Tennessee Travels and Advanced Plating Open House
By noderel:
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At the Advanced Plating open house with Miss Voodoo Valentine.
Over one third of my life is spent on the road these days. I have been traveling for car shows
and events for 10 years and I enjoy every minute of my life on the road. This year marked my 10 year anniversary in photography so I planned a few extra special trips.
My friends over at Advanced Plating invited me to their Open House which kicks off the Good Guys Show in Nashville, Tennessee. I didn’t need another reason to start planning a road trip. Not only did I decide to drive this trip but we took a few detours and got to experience Route 66 for the first time. Route 66 is a photographer's dream with all the Americana history including historic old towns, old gas stations, installation art pieces like Cadillac Ranch and beautiful scenery to fill in the background.
For three days, we took in everything around us and enjoyed the weather and picture-perfect views. Memphis was our first stop in Tennessee before heading to Nashville. A fun night of music and good BBQ is all we had time for. Once we got on the road we were ready for a fun day at the Advanced Plating headquarters. I had already made several connections with pinup models in the area. I was lucky enough to connect with Miss Voodoo Valentine back in April at the Viva Las Vegas Car Show who was from Nashville so I scheduled her for the Open House. I wish she'd been available for the Good Guys Car Show too! I arrived in Nashville around 3pm and the lot was nearly full. Even though the event flier read 4pm they always know to anticipate early arrivals.
Advanced Plating was kind enough to set me up with a table to sell some of my calendars and to meet and greet new friends. Most of my afternoon was spent with Voodoo taking photos amongst the customs and hot rods parked outside. They had a band setting up ready to play for the rest of the afternoon while most spectators shifted focus to the inside where everyone lined up for a complimentary sandwich or homemade jambalaya.
It was a great seeing my friends again and I was excited to be in town for their Open House. Not only was my timing perfect for a great weekend full of hot rod events but I also got to witness the debut of the new Drop Tank my friends at Advanced Plating were finishing up. This latest project of theirs is set to race at Bonneville this August.
I was fortunate enough to hang out with the boys at Bonneville last year and watch them race the '32. Not only was I drooling over the new build but I got to spend the next day as the first to photograph it with one of my new pinup models from Kentucky. The rest of the weekend was spent walking around the Good Guys show and taking in as many car feature shoots as I could. I walked around the entire grounds of LP Field. What an awesome spot to have a car show. Two of my favorite things , football and hot rods. I am hoping to be able to make it back again next year.
My journey wasn’t over and would not be complete without a visit and photo shoot at the famous Coker Tire Co. in Chattanooga. I had been dreaming of a photo shoot in there collection for some time. It was truly a dream come true for me to spend my last day of my trip there and having the access I did to some of the most amazing classics I have ever seen. Special thanks to my awesome model Miss Bridget Jean for making the drive all the way from Ohio and for everyone at Coker Tire Co. for allowing me to shoot there.
This marked the longest road trip to date passing Austin,Texas in my many destinations of capturing automotive history. Life has always been a journey for me. I look forward to my next adventure on the road and sharing my vision. Here’s to the next journey.
