Classic Cars and Polka Dot Shoes

I think there is something nostalgic about going to classic car shows. As a collector and user of antique cameras, I understand the excitement of witnessing mechanical machines that have survived time and stand witness to the ingenuity of those who relied on form following function, and gave us the opportunity of remembering the first time we push on the pedal of a 1970 Dodge Charger. Or rewound to the next frame of a 1969 Nikon F.

But as in any show, there is that car you have never seen, or the engine you have never heard roar. This 1920’s car, closely matched by its owner, was the first one I noticed.

Ten there was the undeniable allure of the Ford Mustang. People have fallen in love in it, I was told, while others had divorced because of it. No matter, it is the car that defined an era. Yet, the lady in the chair behind the Mustang was texting on her iPhone rendering the moment delightfully anachronistic.

Sometimes, the feeling was more subtle. For example the dashboard and steering wheel of this 1940's Chrysler was romantic and perfectly suited for B&W photography.

And suddenly, I saw the unmistakable tail lights of a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass!  It was my first car, although mine was a 1969 model with a humble Straight-6 engine. But the bumper and tail lights were the same. Now I was happy to be at the show, and wanted a picture of that car. Not the entire car, just the bumper. And since the chrome was mirror-polished, I managed to get my reflection (albeit a bit distorted..) in that bumper. You can see it if you enlarge the picture right above the "V" of the plate. Now, after 55 years, I was one with that car again!

But I was not there to take pictures of cars. I went to the show because there would be many people there and, as a street photographer, wanted to capture the show through the people.
And people always have something to say to a photographer who places himself in the right spot, waits, and is quick on the shutter release.

So, I noticed a rat, its head in a paper cup, next to the cars. Clearly it was a fake, and someone wanted to add some excitement to the show. Or perhaps it was a social scientist doing an experiment on how people would react to a rat during a car show.

I wanted to play social scientist for a few minutes.

Most people did not even look at the rat, or did not see it—they were too busy saying “Ooh” and “Aah” while looking at the cars. They had a single focus and a single aim: looking around was not one of these.
I wanted to capture that indifference but needed a vivid example. This man noticed the rat, decided it was a fake, and kept going. Ok, he was my illustration of the indifferent group. (Notice the smiling lady on the left: could she be the social scientist conducting the experiment?)

Next, I needed a representative of the more skeptical group.  It did not take long until this lady noticed the rat, perhaps wondered “Can it be real?” and cautiously approached to check. Voilà, that was the reaction of the other (or “control” group) in my social experiment.

Finally, I wanted to find an indicator of sophistication among the crowd to match the impeccably kept cars’ color and timeless attitude.  What can be more à propos than a lady wearing polka dot shoes?
Clearly she was wearing these shoes to be noticed, and she got my attention. But how to combine a photographic reportage of a car show with polka dot shoes? Simple—by representing her reaction to a car through the posture of her feet!

Silly? Perhaps. But I was happy to be at the show, see”my” Oldsmobile Cutlass again, and remember the show without taking pictures of the cars!

October 27, 2014
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2014