The Girl In The Red Car

The girl with the red dress in the red car.  (click to enlarge)

I love this photograph.  It is one of my all time favorites.  I shot it with my Nikon D700 and 24-70mm f/2.8 lens in June of 2011.  I had completely forgotten about it until the other day when I happened upon it in my Lightroom catalog.  I'm glad I did.

There was a summer old car event which I attended.  I had a friend who was putting his Model A Ford on exhibit and, being a car guy for decades, I thought I would support his attendance, enjoy seeing the other old cars on display and maybe have an opportunity or two to make some photographs.  This photograph is one of those.

Just take a few moments to look at what is going on in this photograph.  Look at this young lady's pose, gesture and expression and imagine what she is thinking.  She seems oblivious to the activity surrounding her.  Look at the touch of sunlight falling upon her cheek.  Then look at what each of the other individuals are doing.  Some see her, some see the beautiful automobile and some don't take notice of either.  I find the interplay and gestures fascinating. 

Of course, the girl wearing red that happens to match the color of the car is the star of this photograph.  Her innocence and complete lack of recognition to what is going on around her is remarkable.  She is completely engulfed by what she is doing.  As to what she is doing, I think she is looking into the rear view mirror above the windshield.

It isn't often I make a photograph that touches me like this one does.  Luck?  Opportunity?  Preparation?  Serendipity?  Skill?  It doesn't matter.  What matters to me is the final image.  it has everything that I would want one of my photographs to be.

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Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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