A new image set starts today with a subject those of you who have followed my work for a few years will no doubt remember - the old (1939) Pontiac. It sits in a field in the middle of nowhere. It has been among my favourite photo subjects for the past 14 years.
I have to admit that each time I stop here, I have some doubt re. my ability to see anything new in this ancient prairie wreck. After thousands of images, what more is there to tell? But the old beast never disappoints, and I think pushing myself hard to find something previously undiscovered has to be a good exercise.
On this early morning visit, it was the light more than the car, and the tall grass surrounding it that first caught my eye. I've seen it buried in snow this deep, but not grass. We had a good snow pack last winter, followed by a rainy spring. The prairie has been very green this year, although now, by mid-July, it is inevitably turning golden-yellow and brown.
I used my 42-year old Nikon manual focus 24mm wide angle with a polarizing filter for this shot. Photographed at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: 1939 Pontiac car vehicle abandoned rusty rusted bullet holes beauty prairie landscape dawn morning light wide angle tripod my favourite car Rosefield Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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A small area of the 1939 Pontiac's front left fender... the right fender is missing... every time I spend some time looking at this old car's surface, I see something interesting. The changes are gradual, but I can see noticeable differences in some areas as the paint continues to peel off and the rust spreads in often surprising patterns. Neil Young got it right in 1979: rust never sleeps.
More to come...
Photographed in a field in the middle of nowhere, Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: abstract square paint rust patterns old car abandoned 1939 Pontiac oxidization rust never sleeps macro tripod but is it art? fun Wow! prairie relic Rosefield Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023 4tografie
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I'm back after a day off... yesterday's very early morning shoot finished me for the day... that's just the reality now: energy levels are diminished as age catches up to me. But I'm grateful for just being able to continue doing this!
Two final shots to close out the current set of old Pontiac images. This is a small section of the inner part of the front right fender. The biggest problem in doing these ultra close ups is that most of the surfaces are not flat: they're dented, bent, or curved. So even at f/16, 22, or 32, depth of field can be an issue.
I used a tripod for all these shots, of course. And locked up the mirror of my DSLR prior to exposure, to reduce or eliminate any blur from camera shake. (Yes, I have one of those old-fangled DSLRs with a mirror. I know the world has gone mirrorless, but I love my two Nikon D850 bodies and am loathe to give them up.)
One more shot to come. Tomorrow. I hope.
Photographed in its own shade early on a sunny morning, in a cow pasture in the middle of nowhere at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: old car 1939 Pontiac macro close up vertical paint rust layers oxidization beauty art surprising Wow! abandoned prairie long term project time rust never sleeps thanks to Neil Young middle of nowhere Rosefield Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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Last photo - for now - of the 1939 Pontiac. I haven't taken many shots from this angle, but I loved the way the grasses circled around the rear, with its detached chrome bumper and obvious bullet holes. In the background you can see a fence line and a road running above it, with a parallel progression of power poles. The old relic rests relatively close to the road, making it a target for bored young men who just happen to be carrying their guns. None of the bullet holes are recent; I think they go back to the 1960s. When I asked my friend Maurice if he had been responsible for any of them, a flicker of amusement crossed his face and then he cautiously replied, "Well... maybe..."
As befits the subject matter, I used my oldest lens to shoot this, a 1981 vintage manual focus Nikon 24mm, with polarizing filter. The day I bought that lens, in Vancouver, BC, the old Pontiac had already been sitting in its field for about 20 years, and it would be another 28 years before I would land on the prairie and "discover" it.
Tomorrow, a new image set. No hints. All brand new work.
Photographed miles from nowhere in the ranch lands at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: 1939 Pontiac derelict car abandoned wreck ruin rust rusty shot up bullet holes Crested Wheat Grass field fence country road vertical morning light beauty eye of the beholder prairie Rosefield Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023
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As December arrived, and a snowfall swept across the prairie to remind us that winter was just getting underway, I stopped here to photograph my favourite old car. Or wreck. Anyone who has been following this photostream for a while knows how much I love this derelict 1939 Pontiac. I know some people look at it and see junk, but I see art.
Special thanks to my friend Sandra Herber, who via her extraordinary work rekindled my interest in square format. My very first camera, going back to 1960 (when I was 12), shot square negatives. Seeing the potential to compose square again - after many years of shooting standard rectangular 35mm - added a new (and old) dimension to my photo options.
I took Sandra to this very spot during her visit last spring, but unfortunately the sun was shining and gentle breezes wafted across the awakening prairie landscape. It was sweet. But - for some subject matter - we both prefer something a little more minimalist. Stark, even. She would have loved the look of it this day. I certainly did. And yeah, my fingers were burning from the cold when I finally returned to my car to head home.
Photographed at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: abandoned car old shot up 1939 Pontiac winter white snow snowing snowy square beauty art rust rusty derelict junk my favourite car field pasture prairie Rosefield SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page
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