(first posted 6/30/2016) Every May I go to the Mecum Spring Classic old-car auction here in Indianapolis and spend the day taking scads of photographs. This year, my favorite photos all came from my film camera, a Pentax ME 35mm SLR sporting a 50mm f/1.4 lens. I shot a classic film: Kodak Tri-X. If any film could be considered venerated, Tri-X is certainly the one. Its signature look is black-and-white photography to most people. And it really delivered this day. Stunning results, as of this early-50’s Oldsmobile.
I hope Kodak never stops making Tri-X – not just because of its classic look, but also because it returns solid results even when the photographer screws up. As I did on this whole roll – I accidentally overexposed every shot by one “stop.” I applied a tiny dab of Photoshop to rein in overexposure’s signature haze, and magic happened: blacks became inky; chrome lit up like neon. This played to best effect in this photo of a ’61 Plymouth’s deeply browed headlight.
It’s such a shame, then, that they’ve f’d up the Mecum for those of us who aren’t buying, but just want to enjoy the cars (like this ’37 Ford). My apologies to those of you here who also follow my personal blog, which is mostly about my photography. I’m delighted you’ve come over, but you’ve already heard my rant (and seen most of these photos). But the Mecum just isn’t very much fun anymore and I think I’m done with it.
For years, this was a rare day of perfect joy for me. I’ve loved automotive design since I was a small boy, and the Mecum was my annual chance to get very close to the classic cars of which I once could only dream. I could spend all day at the auction, taking easily 1,000 photographs, and still not see all the available cars. And it cost just $10!
Thanks to a theft a few years ago, sold cars no longer fill the parking lots around the venue. They’re now all hidden away, and it has dramatically reduced the number of cars to see. What used to take 8 to 10 hours now fills just a morning or an afternoon. And there’s more security now to herd people in and through. At least you can still get close enough to the cars to touch them (but don’t; they don’t belong to you!). But this year they jacked the admission price to $30. After all the changes, it’s just not worth that to me.
I made the most of my last Mecum. Packards from the 1920s and 1930s were out in force, and I moved in close to their lovely hood ornaments. This flying lady is from a ’37.
This swan graced a ’36.
And this young fellow with six-pack abs perched atop the radiator of a ’25.
While I’m at it, here’s a lovely hood ornament from a ’34 Ford.
My favorite car of the day was a ’37 Chrysler Airflow in two-tone maroon. Tri-X rendered that color so dark it has its own gravitational pull.
Indulge me one more of its prow, which was especially elongated in ’37 to make this radical car look more like everything else on the road. The attempt failed, but it surely made for a rich photographic subject almost 80 years later.
In case you can’t tell, my favorite thing to do is move in close to these cars’ details, such as of this sugar-scoop headlight on a Jaguar XKE. There’s something about doing this that helps me see a car better as a whole. Like I said, I just love automotive design. I was that boy who drew cars all the time. I even had my own fantasy automobile company with an entire model range and year-to-year styling changes. I was ready to compete with General Motors! At least in my youthful mind.
Speaking of General Motors, here are the left tail lights from a ’61 Impala. They look as strong and confident to me now as they did when I was a boy.
The ’64 Impala was a much more common car in the working-class neighborhood of my youth. Seems like every other garage had one, or at least a twin-tail-light Bel-Air.
Lest Fords of the era feel left out, here’s the giant tail light from a ’63 Galaxie.
The Mecum bills itself as a muscle-car auction. It might be heresy around these parts, but I’m not a huge muscle-car fan. If I see one parked curbside I’m gonna photograph it, oh my, yes sir. But I (used to) go to the Mecum largely to see the older classics, the luxury cars from all eras, and the more workaday sedans and coupes that I remember crawling the streets when I was young. That said, I always hope to find a ’63-’67 Corvette because they photograph so beautifully from behind. I forget what color this Vette is in real life, but here it’s blacker than black. It just feels right.
Sometimes I pull back and get whole cars in my lens. I was very amused to find this row of Herbies waiting their turn to hit the auction block. The Love Bug was one of the first movies I saw in a theater and, as I’m sure it did for young children of that era all over, it made me fall in love with the Beetle.
A few cars were parked under the sunshine. I liked how this BMW 2002 shot turned out; it shows Tri-X’s signature grainy look so well.
I’ll miss more than just the cars at the Mecum. I’ll also miss the guys who gather around these cars, often strangers to each other, and swap stories about how a car just like this one was a part of their life. All the COAL stories that get told every year at the Mecum! It makes me want to hand every one of these guys a card with Curbside Classic’s URL on it and tell them to come on over. I think they’d be right at home here.
Awesome pics! Awesome cars! I know that colour photography is the way to go these days, but I also like black and white. 🙂
Very nice work. There is an element to black and white that just gets lost with colored film. Nothing against colored film either. They both have their place, but the lack of color makes b+W photographers use light and shadows to their advantage more. Often with stunning results.
Jim, you are an artist par excellence!
These shots are all impressive. The shot with the Herbie beetles could be used in an instruction book for grey scales and image composition.
Oh wow, thanks for the nice compliment! The skylights in that hall are great to use in compositions with the cars — the low cars and the high lights fill the frame.
+1!
Your photography is as rich as always, JG. Unlike you, I have never made it to the Mecum, even though it has been held annually at a location that is a 7 minute drive from my house. Something has always come up. But this year I was free and . . . it was $30. Which I would have paid, except that all three of my kids were home and it would have been fun to go with one or two or three of them, at a cost of . . . $prohibitive. So, I skipped it.
Growing up in Fort Wayne, I was a 30 minute drive from Auburn when the classic car auction was starting to come of age. Every year I would make the pilgrimage there, often spending all three days of labor day weekend there. It was a wonderful thing to be so accosted by Corvettes or muscle cars that you would not walk four feet out of your way to see yet another one, but if that same car were seen out and about any other time of the year, you would drive around the block and run a hundred yards to get a good look.
I really must try to get back there some time, I have not been in years.
Fantastic photography! Shots like these make me want to go out and buy an old film camera. Of course, the results being dependent on the skill of the photographer, mine wouldn’t turn out a tenth this well.
I love detail shots too, though I’ve more recently started making them a standard part of my automotive photography. Think my personal favorite of the great selection you’ve posted would have to be the ’61 Plymouth lights and surround.
You can get an old film SLR for very little money. If you’re in a hurry, $100 will buy you a rig like the one I used. I was patient, and got the body for $16 and the lens for $50.
I really ought to do that–I do see them from time to time in thrift/consignment/antique stores for reasonable money. Plus it would allow me a more natural range on a 50mm lens–I have the Canon 50/1.8 for my Rebel T2i, but since it’s an APS-C crop sensor, I have to stand absurdly far away from what I’m trying to photograph! And full-frame DSLRs tend to be quite pricey.
I loved the 28mm on my Olympus OM-1 for shooting car pix. I could get up close and personal and get the whole car in the frame without any bizarre distortion. Served me well for almost 40 years of car show pix before I went digital a few years ago.
+1! a 28mm prime is great for that!
I’d pick up a used Canon EOS 35mm body then. Tons of those are available for cheap. I’d buy one from usedphotopro.com or KEH.com because they stand by what they sell. I see several on usedphotopro.com for around $25.
I have an Asahi Pentax K1000 SE with 50mm SMC f2 lens. It has to be one of the best basic film cameras out there. There are plenty on ebay for under $100. No electronics, just a match needle light meter. It has substantial heft and the controls feel tight and smooth. In that way it puts plasticy modern digital SLR’s to shame.
And that meter is the only thing you need a battery for! the camera will work fine without it if you use a light meter or can “eyeball” exposure (‘Sunny 16″ or whatever!) I’m a “Pentaxian” myself!
Just another reason to dislike thieves. In this case, whomever it was ruined the show for you and everybody else.
Beautiful shots! I still have my ME Super, but probably haven’t shot Tri-X since college days (hours spent in the darkroom under the Architecture Building auditorium at Georgia Tech).
The front two Herbies appear to be from Herbie: Fully Loaded, the rear one is from the made-for-TV “The Love Bug” that aired in the 1990s. All three use different a different font for the 53 from what was used in the first four theatrical films (and the five episode TV show).
Nice shots as always, and it was worth re-reading this from the original post because there’s more pictures!
I’d been thinking the front two beetles were from Herbie goes Bananas, but I’ll go with your superior knowledge of Herbie fonts. Are you doing one of your 63’s as a Herbie clone Ed?
I’m also gratified to see that the door fit on the rear Herbie is as bad as on my VW!
Yep, the ’62 sunroof will be a TLB tribute… (Each movie’s cars have different detail differences).
The whole roll is up on Flickr. Here’s a link to the first shot; keep clicking the forward arrow to see the rest.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/27189432220/
Hey cool, thanks for IDing the Herbies! I thought it was odd to see so many in one place.
Lots more info on the Herbies here:
http://lovebugfans.yuku.com/topic/10480/9-Herbie-Movie-Cars-For-Sale#.V3VX37n6upo
There is an esthetic to film that is lacking in digital. Perhaps it’s from the care taken to make each frame COUNT! So while I do most photography with a modern Pentax digital SLR, I still see my best in what comes from any of several Pentax film bodies, from a Spotmatic that I bought in a pawn shop in 1968 or so, through the MX to an LX, all used in full manual mode. What languishes now is the full bells-and-whistles autofocus film cameras, which are harder to use manually; and if I want the speed of fulI auto, I may as well use digital and blow a lot of frames, hopefully to get one great one.
You have a lot of great ones in this post. Thanks, as always, for sharing.
P.S.: You know this already but your Pentax 50/1.4 lens is an all-time great. It’s not just its sharpness, which it has in spades, many photographers finding that it surpasses its Canon, Nikon and Leica competitors, but the LOOK of its images…natural and palpable, not etched and showy. A lot of that even comes through on the website images.
I’ve not shot the Nikon or Canon 50/1.4s (I have a couple Nikon F2s and an F3, as well as a Canon AE-1 and a TLb) to compare. But every time I use the Pentax 50/1.4, I feel zero need to buy any others; this one always satisfies. And the ME body is so nice and easy to hold and use.
Although not a big fan of B&W photography (after all, who would want a B&W TV?), it fit in nicely with these vintage cars. It captured the era in which most of these cars were built. Wouldn’t work so well if photographing a new crop of 2016’s, but it does here.
Too bad about Mecum sealing off the sold cars (and tripling the cost of admission.)
Are they able to be viewed before the auction?
I used to have a Pentax K1000 but cant remember if it was a camera or one of my motorcycles…
All these auto auctions just simply need to go away. Auctions are a great way to spend way too much on a ’69 Camaro 427, that a kid in his mom’s KIA will smoke, and thats before you get to the first turn….
An irresponsible brat looking to street race his mommy’s car really isn’t a win for him no matter what the outcome.
Beautiful photography! Sadly, all it takes is one despicable person to ruin it for everybody else.
One last thing. While I won’t reveal my grab bag of secretes on how to make a ’96 Saturn SL2 run as hard as that big block “muscle car” you used to have back when you had hair on your head instead of your back, (while getting 20mpg with the tach at 7K) one of the tricks I did was modify the shifter gate so I could paddle between 4th and 3rd without needing to depress the lock button, and no fear of hitting another gear you don’t want, like reverse (CV joints don’t care much for that treatment)
What are secretes? Sounds like french cough lozenges.
Beautiful images; maybe someday I’ll be able to capture photos of similar quality. I was happy with the photos I took at the Blackhawk museum with my digital SLR, but of course, they’re nothing like this. I need to visit your blog more often. Thanks Jim for sharing with us.
Just keep shooting, shooting, shooting. Look at your work and critique it — coulda done this better, that better — and next time do those things better. That’s all I’ve done. It’s taken me a decade of practice or so. I’ll never be among the great photographers but I find my work to be satisfying, and that’s what matters to me.
It’s so true; practice, practice, practice. I tend to like to photograph moving trains, which isn’t easy since they don’t stop and pose. Because of that, I’m learning to appreciate and photograph stationary subjects. Art is where you find it – everywhere. Even with a ’61 Plymouth. Thanks for the encouragement.
P.S. I also had, of all things, a late-70s 110 camera along. Yes, 110 film is still made! (Or, it went out of production, and after a bunch of years back in as the hipsters discovered the format.) Best shot from that roll:
Holy wayback, 110! My first camera in the 80’s was a cheap 110, and the “family” camera was a marginally nicer one. That film has a certain quality that is immediately evident in the photo you posted–if the framing were more haphazard it could be one of my car show photos from childhood!
Well, We have to give “hipsters” some credit!
(Remember, You’re not a hipster if you bought it when it was still mainstream! LOL – My excuse for my record collection)
I haven’t been to a Mecum auction since they covered Bloomington gold before the event was moved from my neck of the woods at the Pheasant Run resort to Indianapolis Speedway. If they pulled this crap if it were still here I’d boycott it in protest too.
Seriously, that draconian schoolteacher mentality of punishing all for the actions of one needs to end. It’s an asinine solution to a problem THEY usually could have easily prevented in the first place, and I don’t know the aeformentioned incident, but if I were a betting man I’d put money on THEIR staff being involved with the perpetrators.
Oh and you know where there’s a bunch of other sold cars exposed to thieves Mecum? The grass “parking lot” I had to PAY to park on to see the cars I can’t see anymore!
Oh holy cow, that resort is in my fiancee’s home town. Lovely town.
Yeah, the auction has def. become less spectator friendly since the theft.
Cool! St. Charles is my favorite town in Illinois. Last time I attended to Bloomington Gold I actually spent $30 on it – $10 entry, three days in a row lol – just to go in between there and hang out downtown for lunch or dinner. The Filling Station pub is my fav, the good part about the event was it was equal part car show as it was auction, so there’d be vintage Vette’s cruising up and down North ave. right in view of their outdoor area.
Don’t forget one of the few reaming drive-in theaters is just down the street.
http://cascadedrivein.com/
I should be ashamed of myself, I’ve lived in the area all my life and have known about that theatre for much of it and am moreover am a car enthusiast, and I still haven’t gone. I need to add that to this years summer event schedule this time
Timely this was rerun, two years ago Pheasant Run closed down and left abandoned and sadly last month a sizable portion of it burned to the ground. Shame, I had so many memories of the place, between the various car events and staycations it was like losing a friend I’d known most of my life.
Actually technically the part the Mecum auctions were held there was in the still standing mega center, that building is currently being converted into a large a Honda dealership after that portion of the property was parceled out and rezoned.
Truly outstanding shots, Jim.
And it’s a shame about what happened to Mecum, from what you’ve posted. It must be hard to let it go, having enjoyed it as you’ve stated. Not that it changes the way it feels, but from an insurance and risk mitigation perspective, after that theft it must have been darned-near impossible to find reasonable insurance for this event.
Somewhat similarly to you, I’m rethinking an “automatic” return to an annual show I had enjoyed for years, this upcoming August. This particular show used to bring so many people to the downtown area of my hometown, but it feels like main events are slowly being siphoned off to the suburbs. It’s hard to let go of an annual event I had looked forward to all year.
Thanks Joseph! Now that you point the insurance angle out, I can see how these changes might help them get coverage. The way it was before, all the sold cars were left in lots with keys in them. The whole event was surrounded by a construction-style chain link fence, with Mecum employees at the exits, but even a marginally crafty thief could find ways around that. The theft, I hear, happened at one of their other auctions; I assume their security was similar there.
Wow, it’s too bad that the Flint event has changed as you describe. Flint just can’t catch a break! After you described it last year I thought “hmmm….. road trip?” It sounded very appealing. But if it’s changing as you describe, maybe not.
I’ll get over this loss. Nobody close to me died because of it. And I’m discovering that there are car shows all over central Indiana — a friend of mine bought a 1980 Cadillac limo and is showing it at all the shows and posting pics on Facebook. So maybe I’ll be visiting more shows to make up for giving up on the Mecum!
Wow, terrific photos. You have some salable prints there if you aren’t already doing so. Hard to imagine you have not already seen GMphotostore.com and what they sell.
Some of the photos remind me of old assembly line photos were perfect gleaming chrome and paint are under the bright lights of the factory.
I have interest in photography myself, but am some leagues behind you. Digital is obviously very forgiving to the amateur, as you said in a comment above, keep shooting and shooting, but it gets very expensive with film. But, I’m aware of the beauty of old Kodachrome, and now you’ve enlightened me on the once not so secret secret to beautiful black and white.
I’m glad you gave a shout out to Tri-X, Not only is it forgiving in camera, It’s nice and wide “in the soup” (as they used to say). I often run some thru my fully manual K-1000 (I also have an ME Super!) or my Nikomat (JDM) FTn! I prefer Black and White for architectural details and the like. This holds true for cars. The ’61 Plymouth shot is my fave – That photo is art, bringing out beauty in a model whose styling is -er- unique! Great stuff!
Great photographs and a fantastic article, thank you.
Very nice Jim. I lost myself in some of these shots. Thanks for sharing them.
Great shots, and a great choice of camera and film as well. It’s interesting to see all the Pentax fans out there, as the brand is rapidly becoming a niche product. I started with a used Pentax MX, which I still have, and worked up from there. I had an awful time finding a retailer who carries Pentax (Ricoh actually) equipment last year when I decided to spring for a digital K-3. The best part about Pentax is their lenses, and I love the fact my favourite M series lenses from 40 years ago still work on my new digital SLR. As does a 30 year old AF-280T flash.
I’ve played with photoshop to try and duplicate the Tri-X grain and contrast look, but you can’t beat the original!
LOL, I also Have a K-3! I get to use all my old “glass” (most of it though, manual focus!) Since my first “real” camera was a Pentax, I’ve stuck with the “system”, I guess like Linux users VS Windows and Mac, We’ll be the ‘others” (Nothing against Nikon or Canon,LOL!)
Nothing wrong with manual focus, and at least those old lenses have hyperfocal distance indexes on them. Have to admit though, I find the focus confirmation useful as age and diabetes has taken it’s toll on my eyesight…
I am enjoying my K-3, but one thing Pentax has lost is that nice compact feel. Great camera, but it is a tank to haul around.
LOL! I feel ya! (as the “kids” would say!) After reading this post, I pulled out my ME Super, parked the “stock” 50mm on it and I’m still impressed with how compact it still seems!
My DSLR is a K200. I like the idea of a “ruggedized” camera even if a little heavy. The one “digital” lens I have is a WR sealed one that also has a metal instead of all plastic mount.
Pentax provided the green button for auto aperture compatibility with old glass. Unlike Nikanon, anti-shake is built into the body, not the lenses, another plus for using old glass with Pentax.
In One Word: Beautiful.
“Darkroom Classics?”
(Gah, my ipad inverted the pic)
When they’re not having the whole “Nikon/Canon” (Coke/Pepsi) disputes, classic cameras “darkroom classics” if you will are sometimes discussed at “Ugly Hedgehog”! A “Sabre” 620, ALMOST get Buick “cred” though!
I have that same Sabre 620, only in red.
most of those old “620” (any of the 6.4 billion brands) cameras can use 120 film if you carefully wind the 120 on 620 rolls (in total darkness, natch) Not that any will be a Rolleiflex, But could be fun. (Kodak Brownie guys do this for sport!)
Hmmm, looks like an ME Super and a roll of Kodachrome 25. Used to be a pretty good way to spend a summer afternoon. I don’t think there’s a lab left that does Kodachrome anymore though.
…and Paul Simon weeps,!….
Care to guess on a shot of 20% of the collection
The Pentax and Mamiya-Sekor drawer
There’s a certain ‘aura’ about black and white photos like these, something colour just can’t capture. Especially with an expert like you working it.
At college, when I was doing Medical Photography as an elective, I was given access to as much black and white film as I wanted, and unlimited use of the darkroom and equipment. I borrowed a Yashica from one of Dad’s friends, and managed to have fun outside the subject’s requirements. I especially remember the close-ups, and night shots.
When my little Agfa 110 died I bought a Pentax Super A, which insurance replaced with an MZ50 with a 35-80 lens when the Super A was stolen.
I went digital about ten years ago. Much easier, much cheaper, but somehow not the same.
Wow! Interesting what effect black and white can have with the right lightning and subject matter.
Great work Jim, I really like the Donut Chaser with the shallow DOF. I picked up a working Spotmatic II with an SMC Takumar 55/1.8 a few years ago for cheap. Beautiful camera, but the smaller size compared to the Nikon Fs, is hard for me to get used to. I usually grab a Nikon when I go out to play with film. I think you have inspired me to grab some fresh Tri-X and give that Spottie a workout.
I have two F2s and an F3. I love them. But I don’t have 50/1.4s for them! I do for my Pentaxes (I have an ME, a K1000, and a KM in K mount, and an H3, a Spotmatic SP, and an ES II in screw mount). So when I need that fast lens, I shoot Pentax!
Thank you, Jim for your art. As a “point and shoot” digital bloke I’m amazed at the results you get with film.
Great shots theres something about monochrome shots that colour just doesnt give, me I’m no camera man modern electronic is the only way I get half decent pics.
That taillight shot of the Galaxie with the lights overhead is so fantastic. Beautiful work.
Glamorous, like classic movies from the `30s and `40s.
Thanks for the great photos. Black and white can connect so well with the emotions, so dramatic and moody, like Film Noir. I’m a big Fan of TCM and other B/W old movies, add that to Raymond Chandler and other Pulp authors.
Reading this discussion about cameras, lens, and different films, it reinforces for me, the concept that photography is only the representation of reality, not reality itself. That representation is influenced by the decisions made by the photographer composing and taking the shot as well as during the development of the print. As a layman I tend to forget that. My son, who is a professional photographer, bought me a Samsung digital camera and I use that to illustrate content for my blog. I feel about cameras the way most people feel about cars, I’m happy to know enough to get to where I need to go!
Jim, those are beautiful photographs, now I’m going to have to break out my old Pentax Spotmatic and locate some tri-X black and white film. It’s been years since I have photographed anything with Tri-X.
I must have missed this post when it first appeared – really beautiful pictures. That first shot in particular encourages your eye to linger for several minutes. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but black and white photography has a magic to it for sure.
I’m also drawn to black-and-white movies, and always keep an eye out for interesting titles on various streaming services. My only real regret in cancelling cable ten years ago is no longer having access to Turner Classic Movies… 🙂 Some years ago I went to a couple of cinema screenings of restored 1940’s film noir features – really impressive to see them on the big screen the way they were meant to be seen, and in sharp focus.
Like the b/w pics, like “me” in b/w pics. Still, wondering now what color some of those rides are.
I too missed this in 2016, beautiful work Jim! And after growing up in the back of a ’61 Plymouth, that amazing shot really hits home!