History Al Paloczy

Some of my favorite shots of all time. Dig the lawn chair in that roadster.

 

So Ryan and fellow hamb-ers, Do we know whose sweeet roadster is throwin' beach sand at the camera in this amazing picture ?? Most likely Daytona 1951. The same year the So-Cal streamliner met it's demise.
I need more info on the "Hot-Rodders" that attended these Nascar Daytona 1950 1951 time trials,please.

 

Love the lawn chair seat. Actually been thinking how build & attach similar seat & still be safe.

 

they guy on the right of Erick Rickman is an also a young Tom Medley

 

That looks like an SCCA inspection sticker, a Mexican blanket and it would have failed I guess.

 

I love the “Post-Nasal Drip Special.”

 

So the old man was a photojournalist for the local newspaper which used to have a morning and evening paper but these days it has been reduced to online subscriptions only. Anyway I tell you that to segue into the fact that I took to the darkroom like a fish to water and used to help him occasionally at that newspaper. I also took classes on photography and was a stringer for the local weekly rag. I also freelanced for a couple of go kart mags. Anyway I have tons of my own car and racing photos along with the old man's thousands of negs. that I need to digitize. Love the article and glad you managed to snarf the old racing photos and share them here!

 

Great post, no point and shoot here. That era took serious skill to make that quality photography.

 

Could this picture be from when the Winter Nationals (as it was called at the time) was held during the 1960 Speedweek in Daytona?

 

I'm pretty certain that's Ray Brock and Tom Medley!

 

What's with the coupe with the 'roof extension' at I assume is the dry lakes?

 

holleycow... You guyz need to see this "Little Cars Big Speeds" 1951 Daytona Speed Trials



p.s. crazy steve, Bonneville: chopped coupe now in a class that requires a stock height roof...

 

Likely a chopped coupe modified to qualify for a specific class' rules (IE stock height roof requirement). Even today, guys will bring cars out to Bonneville and go for a variety of records simply because they're there and do similar modifications to please a specific class' rules. Think "Street Roadster" vs "Modified Roadster", etc.

 

“Amid these gems were a few more random shots, likely the “leftovers” from rolls half-used and abandoned—who knows?”


Hello,

Those photographers were icons in the industry. Their skills were excellent and the equipment was not bad, either. We would have died and gone to heaven if we had the twin Rolliflex, the early Hassleblad and

This unusual camera set up:

It looks like a 35mm rangefinder camera with a custom telephoto fixed lens and a magnifying sight for a fast point and shooting action shots from a long way away.

Eric Rickman:

"My secret weapon was this machine gun camera. The owner of Dana Photo, a retired Army officer who liked to be called Colonel Benjamin, came up with that in its original box, complete with everything.”

“You'd thread the 35mm film just like movie film, into a cassette, then wind up a big spring. Hold that trigger down and you'd go through a hundred frames so fast you couldn't take a deep breath. This is the camera I used to capture what might've been the first crash sequence ever published. Life Magazine printed 10 frames of a five-car pileup.”

We had always liked the clear photos in the Westcoast magazines. Our dad, having a large Graflex Bellows Camera told us about the camera and the developing stuff he used. I remember a tall wooden “coffin box” standing in the old garage. It was in an area all by itself. He would disappear inside and in a few minutes, come out with a negative from his photos. It was amazing.

Jnaki

From that exposure and the super clear photos in the magazines, we always thought those publications used the same camera as our dad. The press photographers used Graflex 4x5 cameras as we saw in the newspapers.

Then during the 35mm camera stages, we found out that the high end Hassleblad cameras were through the lens metering and focus, but the costs were European quality and out of the range of most ordinary photographers. So, the 35mm rangefinders and then through the lens metering 35mm cameras hit the scene like wild fire.

The results were clearer that those early times, but, not as clear as a 2.25 x 2.25 Hassleblad camera. Only the top photographers used the Hassleblad cameras owned by the company or had one of their own.

When we were into the photography artwork and business end, we did many odd ball things to get quality photos and prints for our customers. One was to get our own affordable, quality 2.25x 2.25 twin lens reflex cameras and now shoot larger color slide film for super clear photos.

But, our 35mm cameras were the work horses of our photography business. so much so, that a friend in the business called us to tell of a new, low cost way to get color 35mm film that was equal to Kodak and available for half the cost. Wow! We ordered several rolls for a trial period and the development very similar to Kodak Processing, but not available at the camera shop’s film developing from Kodak proper. Something to do with copyrights and processing techniques. But, the film was similar to Kodak’s copyrighted films.

The only difference was that the 35mm film was the left over undeveloped film from a day’s worth of Hollywood film shooting from various sources that sent their undeveloped film to a special lab for processing. As the film was being unloaded to develop, the technicians cut the undeveloped film leaders and perhaps long lengths of 35mm film still ok and good. So, instead of throwing it away in the trash, the separate division created a side business of marketing low cost 35 mm color negatives and film from this massive amounts of new/old film that was still good.

The film containers were sold to customers in small aluminum cans with lids similar to Kodak. But, in unwrapped boxes or if one bought mass quantities, a clear bag with a lot of little metal cans inside.

The undeveloped 35mm color movie film rolls were popular and the developing was equal to Kodak processing. But, for some reason, some of the photos did not always come out pristine or as clear as if one used the original yellow box with new Kodak Ektachrome Color Slide Film directly from the camera shop or Kodak Company Dealers.

One way to look at quality photos is to get a larger size camera that was equal to the pro cameras. But, as the competition was created and a new size 6 x 7 camera was on the market with a line of lenses, it became a contest of us versus the companies and their staff photographers. That took the fun out of the photography time period projects… YRMV

And who is carrying around a personal Hassleblad camera in the 50s? Ha, it pays to be the head of a big organization...

 

Yes - I've seen that picture in an old Hot Rod issue and remember the caption; they were 'un-chopping' the car to compete in a different class.

 

How cool you could get 35mm film from the movie industry. While at the newspaper old man used the 4x5 Speed Grafix and then in the mid '60's the paper switched to Nikon and in the mid-70's one of the other guys brought in his own Cannon 35mm. The old man told him to keep his Cannon and don't mess with his Nikon's! I also remember some guys experimenting with Olympus. I had a Nikon with the motor drive and a 300mm fixed telephoto lens and I would practice my pan and stop at the spot I wanted and focus there and then when the cars went by I would pan and hit that spot and snap the pre focused shots. I certainly don't miss lugging 2 cameras, the tripod and the camera bag all over the tracks. I like the Pentax picture as I have a similar one I have was given but preferred the Nikon I was used to. In fact I have 2 4x5 Speed Grafix and some old Kodak bellows cameras as well as my first Brownie camera.

 

Hello,

As usual, my brother being older was the first recipient of a new 35mm Nikon camera. He really wanted a Leica 35mm rangefinder that some of the pros were using as the daily camera. But, the high quality of the build was impressive. Of course, he knew about the Hassleblad cameras from those pro magazine photographers. But, a black 35mm Nikon with all of the attachments, plus a range of Nikkor lenses was something not to turn down.

It was a gift from our dad’s brother, for the high school graduating and getting into college after our drag racing years. The cool thing was the camera was all purchased overseas and as long as it was hanging around the neck of the traveler upon arrival at the So Cal airport, it was duty free.

So, he got started in 35mm camera work first and moved right along with his new found activity. Some surfing shots and various motorcycle racing shots, but no drag racing or drag race cars. When I was older and ready for my own camera, he wanted to give me his original Nikon, but I opted for a simple Pentax Spotmatic camera. Why was he going to go to a 2.25 negative camera?

Jnaki

Over the years, we were able to get a second Pentax Spotmatic camera and our lenses were all interchangeable. So, we solved two problems, one camera was for color slides only. The other were strictly B/W negs. It current photo shows the old Pentax Spotmatic as still being active if I wanted to shot with some new 35mm film. I sold my foray into a 2.25 camera that had a special telephoto lens set up and a pistol grip trigger for action shots.

We found out that after trying the method you described as the standard for showing action shots with clear subjects and blur in the background, a lot of times, it was hit and miss. The high average was miss. Something was always fuzzy or blurry.We figured out that if someone is driving and one is in the back of the El Camino strapped in, the background becomes blurry and the subject is in perfect focus.
The subject in focus was the most important, but yet, showing some action or movement. A 34 Ford Phaeton Goleta, CA New slide frame using the movie 35mm color slide film, strapped into the El Camino and my wife driving. Hand motions to equal both vehicles speed to match.

for some reason, using a 2.25 x 2.25 twin lens reflex camera with a trigger grip and telephoto lens worked the best. The moving shots could be taken as fast as I pulled the trigger and cranked for the next shot. But, the clear color slides were given to the mag editor as it showed more fuzziness in the back. Something has to be said for the larger Ektachrome color slide film in the larger size. YRMV

 

I love these glimpses into the past. Must have been an awesome time to be alive if you were into hot rodding.
My eldest just dropped over $1K for a new camera yesterday saying she wants to get into it.