Vintage Vehicles

Welcome to my Vintage Vehicles Hub. Whether you're here because you like old cars or just passing through, I hope you enjoy your visit.

There's something about old vehicles, trucks and cars, that speaks to us. They may trigger memories of vehicles we, or our parents, owned or perhaps it's just the sense of nostalgia or history they project. I'm not a car-person, I don't collect or work on cars, but I love to photograph old vehicles. A good image of a vintage vehicle allows the viewer's imagination to fill in the unknown history associated with it. Whether it's a sense of nostalgia, history or a stimulant to my imagination, I have included a gallery in my fine art website dedicated to vintage vehicles.

I enjoy sharing my vintage vehicle images and find they sell well. Recently I started creating products in my Zazzle store that feature vintage vehicles. If you might like vintage vehicle shirts, hats, cards, etc., search "vintage vehicles" on my Zazzle website.

I capture my vintage vehicle images wherever I can. I may find them on the street or at a car show. I always ask permission before I shoot if I can find the owner. I explain that I market my images. I have even provided prints in exchange for permission or cooperation.

If you like photographing vintage cars and trucks, keep your camera with you and your eyes open. I find some of my vintage vehicles here and there on the street but car shows are a great place to photograph vintage vehicles. The only problem with car shoes is the background context can be cluttered and distracting with other cars and visitors. To remove the clutter I often take my images into Photoshop where I can isolate the vehicle from the background. This can take a great deal of time but it's worth it if you have a good image. Next, I create a new uncluttered background, usually a gradient layer then add an artificial shadow to give the vehicle a three dimensional look. All of this takes time but the end result is an uncluttered image of the vehicle all by itself.

One other tip I can give if you like photographing cars or vintage cars. I often use a tripod and take three photos in order to create a high dynamic range image that captures detail in the dark as well as the shiny areas. I will try to post a Hub on high dynamic range (HDR) photography if you aren't familiar with the process.

This image is one of my favorites and it was a lucky encounter. Nothing in the image was staged and the background is natural. The men in the street with instruments were participating in a street jam on the eve of a bluegrass festival in the town of Etna, CA. The dog in the car was looking behind me where her master had just entered a store. There's a wonderful story that goes with the dog but I don't have room here for it. The warm lighting was complements of the setting sun filtering through smoke from a distant forest fire. Everything came together and I was able to capture the moment.

If you like bluegrass, be sure to visit the bluegrass galleries on my website. There's nothing to purchase there but there are some fun images and music behind the images if you play the gallery as a slideshow. Think of it as a poor man's music video.

Amazon always has a good price for great products.

This is another chance encounter, this time with a classic Ford pickup. It was parked on the street of a small town and sitting behind the wheel was a chocolate lab. Keep your camera handy, you never know when the elements of a great shot will appear.

I call this image "OLD FAITHFUL" because the title seems to apply equally to the vehicle and the dog.

Cars or trucks, I like to photograph any old vehicle as long as it has color and/or character. I was able to talk with the owner of this great looking Chevrolet truck and learned it has been in the family since it was originally purchased new.

This is an example of a gradient background. The background where I photographed the truck was cluttered and uninteresting and detracted from the truck. I used Photoshop to extract the truck from the cluttered background and then created a gradient and artificial shadow to let the truck stand out. The eye goes to the truck without being distracted by a busy cluttered background.

I have a fine art photography website where you can view my diverse photographic interests. I have a gallery dedicated to vintage vehicles and buildings, galleries for landscapes, waterfalls, birds, wildlife, painterly photography and a variety of other specialized subjects. Mount Shasta and various northern California scenes are prominant in many of my galleries. Most of the galleries have background music if you play them as a slideshow. This allows you to kick back and listen to the music as the images flow by. Whether you are looking for some interesting images or looking to purchase some photographic art, I think you will enjoy your visit to Chuck Nelson Photography.

Are you a fellow vintage vehicle buff? Do you have suggestions to help me improve the Hub? Even if you'd just like to say "Howdy," feel free to comment. Thank you for your visit.