Sorry, there are no girls, just cars, I needed a catchy title and ‘cars and girls’ sounded good. You were tricked, I’m afraid…but hey, while you’re here, you may as well have a look at some cars.
Canada, not just Yellowknife, turns me into some kind of abandoned car enthusiast, it’s bizarre. When I’m at home I never really feel the urge to document cars of any kind, let alone ones that have been left to rot in driveways, but the second I’m off the plane I notice them everywhere! It was the same when I was there last September. But I shouldn’t complain, because old car photos are VERY popular, they fly out of stock photo sites like veritable hot cakes.
I shot all the images here using a Mamiya 7II, 80mm lens and Kodak Portra 160 film. On a technical note, for all the paranoid film shooters, I travelled through 9 separate x-ray machines with 80 rolls of 120 film. In Toronto I was subjected to my usual 2 hour interrogation and all my film was passed through the big industrial checked baggage machine and I can tell you now that there has been no ill effects whatsoever on the film.
On another technical note – some people ask me how I colour manage with film scanning, how do I know it’s correct? I work on a colour calibrated Apple iMac, which I personally think is always a good start. When shooting film I include a colour card in the first shot of every few rolls of film and then work from that. I’ve seen my images displayed on older screens and they can look terrible, colour wise, but unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about that…and sorry again about the girl thing. My bad.
***All images are strictly copyright to Phil Kneen***
PHIL KNEEN 
Hi Phil – I love the pictures you take – every single shot tells a story – I cant get enough – do you have a base for your business, is that London? Dont worry Im not a stalker!! just appreciate what you do. Have you produced a book by any chance or run work shops?
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Haha! I love stalkers! Thank you.
I’m based on the Isle of Man, but travel all over the place (I don’t actually do much photography work in the Island)
Yes, I run workshops, usually one-on-one, or very small groups. I taylor courses to suit. I’ve done a lot of film photography courses recently, and I’m even doing a workshop based on iPhone/camera phone imaging.
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HI Phil – when you next set up workshops/courses can you blog about it ? consider writing a book in diary format – text and pics – would be well worth reading…….but hey what do I know ……
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I love that. Good light for such a subject.
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I Like The The New Color American Photography Aesthetic
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Great pics Phil, but I hate to be all techy, but what cards are you using as I can never get a decent colour balance when I shoot film!
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You’re rapidly heading up the charts, Phil! This latest stuff is amazing, a lot of people won’t understand it, but those that do will know how good you actually are.
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I can see why your old vehicle shots sell well. I love that Dodge van. It is hard to believe it has sat (or run) with the same set of BC plates for 40 years. With air in the tires still, and windows as if adapted for living. There is a story peeking out from these photos. I particularly like the old tin hard hat hanging in the cab.
Maybe part of the attraction for you is the size of these vehicles? Most of the ones you shoot just would not fit on a British country lane that included a cyclist. As a kid in the early 60’s I lived in Europe with my family and we brought over our Valiant station wagon (a smaller car than most of the ones you shoot). It was a bloody awkward vehicle in many/most places, and giant compared to the typical car of the day.
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Hey Phil, beautiful work! Do you use LR4 to adjust your negative scans?
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Thanks! Yes I do, LR4. I don’t really do much, just healing the spots, increase the contrast and a bit of colour correction. I never crop the negatives.
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very nice
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Great Shots Phil, love them. I think a more apt title would be “Cars and Hairy Men” although you probably won’t get the same amount of interest, but then again….. 😉 I’m going to Banff this year for Christmas so any photographic tips/advice if you know the area would be much appreciated 🙂
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Banff is amazingly beautiful, I’m jealous!
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Another great post. Thanks Phil
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Thank you!
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très beau travail ! c’est une super série Bravo !
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