(Olympus E-3, 14-54mm at 14mm (2x crop factor), ISO 200, Exposure 1/60 sec @ f/10)

The Deusenberg is one of my favorite classic automobiles. The car just exudes power and class, and the companies that did the coachwork created automobiles with wonderful details. I took this shot at the 2008 Concours d’Elegance held at Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The car is a 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Roadster with coachwork by Bohman and Schwartz. The car has an interesting history. According to information displayed with the car, the automobile was purchased for Clark Gable from his wife, Carole Lombard. Gable owned the car until 1942 until his wife’s death at which time it was given away with instructions that it never be seen in California while he was still alive.

When I took the shot, I was trying to capture the interesting lines of the wheel covers, the pin striping, the lights, etc. The raw image, with the grass and reflections of the people sort of distracted from the design elements. I could have blacked out the grass, but I still would have had to deal with the reflections. I decided to try something a bit more ‘artistic’ and experimented with using the Photoshop Cutout filter. The Cutout filter does a nice job of dramatically simplifying color gradations but it kept the key elements of the car intact. Compare the finished image above with the raw image below.

Finally, here is a full body shot. I used Topaz simplify to create more of a painted background look.

Got comments or questions? Feel free to leave them below.

Copyright ©2008-2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved

(Olympus E-3, 7-14mm at 14mm (2x crop factor), ISO 250, Exposure 1/8 sec @ f/7.1)

One of my favorite automobiles is the Auburn Boattail Speedster manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company of Auburn, Indiana. The Auburn company was sold to E.L. Cord who merged it with Duesenberg to create a company which manufactured Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs. Their main facility was housed in an Art Deco building in Auburn, Indiana which now houses the Auburn-Cord-Dusesenberg museum. This shot shows the showroom of the Museum, displaying an array of vintage Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg automobiles (big surprise). The showroom has some great Art Deco touches such as the chandeliers, and detail work in the ceiling, flooring and main staircase. The museum is a great place to visit if you love vintage automobiles or enjoy Deco design.

This image comes from a series of three that I had originally taken with the thought that I might use for an HDR shot. I didn’t have a tripod with me so this was shot using the railing of the staircase for support. I did run the images through Photomatix, but I didn’t like the look. Instead, I use a couple of Photoshop plug-ins to get a look I liked. The first thing I did was crop the image down to eliminate some useless elements from the bottom. I then ran the image through a noise-reduction process because I the 250 ISO on my Olympus E-3 introduced a little bit of noise, and I knew that subsequent processing would probably increase that noise so I wanted to have as clean of an image as I could to start with. I then used Topaz Adjust to bring out some of the details in the floor and decorative elements. In Silver Efex Pro I increased the structure of the entire image and selected the Panatomic X ISO 32 film preset to get a conversion that I liked. I added a bit of tinting as well. Finally, in Lightroom, I applied a different tint as well as added a slight vignette. Compare the finished image to the image I started with below.

Comments or thoughts?

Copyright © 2008-2010 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.

(Nikon D700, 70-300mm at 70mm, ISO 250, Exposure 1/1000 sec @ f/8.0)

I seem to be in a black and white mood of late. This is a picture of one of my favorite cars at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corner, Michigan (between Battle Creek and Kalamazoon) This picture was taken at the 2010 Classic Car Club of America show held at the Gilmore. The car is a 1935 Dusenberg SJ564 Convertible Couple. I’ve always been fond of mid-30′s automobiles, particularly those with the exposed chrome exhausts. Duesenbergs have them as well as some model Auburns and Cords. All great designs.

For processing I converted to black and white in Lightroom and applied a duo-tone. I added some vignetting and finished up with some minor cloning in Photoshop. My goal was to create an image with a vintage look to it. I tried adding some grain in Lightroom as well, but I didn’t like the way it looked. I think the black and white suits the subject matter than the color version you see below.

Comments?

Copyright © 2010 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.

(Olympus E-3, 70-300mm at 70mm (2x crop factor), ISO 250, exposure 1/160 sec @ f/9.0)

This detail shot of a Duesenberg Model JN was taken at the 2008 Concours d’Elegance held at Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester Hills, Michigan. This Duesenberg is only one of four of this model ever made. Only two are known to still exist. Another interesting fact about this Duesenberg is that it was once owned by Clark Gable. Gable purchased this car as a gift for his wife, Carole Lombard. After she died, he sold the car on the condition that it never return to California as long as he (Gable) was alive. This car boasts some unique features, including a cut down windshield and a double spare tire holder. Gable himself sketched these details and gave them to the coach maker who created the body for this car. Visit my Duesenberg Model JN page to see more images of this car.

Comments and feedback welcome.

Image and text Copyright © 2008 James W. Howe – All rights reserved

This image can be purchased.

Please check out my www.vintagecarimages.com for more detail shots of classic automobiles.

(Olympus E-3, 70-300mm at 70mm (2x crop factor), ISO 250, exposure 1/160 sec @ f/9.0)

You are looking at the front end of a 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Roadster by Bohman and Schwartz. This car was one of many on display at the 2008 Concours d’Elegance held at Meadowbrook Hall in Rochester Hills, Michigan. This particular automobile has some interesting history. The car was a gift to Clark Gable from his wife, Carole Lombard. When she died, he abandoned the car and requested that it never return to California while he was alive. The car is a masterpiece of craftsmanship. It was restored several years ago and there are some videos on YouTube showing a master painter applying the pinstriping by hand. It’s a wonderful automobile.

Comments and feedback welcome.

Image and text Copyright © 2008 James W. Howe – All rights reserved

This image can be purchased.