“Car porn” utterly dominates the automotive media. It’s kind of funny when you think about it. I am hard pressed to recall a contemporary media outlet — print or electronic — that isn’t overstuffed with sweet-and-gauzy scenes of automobiles in sultry poses. Even Ate Up With Motor has apparently held up posting stories because of an inadequate supply of photographs (Severson, 2014).
As discussed further in “Introduction,” Indie Auto does not follow media norms in order to maximize page hits. Even so, my interest in cars is more visual than mechanical so I include at least a few images — real or fake — with every posting.
Many of Indie Auto’s images come from the great folks at Old Car Brochures and Old Car Advertisements. Whenever I include a photo or illustration from one of their sites I provide a link. Do click on it! This is partly because the base documents are fascinating. But just as importantly, by visiting their sites you help this not-for-profit, volunteer-based group generate advertising revenue. You can also buy an interesting DVD or make a donation here.
Links originally went to the base images. Now they go to the main pages, so you have to navigate to the right brand, year and page. This is because technical difficulties at the Old Car website raised the prospect of me having to update links repeatedly.
Many of the older photographs I have taken for Indie Auto are also posted on Flickr. If you’d like to see one of these photos in a larger size, just click on it. The Indie Auto website also has a “Gallery” section that includes photographs without any text. All photos taken by me are copyrighted.
My primary motivation for including original photos in Indie Auto has been to improve my photography skills. A goodly number of routine pictures are taken with an iPhone, so the quality isn’t so hot. However, a Canon EO5 is used for photo features and set-up shots. All of the photos have been edited in Lightroom, but I stopped using Photoshop when it required an expensive upgrade.
You can help Indie Auto increase the quality of its photography by making a donation here.
RE:SOURCES
- Severson, Aaron; 2014. “Photos Wanted.” Ate Up With Motor. Accessed June 13.
PHOTOGRAPHY:
- Author’s photos: “Moon over automotive non-place”