Nice and Olds

Here's a new twist. While walking up to B&H Photo with a photographer friend we came upon this antique 1947 Oldsmobile on 9th Avenue. The owner, Brian Atkins, was taking photos of passersby (for a small charge) who wanted to pose with the vehicle. In conversation with him, we agreed that cars make great subjects for photography. I recently shot a number of autos in an antique car show I happened upon in Connecticut, but I have not posted them here since they were not in NYC. I am not a car enthusiast, but I love the chrome, sweeping curves, shiny lustrous finish, reflections, interiors and overall design work of many of these classic American icons. The beauty of the designs of the these antique autos is not strictly a romantic passion for all things past. Many antique automobiles were some of the finest examples of industrial design - Raymond Loewy (1893-1986), for example, was probably the greatest and well known industrial designer of the 20th century. His prolific career involved a long relationship with the US automaker Studebaker. If you are not familiar with Loewy and his work, I would highly recommend some reading about him and his work - click here - you'll be amazed. He was responsible for everything from the Hoover logo to NASA Skylab interior ...