I always love spotting and photographing vintage cars in the wild. On the highway, in driveways, on the street and sometimes parked in the most perfect settings.
Most of the time our access to old cars is limited to museum collections or car shows. Neither are optimal for the type I like to take. My goal is to find vintage cars in a natural setting, preferably beside a building or relic from their period.
Cars at car shows are fine for up close detail shots but that’s about it. They are usually all lined up next to each other and festooned with flyers, awards and other signage that distract from the car.
Cars in museums are displayed under terrible lighting and also have information signs, “Do Not Touch” signs and barriers strung across the front of them. Hardly the best place to get natural looking car photographs.
Finding Vintage Cars in the Wild
I’ve been vigilant in seeking out vintage cars in natural settings and I’ve been lucky over the years to run across some rather great opportunities to photograph great old cars. I’ve found a Ford Galaxy 500 parked in a neighborhood of triple-deckers in Greenfield, MA, a Ford Model T in front of an old countrystore in Danbury, New Hampshire and a classic Ford pickup truck on an old mining road in Jerome, Arizona among other finds.
Some of the places I often photograph, the Connecticut River valley from the shores of Old Saybrook, CT up to the Upper Valley region of Vermont and Connecticut seems extra fruitful for old car spotting in the warmer season. Seems that the first sign that spring has truly arrived is when the vintage car owners dust off their cars and take them for a ride.
Rusty Relics Reek of Character
Besides finding beautifully restored vintage cars, I’m a sucker for old rusty relics of old cars found in junkyards and roadside attractions. Cars with no hope of restoration but hauled to a location for a bit of decor. Lately, I’ve been hunting down these collections in the American Southwest in out of the way places such as Searchlight, Nevada, Hatch, Utah and Jerome, Arizona.
In New
Great Places to Visit for Rusty Old Car Photography
Some of the best spots to browse and photograph rusty old vintage cars, as opposed to pristine, restored “inside” car museums include the following places:
- Old Car City – White, George
- Cloud Museum – Bard, California
- Eldorado Mine and Ghost Town – Searchlight, Nevada
- Gold King Mine and Ghost Town – Jerome, Arizona