Vintage / Classic Car Show - Cardiff Castle

[SharkyUK]

Yesterday my good lady and I met a few friends and popped down to Cardiff Castle to see a small vintage/classic car show. There were some lovely motors on show (although, sadly, I didn't get the time to photograph many of them).

Of course, the weather was pretty good until we walked through the front gates and the rain started falling...

Here are a few pics - feedback welcome as always. Personally, I wasn't too happy with a lot of the shots from the day; many were poorly underexposed and my eye[s] for composition needs, well, glasses. I also think the DOF (or lack of) means that some of the shots have a 'too busy' background and detract from the subject. Still - I enjoyed the day and any excuse to fire off a few shots...

1.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_1.jpg

2.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_12.jpg

3.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_17.jpg

4.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_20.jpg

5.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_22.jpg

6.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_26.jpg

7.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_31.jpg

8.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_32.jpg

9.
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_36.jpg

10. (Friend's car!)
http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_38.jpg

Many thanks for looking.

EDIT: Taken with Canon EOS 40D and standard kit lens.

[Matt Sayle]

Nice shots. Your friend is very lucky :D Love the gullwings!

[andrewc]

Mercedes 300SL Gullwing worth a small fortune. Period newspaper nice touch by owners. Like the Alpine the best though - blue is the best colour for them...

[Wail]

Great shots ... thanks for posting these.

I would happily give a limb, or two for the gullwing Mercedes! Back in 1984 a very similar one was on offer for a mere £80,000, thought hard about it and tried to convince my dad that it was a good investment to buy .. now I wish I tried harder.

[andrewc]

Two sold recently at auction - one for £ 378,268, other £ 252,800.

£ 80,000 in 1984 is worth around £ 185,000 by comparing the retail price index - so they've appreciated a bit.

Working backwards £ 378,000 would be similar to 163,000 in 1984, so they've effectively doubled in price since then.

[Wail]

So, I was right to think of this as an investment. Pitty I didn't have the bargaining power with my dad to convince him to buy it! Mind you, I probably would have totalled it while showing off my driving skills :).

[andrewc]

Depends if you think 100% increase over 24 years is considered a good investment as you'd have quite a lot of running & maintenence expenses even if the car was never driven.

[SharkyUK]

I would happily give a limb, or two for the gullwing Mercedes!

I hear they are difficult enough to drive even with a full complement of limbs...! :shrug:

Thanks for the comments, glad you like the shots. The sad thing is that there were probably around 40+ cars on show and I only managed to get a couple of handfuls worth on film (well, memory card). Some of the older vintage models I didn't get around to.

Talking to one of the owners, he explained that there is another vintage/classic show this coming Sunday (8th June) in Barry, South Wales. There'll be a collection of old cars, buses and steam/traction engines on display.

[percymon]

I love the patina of the leather seat in #2 - your friend's Alpine is superb too !

[Wail]

Depends if you think 100% increase over 24 years is considered a good investment as you'd have quite a lot of running & maintenence expenses even if the car was never driven.

I guess you're right in the true sense of investment ... but to have had the chance to own one but letting it slip becomes more painful now that I see how this has fared over the decades.

[Wail]

I hear they are difficult enough to drive even with a full complement of limbs...! :shrug:

Thanks for the comments, glad you like the shots. The sad thing is that there were probably around 40+ cars on show and I only managed to get a couple of handfuls worth on film (well, memory card). Some of the older vintage models I didn't get around to.

Talking to one of the owners, he explained that there is another vintage/classic show this coming Sunday (8th June) in Barry, South Wales. There'll be a collection of old cars, buses and steam/traction engines on display.

Your shots make the gullwing ever more appealing .... love how you've captured its grace! :clap::thumbs:

That said, I would hate to be owning it without any limbs to drive it or to at least shoot it! So, I figure may be not a couple of limbs ... but an ear and a nose .. heck, tell you what ... you've now made it so hard for me that I plan to run down to my nearest toy store and see if I can find a Crogi model of one and then I can claim to own one at 1:32 scale (or thereabouts).

Seriously, wonderful shots there.

[Ladybird]

Gorgoeus shots of some very shiny cars! My dad used to have a Zephyr, pale blue, was a lovely car! :love:

I really like no4, Radio and newspaper are a cool touch of detail!

[SharkyUK]

I love the patina of the leather seat in #2 - your friend's Alpine is superb too !

The beauty is that he uses the Alpine regularly, too... and takes it out on trackdays when he has the opportunity to do so. Inside, the roof is adorned with the signatures of world famous rally drivers, F1 drivers and suchlike - from both more recent times as well as from many moons ago. A truly wonderful car.

Your shots make the gullwing ever more appealing .... love how you've captured its grace! :clap::thumbs:

That said, I would hate to be owning it without any limbs to drive it or to at least shoot it! So, I figure may be not a couple of limbs ... but an ear and a nose .. heck, tell you what ... you've now made it so hard for me that I plan to run down to my nearest toy store and see if I can find a Crogi model of one and then I can claim to own one at 1:32 scale (or thereabouts).

Seriously, wonderful shots there.

Thank you for the kind words. But please *do* visit that toy store as I couldn't face each day knowing that you'd lost body parts over the Gullwing! It was a bit special seeing such a great example 'in the flesh'. In all truth I was a little scared to get too close in case I did something daft like drop my rucksack against it or knock the paintwork with the camera lens.

Gorgoeus shots of some very shiny cars! My dad used to have a Zephyr, pale blue, was a lovely car! :love:

I really like no4, Radio and newspaper are a cool touch of detail!

The period items (as mentioned above) are a nice touch and there was an original baby seat in the Morris Oxford that I photographed. Not the best pic I'm afraid but here it is...

http://rebelmotorsportclub.co.uk/gallery/runs/20080601_cardiffvint/20080601_cardiffvint_11.jpg

[Morph]

Love th Merc shots. Its hard to get good pics at these shows because everythings so tightly packed.
Neil