Here Comes the Sun

Another view of this beautiful 1940's fleetline I came across at the Pomona Auto Swapmeet. The color of the sky at sunrise was changing so rapidly, I felt the need to capture multiple images of this car that morning. Each set of images looks significantly different with the changing light.

Fleetline Sunrise

The primer paint on this fleetline in no way stops it from showing off it's classic curves at morning's first light.  I shoot a lot of cars but I have to say I am a sucker for the 1947-48 fleetline. Given the choice between a 2022 corvette or a restored 48 fleetline, call me crazy but I'm going the fleetline way everytime. 

Pomona Sunrise

Arriving at the Pomona auto swap meet before dawn has its benefits. We drove over to the Pomona fairgrounds along very empty freeways and arrived just after 5:00 am. As we got closer, we began seeing lots of classic cars making their way to the entry gates. After paying for parking, we found a place to park not far from the entry gate and got our camera bags and tripods out of the car. It was bracingly cold outside and quite a bit colder than at home. Having attended this swap meet in the winter previously, we were well prepared and brought our scotty vest jackets to keep warm. For those who are unaware, the Pomona Auto Swap meet is a very large event that has been held for the past 47 years in Pomona California. It typically is held 7 times a year from 5:00am to 2:00PM on selected Sundays. I’ve heard you can find nearly any type of part for any type of car there. After having walked up and down a few of the aisles, I believe it. It is also a place for people to show off their cars. Sections for doing so are provided as well as places to display a car you wish to sell.

We like arriving early so we beat the crowds and are always there before sunrise in case it turns out to be a spectacular one like it was on this January morning. Even before the sun began peeking over the horizon, the sky to the east started glowing a yellow orange color which was promising and there were some clouds for the orange light to illuminate. The western sky was still deep in the blue hour when the sun rose above the horizon and the most beautiful orange colored sky quite suddenly lit up. Kathy and I returned to the cars we liked most that morning and began shooting some images. I really liked this 1940’s Fleetline panel delivery vehicle. I shot this from several viewpoints and was generally pleased with the results.

Gathering of Fleetlines

The Blvd Bombs Car Club held a fundraiser car show at the Bobs Big Boy Broiler in Downey CA. We arrived in time for the spectacular sunset and found quite a few 1940's Chevrolet Fleetmasters and Fleetlines like these pictured here. The red convertible fleetmaster was particularly stunning. Convertable fleetlines are a comparatively rare sight at car shows so I try to photograph them whenever I see them.

Fleeting Fleetline Sunset

Kathy reminded me that there was a Halloween car show being held at the Bob's Big Boy Broiler in Downey tonight. I had to work a little late so traffic was pretty heavy by the time I headed over to the show. I had just parked my van when Kathy arrived. The sun was getting ready to make its departure for the day and the light was already looking nice so we got right to shooting some of the classic ars that had already arrived. It was a good sized show with lots of cars and people. I was talking to a nice guy with an Australian accent who was also taking photos, and was telling him how I like to shoot during sunset at car shows. Just then the sky lit up with the most amazing orange color. I stopped talking and took a bunch of HDR sequences in the fading light. The sky went from what you see in this photo  to completely black in about 10 minutes. This Chevy Fleetline looked to be completely stock. The paint was very reflective and nicely done. Hope I see this car again soon.

1947 Chevrolet Fleetline

There were so many great cars at the Point Fermin car show by the sea, Kathy and I didn’t know what to photograph first. We arrived a couple of hours before the show was officially opening but there were already more than 100 cars parked and hundreds more flowing into the large ocean front park that hosted the show.

I walked around trying to sort out which cars I definitely wanted to photograph from those that while amazing, were already well represented in my growing photographic archive. This proved nearly impossible to do because so many cars had custom features that were very interesting and unique.

I just couldn’t pass up this immaculate 1947 Chevrolet Fleetline. I love this model and make a point of photographing them whenever I have the opportunity. I spoke to the owner who explained to me that other than being lowered with air bags, the car was restored to be completely stock. That includes the color of the paint and the material used in the upholstery of the seats and headliner.

There’s just something about these long low slung cars that just capture my interest like few others do. I took several sets of shots from various angles so I’m sure I’ll post the others if they look ok after post processing them.