The path that life takes is somewhat erratic; even more so when you try to mix ’n’ match what you do with your time, and I make decisions with the loose belief that if I re-organise myself according to what gives me a chance to exploit my expertise, then paying work will materialise. I have never photographed a Hot Rod Cruise Event, and so I accepted the invitation to join the members of the A602s at a meeting of varied Hot Rod afficionados at the Three Feathers on (would you believe?) the A602. The invitation came from recent member John Broughton, and he had mentioned that the group were planning a special event to obtain photos for a proposed calendar to be sold in an attempt to raise money to help a young girl to rehabilitate once she comes out of hospital from an accident after suffering terrible injuries due to being knocked down by some motorcyclists.
This was to be a way for me to take photos at an event where they have access to Fairlands Park for an evening next Wednesday. Naturally I hope that at some future date this may provide a work opportunity, but in the short term it puts me in front of a completely different set of people who from today’s showing have made me welcome.
I used the iPhone SatNav to find the initial venue, and it clearly told me to take a right turn into a Sainsburys Supermarket, so on the offchance there was a through route I obeyed! It simply proved to be an interesting diversion, and though after ignoring this direction, it caught up, but left me somewhat nervous as to the outcome. I slowly regained confidence as it did seem to be taking me in the generally correct direction from my scant knowledge of where I was heading, and the miles were counting down in the right sort of timeframe.
I was the first to arrive, and when a bright yellow Hot Rod appeared I wrongly assumed it would be the main man Grant Pinney, but that did mean I got to meet someone. I brought out the camera and then started shooting as others started to arrive, and I pointed to the sky to one guy, saying that looked very ominous, and he told me he had just passed through a short sharp burst on his way over, and since that was in an open top vehicle he was glad it was over quickly. I reckoned he was being over optimistic if he thought it was over as a few moments later it started to spit. This soon turned into a shower, but fortunately it was shortlived and it just meant a few cleaning cloths appeared to bring the motors to their gleaming best.
I was only able to briefly speak to Grant, but he said we could catch up at the Emperor’s Head our second stop, so I mingled and grabbed shots whenever the occasion arose. It was somewhat frustrating that as I was about to take a shot of the participants with a backdrop of their vehicles they would spot me and clear a path to the vehicle, when it was their animated conversation that was the subject as they discussed the cars. The cars were stationary; they weren’t going anywhere! After a wait for one particular member, everyone set off for the next venue, and that was when I rejoined John and I travelled in ‘King Dick’, the car I had photographed a week or so earlier. I jumped out just before the end to catch the cars arriving and parking up on the grass, and I took a few more shots before having a Coke and a banger. I managed the briefest of chats with Grant, and we swapped cards and promised to be in contact before Wednesday, so more car pictures coming to a gallery near you!
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