this imprrssion was captured at the ghost town of bodie, high in the eastern sierra mountains of california back in august of 2016... this is something different for me, i do not usually shoot vehicles in my photography, but in this case, this particular lonely car had been on my mind for some time, and is quite special since i had the vision for this composition in my mind's eye for some time before capturing it...and i exceeded my hopes, as this car came alive for me again with this impression...
bodie is full of little things like this old 1936 chevy jalopy to personify and create compositions...so many things all over this ghost town that were abandoned to be left forgotten about until they catch the eye of a willing photographer. for me, i was drawn to this particular car. i had an impassioned empathy for it. i related to it on a primeval level. it is all alone, one of a kind, just sort of out of place in a town full of historic wooden building--it is just way too modern of a machine to be in this scene of an old western town, but at the same time, forgotten about and abandoned to become weather beaten and broken down as all of the years pass on and on, just like the rest of bodie was left suddenly.
i wanted to do this rustic subject before me a true justice in a portrayal of its essence. i have such a strong affinity for this car, so i felt compelled to do just that. so, i personify this car as a beautiful woman with attractive curves and lines and headlights; she is laying here all bare and natural; she has been left alone, abandoned, burdened down, partway buried by her life; she is often hidden and unnoticed; people walk by her and do not see her at all; she is unassuming; she is dulled by time but still carries on; she is trapped, a prisoner of her own devices; she is exposed to me, but does not mind as she is comfortable with me standing before her non-judgmentally. she is perfect to me, i am her suitor. i know i can bring her back to life and give her a glow once anew...
i understand her. she was discarded as useless (similarly to me i feel sometimes), but i see a glimmer of the jewel of light inside her. there is a magical glow just beneath her surface. i want to electrify her again, rejuvenate her. i want to bring that out, make her shine again like she did when she was loved for who she was, and was proudly driven on the streets with her pride of youth. i want to save her from this confinement. i want to make her shine with luster and verve again, take her back to those innocent days from years gone by.
i want her to be bold and brazen and confident in her loveliness. i want to bring her back to life and make her gracefully glide across the earth again as she once did so fluidly. i want her to be alive again and dance in the streets, where the streets have no name. i want her to cruise unabashed in true beauty...
i want to show people her sexy curves and perky headlights as she flows through time and space under the clouds of the heavens. i want to make all those people regret for having not noticed her mystique, for passing her over...she is my new obsession, and i am compelled to create something magical and worthy of her in my impression you see before you. making her alive again makes me alive again. seeing her cruise once more in eloquence renewed makes me want to go for a neverending joyride...
so, i guess this ramble here is my attempt at giving you my meaning and a quirky insight into my mind as a corny artist, eh?!? i love this picture as i love my subject here, hope you feel the same as me!