When Shallow Runs Deep – Hot Rod Photos

Posted by pikesan on Nov 20, 2011 in Art & Photography, Featured | 1 comment

Hot Rod & Custom Car Photography

Photos & Text by: Mark Stacks of Tin Woody Photo – Click on any image to see it full size

Like the last two galleries we’ve put up lately, the California Hot Rod Reunion and the LOWTECH Hot Rods, Mark’s got a style all his own. He was kind enough to share some of his favorites with us as part of the “Best of” series I’m doing on folks like me who want to improve their photography overall, and have a passion for hot rods!

Custom street rod at the October 2011 Golden Super Cruise

In Mark’s words:

I’m a hobbyist photographer that really loves cars and their culture. My goal in taking photos of car is to tell a little a bit of a story of the car, show some of its character, and maybe include a little mood or emotion. It may be a pipe dream, but if could have a viewer thinking they smell the gasoline or the rust…well, that would awesome!

I go everywhere looking for cars to photograph, shows, rural farms, industrial areas, back alleys, if there is a chance of finding automobilia, I’m there. It really makes life a never ending treasure hunt. American cars from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s will always be my favorites, but when it comes to taking photos, anything that has character and personality is a worthy subject.

Whitewalls and chrome wire wheels on custom Cadillac at 2009 Carnage on Larimer

My beat up Canon 20D DSLR is the workhorse that I use for almost all my photos. It’s a trusty friend that is always with me. I have a tiny arsenal of lenses that I’ll use, a 10-20mm, 24mm and 50mm are my most often used. The 50mm with its shallow depth of field is probably the favorite of the bunch.

Enjoy this cross section of photos and watch for the “shallow depth of field” Mark was talking about. That’s most evident when there’s only one part of the shot in focus and the rest tapers off to completely fuzzy… like this one:

Pair of Mercs basking in the early morning sun at 2011 Viva Las Vegas