Aston Martin - can't see it for dust!

Parking is scarce in central London and if you have several cars and several homes in different countries you might decide to store your cars in a local garage while you are abroad. Some leave them there for months...

This is the beautiful Aston Martin V8 Vantage as you have probably never seen it before

Nigel Allan: V8 Vantage – can’t see it for dust, hood

Nigel Allan: V8 Vantage – can’t see it for dust, front wing

Nigel Allan: V8 Vantage – can’t see it for dust, full on​

Maybe the owner can't pay for the gas anymore ?

But what a fine car!

The best dust-scribed message on the car: "What a waste!". I'm not a car hound but even I appreciate what a thing of beauty and craftsmanship this car is.

Yes, perhaps the owner went crash, although the car would probably have been repossessed or sold by now if that was the case. Or perhaps the owner just got too fat to fit into it any more. (See http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Aston-Martin_Vantage/)

But it's this fellow's toy to "waste".

What about the plate: 0U8BBZ, Oh you wait, babies! Any other ideas?

Asher

Or perhaps he's become bored by this pedestrian toy and is moving up to the new Bugatti Veyron (for $2.1 mil.)

I suspect that when he returns it will have been cleaned and once more be a sparkly thing. I know at least one chap who has to choose between Aston and Ferrari for his commute - of course life being what it is I think he gets the train more often... (just to be clear, it's not me, given my recent rail experience!)

Nice car, they always look like the metal is stretched over the musculature like a very tight skin - a clever bit of sculpture in my book.

Mike

I have left this thread for a week or two and come back to it. What is fascinating in this thread is that people felt obliged to pass comment on the car or the owner's motivation perhaps, but noone actually commented on the photography itself, which is unusual in a thread entitled 'critique desired'.

In every other thread asking for critique people will give an opinion on the actual photos themselves not necessarily just the subject matter alone

So, do I take that as a compliment that everyone has seen 'beyond' the technique and is only engaged by the subject, forgetting to comment on the interface which is a digital photograph?

This is interesting

Interesting, and accurate, observation, Nigel. I suspect that toy admiration comes into play here, as there may be many more men reading this than women (and all the commenters are guys). But you must concede that the pics are basically documentary-style snaps and that you introduced them with a narration about the car.

Nigel,

Let's blame Nicolas, he's on location! Anyway, he was the first to focus on the incongruity of spending so much on a beautiful car and then neglecting it. Actually, I never wash my car! I rely on the weather in the winter to clean them and I suspect that someone in my family also might have it washed when they steal the keys.

The owner might well value the car for how it drives and at the moment be sailing his yacht!

Asher

Nigel Allan said:

Parking is scarce in central London and if you have several cars and several homes in different countries you might decide to store your cars in a local garage while you are abroad. Some leave them there for months...

This is the beautiful Aston Martin V8 Vantage as you have probably never seen it before

Nigel Allan: V8 Vantage – can’t see it for dust, hood

Nigel Allan: V8 Vantage – can’t see it for dust, front wing

Nigel Allan: V8 Vantage – can’t see it for dust, full on​

Click to expand...

Ken Tanaka said:

Interesting, and accurate, observation, Nigel. I suspect that toy admiration comes into play here, as there may be many more men reading this than women (and all the commenters are guys). But you must concede that the pics are basically documentary-style snaps and that you introduced them with a narration about the car.

Click to expand...

I agree. Although the second image has an interesting angle of view (and thus composition), but I'm not too fond of the sepia coloring, unless it serves a good purpose.

Cheers,
Bart

Actually they are colour not sepia and the basic shades of the pictures are just accentuated to make it seem more dirty

Ken Tanaka said:

Interesting, and accurate, observation, Nigel. I suspect that toy admiration comes into play here, as there may be many more men reading this than women (and all the commenters are guys). But you must concede that the pics are basically documentary-style snaps and that you introduced them with a narration about the car.

Click to expand...

I agree Ken, but I wante to know if they were 'effective' documentary style snaps. Absent technical criticism, I guess they were!

So Let's Look at Documentary "Snaps v. Artistic Photography

Ken Tanaka said:

Interesting, and accurate, observation, Nigel. I suspect that toy admiration comes into play here, as there may be many more men reading this than women (and all the commenters are guys). But you must concede that the pics are basically documentary-style snaps and that you introduced them with a narration about the car.

Click to expand...

Bart Van Der Wolf said:

I agree. Although the second image has an interesting angle of view (and thus composition), but I'm not too fond of the sepia coloring, unless it serves a good purpose.

Click to expand...

First, Let's put the difference in tone aside, that's a diversion here.

The last picture could be called documentary. As a mere snap, it would be nice one. The first picture, immediately climbs above that!






The photograph of the Aston Martin is designed to bring out the character of the car, thrusting towards us. It's composed symmetrically and as an elongated form so it appears to be pushing itself into this low frame. This is not merely documentation. Add to that the undecipherable text, it becomes a playground, like the dust layer, itself. This then is no mere snap. It's a photograph of worth. Still, I wish it had the lower grill and edge too. That would really strengthen the entire head of this creature and complete the full climb of this image to a fully fledged artwork I'd value; my opinion.

The second picture, I won't even discuss. It's so obviously composed with ideas far beyond the snap of the moment. The seemingly sepia effect, does call attention to itself and makes it appear insincere, but it's not. The coloration fits.

Asher

Asher Kelman said:

Nigel,

Let's blame Nicolas, he's on location!

Click to expand...

I'm back ,-) but will leave again tomorrow for 2 days and Wedenesday till upcoming Monday…

Ok then, Nigel's sensor needs a serious cleaning !

Asher here is the full hood. I had cropped it because I found the licence plate a little intrusive as the camera's flash made it really shine brightly.

I have shown a couple of other angles including a previously overlooked one with an apt inscription in the dust.

And no, there is NO SEPIA toning here. These are all the natural light plus the flash of that garage. The last one was posted earlier in the thread but with a slightly different colour cast which may have given the impression it was sepia toned. Here is a 'cleaner' version where I have actually taken yellow out of the shot

...and no this amount of dust is not on my sensor or lens, Nicolas!

1. Nigel Allan Aston Martin – full hood - a

2. Nigel Allan Aston Martin – full hood – b

3. Nigel Allan Aston Martin – "Christ, drive it or give it to me"

4. Nigel Allan Aston Martin – front driver’s side wing​