Exceptionally unexceptional

September 12, 2024

Back in late July we made our annual visit to the Festival of the Unexceptional at Grimshtorpe Castle, in Lincolnshire. This unusual classic car show features the more mundane side of automotive history, showing off the ordinary cars we grew up with rather than expensive exotica.

The concours is open to cars of a particular vintage - this year only vehicles from 1969 to 1999 were eligible. However, my Dad’s 2002 Citroen Xsara is getting close to being eligible (the dates shift forward each year) and we’re hoping to enter it in a few years time. For this year we contented ourselves with taking it along to be part of the ‘classic and unexceptional’ parking area. There was a time when Xsaras were a common sight on British roads, but today they’re a rarity - so much so that it was the only one on display that day!

Another attraction of this year’s FOTU was a live recording of the Smith and Sniff podcast, with Jonny Smith and Richard Porter. We’re both enthusiastic listeners to the podcast, and I was lucky enough to catch the two of them for a photo, standing by the Vauxhall Eagle Quest limousine they’ve recently bought together.

Podcasting in progress…

We spent most of the day wandering among the cars, marvelling at wonderfully restored examples of mundane cars we knew in our youth and I simply snapped whatever caught my eye - as usual a fairly eclectic mix of subjects.

A trio of steering wheels…

Car noses and tails.

A sunny Hillman Avenger

Photos taken 27 July 2024

Summer evening colour

September 3, 2024

After a successful outing with the Rolleiflex around the gardens of Duxford in July I decided to take it for another spin a few days later, this time focusing on the classic cars on show at Barrington in Cambridgeshire.

With lots of evening sun the only logical path was to shoot with colour film, so I used up some of my stash of out of date Kodak Ektar - the perfect film stock for such colourful subjects in these conditions!

Nose to nose…

Even classic tractors are welcome at Barrington!

Photos taken 2 August 2024

Classics on the Common

September 1, 2024

Most classic car shows take place at weekends, but Classics on the Common in Harpenden is no average show. Firstly, it takes place on a Wednesday, but it’s also tremendously popular, attracting hundreds of cars. With so many potential subjects to aim my camera at I decided to give myself a mini project. I went armed with just a single prime lens (and 85mm equivalent focal length) and I focused on details and shooting through things to try and create a sense of depth.

Photos taken 24 July 2024

Speed machines

July 21, 2024

A week on from the Goodwood Festival of Speed I’ve now had time to trawl through my photos and select my favourites. We only had one day there so I focused my efforts mostly on the static exhibits, starting with the central sculpture which was devoted to MG’s centenary this year.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

A selection of smaller scenes from around the paddocks…

I didn’t bump into too many famous people, but did manage one portrait of racer Jochen Mass.

A trio of Formula 1 related images…

Over in the Cartier Style et Luxe concours there were plenty of beautiful cars to photograph:

At lunchtime the Red Arrows flew in to give a display and I was able to catch some action shots, even without my really long lens as they were so close.

While I was browsing around the Mini stand the Wacky Racers team came by and were posing for photos.

My favourite photo opportunity of the day came at the GAS (Goodwood Action Sports) arena where the motocross racers were doing absolutely crazy things with their bikes. This was my first opportunity to try my new(ish) camera out on some automotive action photography and it performed beautifully!

Photos taken 12 July 2024

Down memory lane

July 6, 2024

when Kevin was a child his parents owned an Austin 1100, which his Dad rebuilt from a car that had been written off. When we see these cars at shows they always bring back memories, but the chance to drive one was too good an opportunity to pass up. At The Great British Journey in Derbyshire they have a fleet of classic British cars which you can hire for a driving experience so it was here that Kevin had a chance to drive a 1300 GT - the 1100’s sportier sibling.

Photos taken 20 April 2024

It's all about the wheels

March 30, 2024

We’re only just at the start of the classic car season but the combination of a sunny day and a coffee and cars gathering at a garage nearby was too good an opportunity to pass up. I went along with my camera and a single prime lens, but with few preconceptions about what approach I might take.

My eyes were immediately drawn to this scarlet Chevrolet Camero which was catching the sun down one side. I’ve never really felt the desire to own an American classic car, but you can’t deny they’re photogenic!

From there I found myself focusing mostly on wheels - looking down into cars, or using the windows to frame them, as I did with this Mini Cooper.

I rarely photograph modern cars at these events, but the light falling into this Aston Martin was too good to ignore!

A gorgeous, race-ready Jaguar - simply gorgeous!

If only they made cars with dashboards this stylish today…

Photos taken 30 March 2024

Maltese motoring

December 20, 2023

We attend many car shows during a British summer time, but even then the number and variety of cars we get to see is often governed by the whims of the weather. During our recent holiday we heard about a Sunday morning gathering of classic cars in St Paul’s Bay so we grabbed the opportunity to enjoy some interesting motoring, Malteses style, with the promise of lots of sunshine.

The light was beautiful - contrasty sunshine but without quite the same harshness as you have in mid-summer. There are definite benefits from holidaying in November! Even better, there wasn’t a patch of rust among the cars - another bonus with a hot, dry climate.

One of the little details that caught my eye.

A trio of steering wheels

Scarlet fever - sometimes photos naturally fit together because of a shared colour scheme.

A classic car show favourite - the Ford Mustang

I spent a little time shooting in black and white too, looking out for people as they milled around the cars.

Photos taken 19 November 2023

Racing back in time

December 6, 2023

The Goodwood Racing Revival is one of my favourite events of the year - the perfect combination of classic cars, interesting characters and period costumes, all focused around the wonderful Goodwood circuit. Sadly this year I could only attend one day so it was a case of squeezing as much into that day as I possibly could.

The day began with a leisurely stroll around the pits, looking for beautiful morning light (of which there was little, unfortunately!) and some of the interesting characters. It was very quiet when we arrived, which gave me lots of clear views along the rows of cars, but things soon got busier.

Mechanics at work…

The lane that runs alongside the paddock is often a great spot for photos while the cars line up to go out on track. I wish I’d had more time to spend here this year, but I rather like the warm autumnal sunshine over this scene.

The afternoon was spent watching the qualifying and racing on track, down at the first corner, Madgwick. Click on any image to see it enlarged.

There were occasional sideways moments, as cars caught the grass and kicked up a cloud of dust or locked up a wheel.

Photos taken 8 September 2023

Weekend motoring

November 2, 2023

Over the years my collection of old cameras has grown and, with the best will in the world, I can’t use them all simultaneously. Every so often I dig one of them out and take it for a spin and it either reminds me why I’d put it away in the cupboard or I remember why I love it so much. Back in September it was the turn of my Olympus Trip 35 and this camera definitely fell into the latter category!

The Trip is a camera with limitations - a fixed 40mm f2.8 lens and only two shutter speeds - 1/40 or 1/200 of a second. However, I love having restrictions on my photography as that forces me to be more creative so it’s really the perfect camera for me. Pair it with a 400 speed film and you’ve got a compact and light camera which can shoot pretty much anywhere - on this occasion it was a weekend of car shows.

We started off at the JD Classics showroom near Chelmsford where they had a gathering for anyone who wanted to come and nose around their workshop. I wasn’t sure how well my little Trip would cope indoors, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got my developed negatives back.

The following day we were up early for another classic car show - this time at Tewin in Hertfordshire. The sun was out and we had an amazing array of vehicles to admire - what more could I ask for?!

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

Photos taken 23 & 24 September 2023

Goodwood Festival of Speed

October 13, 2023

My effort to catch up with my photo backlog continues, this time with a selection of images from our visit to the Goodwood Festival of Speed back in July. For some reason I struggled to feel inspired during our one day there but I came away with a few photos I like, from the central Porsche themed sculpture to today’s F1 cars and a classic Porsche.