I had fully intended to post another URBEX shot today, but decided instead to toss this photograph I made down in Bonitas, California last week onto the blog instead. While I was shooting this bad boy, a surfer dude came out of a nearby house and asked me if I wanted to buy it. Uh, um, no thanks, bro. But I’ll be glad to send you a shot of the car when I’ve processed it. Cool! Everyone’s happy. Let’s see what he thinks of my treatment of this grand old blue bomber.
car
The other day I was exploring some of the historic parts for Redding, California, looking for some cool architecture to shoot.  Scouted a good location I shot later that same day (the old Cascade theater I posted a couple of days back), and talked to some interesting people (like Glen, the fellow I photographed and to whom I introduced you all last week).  I also found this cool old Ford Anglia, which I shot from three different points-of-view.  This angle is my favorite, because it really shows off the cool tail end of the car.  I used my 24mm tilt-shift lens to keep the eye focused on the back end.  For you Harry Potter fans out there, this car look familiar to you; it’s the same make and model that Fred,George, and Ron Weasley flew in to with to rescue Harry when he was locked up in his room under the stairs at the Dursley house.
So this post will give you another snap shot into how I think, and how I link things in my mind. First, I’m big into “threes”: I like movies, music… and old cars. The name of the post, American Beauty, refers to the car, a beautiful 1941 Buick Eight, but it is also the title of one of my favorite films. The music I listened to while processing this image is ‘All Right Now‘, by the group Free. Not only is that song a great driving song (thus linked to the car and my dream of driving it), but the same song is also featured in one of my favorite scenes in the movie American Beauty (when the character Lester buys his dream car, a red 1970 Pontiac Firebird, and plays the same song while driving home). Come to think of it, it’s been awhile since I’ve watched that flick. Think I’ll watch it after I post this classic American Beauty!
American Beauty
