In early July, the Ohio State Fairgrounds & Expo Center hosted the 28th Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals presented by Grundy Insurance. The event drew over 6,000 registered hot rods, classic muscle cars, American vintage vehicles, mini trucks, and low riders, not to mention tens of thousands of spectators.
Since being introduced in 1969, the Skyglider has been a hallmark feature of the fairgrounds. The half-mile-long ski-lift-style skyride allows riders to experience the venue from up to 72 feet in the air. As a photographer, I’m always looking to find new angles, perspectives, and environments to explore. Paying the $8 for a single round-trip ride, I wanted to document the magnitude of Goodguys Nationals and capture the micro-stories happening below me.
During the 15 minute trip a multitude of scenes played out; glimpses of appreciation from spectators for a car owned by a stranger, cruising down the main drag in a project car, a new proud owner of a front quarter panel, Ohio Highway Patrol officers taking a quick break from controlling foot traffic, and the custodian of a 1960 Impala doing a quick detail to insure a show-ready shine.
The constraints of being strapped into a constantly moving lift chair presented a few unique challenges. First, I had to constantly scan for interesting scenes that helped tell the overall story of the car show. Second, I had to vary my compositions. Sure, shooting from above is cool, but using the same wide angle with a car in the middle can quickly become monotonous. Third, I had to include the spectators – there was no way I could get clean shots of just the cars without people in them. Many photographers focus solely on capturing cars on their own, but in doing so, they can miss the energy and admiration those cars draw from the people around them. Without the people, there wouldn’t be any cars, and without the cars, there wouldn’t be any people.
I’d encourage any automotive photographer to introduce a challenge or constraint to their next car show outing and see where it takes their creativity.
These are the shots from above.
