Monterey Car Week "Nine over Nine..."

One of the projects over the last few months I've been involved with is a new coffee table book coming out, called "Nine over Nine." If you have ever been to Monterey Car Week during August, this will hit home. The background on the book, "Nine over Nine" was nine photographers shooting over nine days last August. I was contacted along with 8 other extraordinarily skilled professional photographers to cover as many of car week events and document them with photos capturing as many classic shots as we could. To be part of this is truly exciting, and to see it come to print is one of the highlights of this past year. It's now in the "kickstarter" mode and I've included a link for that, as well as some images of pages from the book. Be sure to click the link for more info on the book and watch the accompanying video.

Here's the link for the project, "Nine over Nine."

Tent Shows, and Galleries, and Race Cars...Oh my!

It's certainly been a busy time. First doing ArtWalk at Liberty Station, unpacking general interest photographs that night as the show ended, then repacking my automotive photographs the same night for a trip up north the next day to show in a Carmel gallery during Monterey Car Week. Wow...I need a breather!

Really, what I want to say, is a big "Thank You" to all of you that came to ArtWalk, and the gallery in Carmel to say hi. And an even bigger thanks to those of you that added to your fine art collection by leaving with one of my pieces! We had a great time, didn't we?

BTW: If you want to see my pieces from ArtWalk or from the "Metal Exposed" show in Carmel, please check out my photo site at: JohnStraubImageWorks.com

"Metal Exposed" at Gallery by the Sea Carmel

Other Places to Keep in Touch...

Out on the road making my way to the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concour, I was able to do a photo shoot with my patina covered 1967 911, and grab some cool images. Here's one I'll share, and in a world of connectivity, some others have been posted on other social media sites. I guess the point of this is to say, if you're on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you can find me there too...

1967 Porsche 911. This was shot in Ventura, CA.

You can click these to find me: Facebook       "Along For the Ride" Facebook Page        Instagram            Twitter

Resting on its back...

As I sit in my little postage stamp, in the middle of all this craziness and vastness of SoCal, I occasionally look outside at a fingernail moon, resting on its back. I guess, kinda' daydreaming about the past Carmel-By-The-Sea-Concours, and what a truly enjoyable event it was. Unfortunately, this year I was not able to spend the entire day taking in the sight's of shiny painted rides, so I was only able to garner a few shots of the event to share.  The good thing is, I had a paying photo mission later that day, so all was not lost. New this year was the Mecum Auction display and the Porsche R Gruppe display, and not to be left out, the traditional yearly parade of Trans Am cars rumbling down Ocean Ave.The next event is scheduled for August 11, 2015. If you have a chance to attend, it's one of the best happenings of the entire Monterey Car Week, in this writers opinion.

Insider's Guide to Monterey 2014...

This must have been the "Revenge of the Google Nerds" on me.

Now you gotta' know I'm no Tech Monkey or Code Geek, wish I was, because if I was, I could figure out why "Feedburner" was no longer sending out my blog post. That's right, all you guys that signed up for blog updates, were not getting them. So, it was time to switch over to another blog mailing service. This is the second going out with that new service, and it's secure. No spamming coming from me, why, because I hate it as much as you. Your email won't go to anyone, because I also hate that. You can still unsubscribe any time you want, although why would you want to? It's a blog about cars, their history, artistry, events, and creative car photography.

Anyway, with August fast approaching, the return of the Monterey Car Week is looming. One of my personal favorites of the week is the "Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours." This show is always a delight to see with new attractions every year. And what better setting can you have, but the main street of Carmel, with an eclectic variety of cars to check out as well as shops for your better half to keep them busy. It's a guaranteed "Smile Buster!" Here are a couple of shots from last years event...

Now on to the guide for the week. If you click on this link to the Calendar of events and scroll down to August 11-17, you'll see a complete list, along with event links. Enjoy... Car Kulture Kalendar

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Almost a Mean Mugging...

The backstory goes like this. I'm rounding the corner by the Cypress Inn in Carmel, and spot the "Moal" built rod sitting on the street. I was there to shoot photos for the Carmel Concour the next day, but this baby was too much to pass up. Grabbed my camera and prepared to get the shot, but before I knew it, a grocery getter pulled up inches from the back of the rod. I sheeplessly asked the driver to please back up for a minute so I could get a shot. He just smiled, winked at me and left it in place. I winked back all the well knowing, that in little more than a "Bam..." with post-processing he would no longer exist. Hope you enjoy the shot with a vintage flair.

 

Steve Moal built this sweet Rod.

Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours 2013...

Imagine a hunk of aluminum on a lathe...it turns and turns, more times that can be remembered. It comes out a beautiful and functional piece of art, a piston. For years, that's how Doug Freedman thought about and worked his "Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours On The Avenue" before the first car was shown the street.

In the last six years of the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours, it has been said that this is the perfect Concours, boasting gorgeous and exotic micro cars to "full on" race machinery, and open to the public to view between 10:00AM to 5:00PM. There seems to be no way to make this event better, but Doug has touched this event over and over through the years, again and again to create a subtle but better show including fantastic branding partners, the likes of Tiffany & Co., Meguiar's, and the beautiful Cypress Inn in Carmel. One could say he has put constant inspiration into this competitive display so the party is familiar when you show up, but you can count on each year becoming a little bit better. Last year the Trans Am cars that were going to be running at Laguna the following weekend were invited to drive onto Ocean Boulevard sans mufflers to rock the street. I was lucky enough to be the official photographer last year, and with the next event drawing closer while I'm polishing my camera lens, I thought it about time I shared some of my images, to get you in the spirit for this year, or if you would like to become involved with this event in the future.

Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours On The Avenue ... 2013

If you're a Monterey Car Week devotee, the news coming forth about the "Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours On The Avenue" is everything good.

Tired of paying the high and higher prices charged for attending the shows during car week? This is your salvation! It's free to spectators as it's held on the closed streets of Carmel, which becomes a pedestrian walk-about among some of the coolest and nicest cars in the US. With special classes for Porsche as well as Ferrari cars, the show doesn't fall short on offering eye delectable offerings of everything from hot rods to micro-cars. The date: Tuesday, August 13, 2013

According to Doug Freedman, the father of the Carmel Concours, "Our mission statement continues to be our focus."

Sophistication with a dash of fun,
where Authenticity, Originality and Preservation matter
All in a welcoming atmosphere!!!

The action on Ocean Avenue last year...

Carmel-By-The-Sea Concour on the Avenue ...at Night

A few weeks ago during Monterey Car Week, I had the honor of being the official photographer for the "Carmel-By-The-Sea Concours on the Avenue." That being said, all my event shots are going to Doug Freedman the creator of the show. However, here are some other shots of the Concours on the Avenue window displays, which also compete for awards. In addition to Carmel being a car town, it also has a long history as an art community, so the window displays are along the same line. You'll notice they're taken at night, something a little different. OK, OK..., it was after a few beers and some great Calamari for dinner at a local pub.  Enjoy, time for me to go re-charge batteries...

Carmel Car Week at night with Concours on the Avenue. Image © "Along For The Ride"