I was heart struck on the Shelby Mustang, especially the fastback. I loved the lines of the car and it instantly developed the following one would expect from a production "racecar".....a "must have" machine. I could see myself hooking it up with a Corvette and running stop light to stop light or down the quarter mile track at Mo Kan. Of course I would always win. Tony Kassab in Joplin owned a "67" or "68" that was a 500, meaning it had a 427 motor in it, and when I saw the car on the street I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

The most amazing part of my job is the realization that I have been able to connect with visions from my youth in reality and I've always enjoyed it. Meeting people I've admired, being in situations where I would get to associate with someone that has done remarkable things in their life. The ability to be in creative situations when products are being machined, designed, or rebuilt has always been fun.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs I like to pre-visualize my images. Sometimes they just don't work out. I had, in my minds eye, the Mustang resting in front of a French fighter Jet I had located. This jet was of the same era as the Mustang and was totally chrome. It had a "V" tail and engines located on the sides of the plane. Kinda Buck Rogers. Driving into the airport, in my favorite light of early evening, we passed a row of Hangers which really tripped my trigger. Arriving at the jet I looked at the light, the plane, and the car, and realized that I couldn't get what I was looking for. Nothing seemed to make sense around the plane. I slammed out some shots and knew I was in the wrong location. We shut down the shoot and went back to the other area I saw coming in.

We placed the car and I started to shoot. It was a piece of cake. The light was right, background was complimentary to the the car, and I was on a roll. Wow !! Did I have FUN !!!