1st European Hot Rod & Custom Show – Chimay – Belgium – Part 4
The January 2012 issue of Milkcow has three page article about me and my photography. Thanks very much to Kate at Clumsy for the kind words, they are very much appreciated.
“There are a lot of people out there who call themselves photographers but it takes a certain something to make a great photographer. A keen eye for detail, a sense of composition, and the ability to connect with his or her subject matter. Nick Grant has all of these.”
Bazinga! What a weekend at the Rhythm Riot it just gets better and better. I’ve got a whole mountain of shots to go through so bare with me as it will take a while. I covered half the weekend and Neal Reed covered the other half. George Barris certainly was a hit at the show, taking time to speak to anyone who wanted and telling some great tales of times gone by. The cars of Gary Hillman made the Barris visit even more special, George hadn’t seen some of these cars for 30 years. The was also a very special Model A début at the show, fresh out of Paul Burham‘s workshop, more on that later. Top bands played all weekend and people danced their shoes off. Other highlights included the burlesque skills of Cherry Shakewell and Missy Malone which were followed by a very brave chap proposing to his girlfriend on stage , luckily the answer was yes!
I’m sure there are bits I’m forgetting so I’ll come back to those later. Massive thanks to Robin, Collette and Jerry for hosting an epic weekend.
Now on with a few photos to get you started…
By the way if anyone thinks that photographer have an easy life, this was my schedule for Saturday:
12:00 DJ Bill and Jimmy Guntrip Queen Vic Pub
12:30 George Barris Q&A Lunars Bar
13:30 The Western Toneflyers Queen Vic Pub
14:00 Signing of the Cars Hire Time Annex
15:00 Have a go DJ Session Queen Vic Pub
16:00 Ali Gator & his real hot Reptile Rockers Queen Vic Pub
16:30 DJ 10″ Wonderboy Lunars Bar
17:00 Break for food Room
18:00 DJ Pooly Lunars Bar
18:30 DJ Per Rock Ballroom
19:00 The Crown Top Kings Ballroom
20:00 DJ Wildcat Pete Lunars Bar
20:30 DJ Johnny Congeroo Ballroom
20:45 Lewen Stark and the Slide Boppers Ballroom
21:30 DJ Moon Lunars Bar
22:00 DJ Juarez Ballroom
22:30 The Bobbettes Ballroom
23:00 Lady Kamikaze Queen Vic Pub
23:30 DJ Tev Collins and Steve Grinster Lunars Bar
23:45 Burlesque – Missy Malone and Cherry Shakewell Queen Vic Pub
00:00 DJ Lewen Stark Ballroom
00:15 JD McPherson Ballroom
01:00 DJ Flintstones Lunars Bar
01:15 El Nino Queen Vic Pub
01:30 Burlesque – Missy Malone and Cherry Shakewell Queen Vic Pub
01:45 DJ Vanessa Ballroom
02:00 Roy Thompson and his Mellow Kings Ballroom
02:45 DJ Mark Armstrong Ballroom
And that didn’t include all the peripheral activities too, still hopefully the photos will make you think it was worth the effort.
Great night up at Chelsea last night for the cruise, very busy indeed and so many people had taken the time to decorate their cars and dress up for Halloween. Just a few pics as I was too busy chatting to take too many. Thanks to the V8 Mentalists for getting a big posse together.
Custom Car have moved on to the next issue so I can share some more shots from the shoot that was featured last month of Dave Mace’s Pro Street Cresta. This car is as happy running 9.6 at the strip as it is going to Sainsbury’s to get the shopping.
More in the flickr set here.
So I have processed quiet a few shots from the Hayride last week and sorted out plenty for the magazines. These are some of the shots left over. Enjoy.
I’ve joined forces with seven other international Hot Rod Photographers to form the Hot Rod Photographers Alliance. Inspired by Capa, Cartier-Bresson and their friends and the creation of Magnum, we recognised that a collective of photographers can be greater than the sum of its parts. A global collective of photographers working towards to same goal of capturing the vibe of the coolest hobby on the planet, Hot Rodding.
http://www.hotrodphotographersalliance.com/
We’re going to collaborate on some projects and maybe even exhibitions and books together, I’m very excited about it.