Back in the trees, near the Forgotten Coast, just off Highway 319, south of Crawfordville, Florida, rests a collection of rusty Ford trucks and cars. With Mother Nature trying to reclaim the vehicles for her own, they’re easy to miss if not vigilant.

Lined up in chronological order and dating between the early 1900s and the 1970s, the vehicles are owned by and once used on the nearby Harvey family farm. Placed at their current location by Pat Harvey, they have since become a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike.

There’s something about rusty vehicles along the side of the road which captures the imagination. The classic lines of a bygone era. The juxtaposition of nature and mankind with nature ultimately winning. The plant life ensnaring the red, flaking steal; doing its best to pull it into the earth. Maybe we just find old, rusty stuff fascinating.

I considered the rusty vehicles a personal project with nothing planned for the images other than this blog article and maybe one good image for my portfolio. I had ample time to let the photographic treatment percolate in my mind before ever touching a camera. About nine months passed from the time I first saw them until I captured these images.

Deciding on four visits to include different times of day and conditions, this is how the photographic sessions played out over two weeks.

Visit 1 – Early morning sun: By far my most productive visit. I arrived before sunrise and waited for the morning sun to filter in through the trees and bath the rusty trucks in a warm glow. The early morning sun also gave me side-lighting which adds texture for detail shots.

Visit 2 – Late afternoon sun: I wanted to photograph the interior of many of the trucks but needed late afternoon sun to light dashboards. With deep shadows, bright dashboards, and what could be seen outside windows, I bracketed my exposures three stops (normal, 1 over, and 1 under). I guessed I would need to use high dynamic range (HDR) processing.

It was during this visit I encountered many local teenagers, dressed in tuxedoes and formal gowns, showing up to have their photos taken alongside the rusty trucks. Turns out it was the evening of the Homecoming dance. At the time, I considered it a minor obstacle. In hindsight, I should have considered it a serendipitous event I could have used to further my story.

Visit 3 – Nighttime under a full moon: I thought it might be interesting to photograph the old trucks under the full moon to give them a blue, eerie look. Because of the heavy tree cover, the moonlight filtering through was minimal. I ended up with a scene hard to focus on and visually disappointing.

Visit 4 – Midday under cloudy bright conditions: There’s a lot of interesting lines and detail in old, rusty vehicles. Photographing under cloudy bright skies gives a nice even, shadowless lighting and a good way to bring out details. Occasionally, photos under these conditions will turn out flat and lifeless though. A little side-lighting adds needed texture in those situations. When practical, I try it both ways and see which I prefer.

I’m done photographing the Ford trucks and cars but not finished with the project. I plan on creating a monograph in PDF format I can share with my readers. For the monograph, I’m considering using some different process treatments on the photos. Possibly some in black and white. Maybe a sepia or duotone. Possibly a treatment I haven’t thought of or invented yet. Stay tuned.