Voices in the Park 2012

 A couple of weeks ago we helped support Sarah MacLachlan’s school of music by attending Voices in the Park. There was a pretty big line-up of artists taking part. We arrived a bit late thereby unfortunately missing the first few acts, but we did get to see Whitehorse (Luc Doucette & Melissa McClelland), Jann Arden, Hedley, Bryan Adams, Stevie Nicks, and of course Sarah McLachlan. Strangely enough for a music event, Bill Clinton was also there to give a short speech (and I mean really short; probably less than 5 minutes) about how music had profoundly influenced his life.

Being a camera geek I brought my point-and-shoot camera, and considering the amateurish nature of the device, I got some decent shots. The zoom lens on that thing really amazes me sometimes. As long as I can steady the camera against a solid object, even at night I sometimes get good results. As long as people in front of us remained seated I could brace the camera against my knee and zoom waaaaaay in.

Sarah MacLachlan, Luc Doucette and Melissa McClelland

 I photographed Whitehorse, Jann Arden, Hedley (who were surprisingly better than I was expecting; I didn’t really know their music prior to this event), Bryan Adams (acoustic set; amazing!), Stevie Nicks (opened with a Led Zeppelin tune; it got better from there), and Sarah McLachlan closed the show (as well as dueting with almost all the previous acts).

I don't know Hedley's lead singer's name, but he certainly was popular with the teen girl set. There was a group of four of them just to the side of our picnic blanket that were linked arm in arm, swaying in unison, absolutely transfixed by the performance.

Point-and-shooters have to be innovative. That's part of the allure, I think, to try to get the best shot possible out of a cheap camera allowing for composition, overall light level, colour (very important to me), and sometimes quirkiness. For instance by the time most of the headliners hit the stage the sun had set. We were seated quite far back on flat ground, not on the slope. I could sometimes get a good sight line to the stage, but often just as I framed the "perfect" shot, someone would stand up. And sometimes simply the delay of the camera's shutter (or whatever the electronic equivalent is called), that half second delay was enough to miss the optimum moment.

Fortunately now it's common that music concerts feature massive video screens behind, and to both sides of the main stage. If it hadn't been for that, I'd end up with relatively few, if any decent photos. I suppose it's cheating a bit to photograph a projection of an event, but on the other hand I'm no pro, and nobody's paying me for this or any assignment. The stage camera crew tossed me a bone, so to speak, when they hung video cameras above the stage, oriented to record directly above the performers. That became particularly effective for Hedley's set in framing a bird's eye view of the grand piano. And I had to catch the scene in both warm and cold "filters", augmented by the orange and alternately blue stage lighting. 

So you see, I'm not there just for the music; I take in the overall mood, with colour factored in prominently. I'm very impressed by the evolution of stage presentation in recent years. It also helps to be able to bring such a small camera, with instant LCD playback. Years ago hauling around a heavy 35mm was fine for daylight events. I used to do that and got quite reliant on the internal light meter. I was never one to fuss with the art of apertures and focal lengths to a high degree. I learned how to use the light meter to my best advantage, with reasonable success. I pick up my old Yashica frequently and tell myself to dedicate an afternoon to give it a go again, but really, who's got a free afternoon these days? 

To be fair, that's not totally the reason I've ditched traditional film. I lean more towards digital point-and-shoots largely because of my dog. My first priority is my dog. If ever I decide to dedicate a chunk of time to photography it has to revolve around exercising her. Thus simplicity becomes my foremost perogative. With leash in one hand, the obligatory camera must be a one-hander.

Nowadays I approach photography digitally, largely for the sheer simplicity of it. The LCD display is a God-send for one-handed photography, along with the power zoom, supplemented further by digital zoom. However on the occasion of Voices in the Park, I was wishing I'd brought my Rebel. Up to this point I've really been unsure what is meant by "No professional cameras allowed" printed on all concert tickets. I assumed they allowed pocket-style cameras, but not dSLRs. Apparently my Rebel dSLR is no threat; it was probably the camera of choice on site. The professional cameras used by the media these days are all in the $10,000 range and beyond.

The weather obliged by being clear. The sunny daytime portion was nice, but it was surprisingly chilly once the sun dipped below Stanley Park’s western rim. Fortunately, polar fleece isn’t a fashion faux pas in Vancouver. 

The last act I managed to photograph before my batteries died was Bryan Adams. As of late he's been touring an acoustic show. Just him and his acoustic guitar belting out the hits I remember from high school. I'd heard that his show, recently in Vancouver, was phenomenal. The reviews were correct. It's amazing how he re-created the classic guitar solos on his acoustic guitar, choosing only the essential notes. Maybe we just fill in the rest from memory, but it sure was effective. Tom Cochrane has similarly treated his old Red Rider material. I like it.

Stevie Nicks followed, and while she was a lot better than I had been expecting (being a luke-warm Fleetwood Mac fan), I didn't really get why she opened with a Led Zeppelin tune.

Sarah MacLachlan closed the show with an extra long set including two encores. The event did double duty by giving a gift of music to Vancouver in exchange for monetary gifts to fund Sarah's school of music for another year. All-in-all, a highly satisfactory exchange.

'57 Agave

OK, I admit it. I can be a bit obsessive sometimes. Especially about cars. And not all cars either. Specific cars, like vintage air-cooled Volkswagens.

Take this evening, for instance. I decided to write a catch-up blog post about a couple of events we attended over the last couple of weeks. But I got distracted (again) by compulsively checking a VW web site that posts cars for sale. I've been tracking a particular VW Beetle since February. It's an absolutely perfect '57, factory Agave green in colour. It was modified for performance by a club member of the legendary DBK (Der Blitzkrieg Kafers) Volkswagen club in California.

It was listed originally for $25,000, which really isn't exorbitant if you consider what it would cost today to reproduce it to such a  high level of quality. Probably double that amount, judging from photos posted by the seller. It looks like he bought a split and doesn't have room or time for two classic vintage VWs.

I didn't expect it would sell at 25 grand, but I also didn't expect it to still be on the market 7 months later. The price has steadily been dropping, but the funny part about it is the wording of the ad each time a new price reduction is posted.

In March the price fell by $2,000. But after that the seller seemed to dig in his heels. Every price reduction thereafter included the phrase, "Will not accept anything less than $(insert price here)."

Then in June it was, "Will not accept anything less than $20,000." And just last week a further revision appeared stating, "Will not accept anything less than $18,500." Well...quite obviously he will.

I tell ya, if my Lotto numbers perform for me this weekend (who can resist the allure of an office lotto pool?), I know exactly who I'm contacting. And the price is even less when you consider the Cdn/ US currency exchange rate right now. That knocks off about another 300 bucks.

It's almost come down to the level of another tempting Bug, this one in California. It's a '54 in very similar condition listed for $17,500. It's also dropped in price, but it didn't start out as high. They're both screamin' deals in terms of the value of existing parts and labour versus list prices.

Oh well, I'll drag myself away and continue concentrating on home renovations. We're actually making progress. The basement electrical wiring is getting finished this week, which will be followed by new drywall this winter, and of course painting and installation of lighting fixtures. That oughta keep my mind off vintage Volkswagens for a while.

It oughta, but I know it won't.

Oval time

I got thinking about passions recently. You know, things you’re really into. Things you’d do with your spare time, if you really had any spare time.

An uncle of mine passed away last week, and I decided to write down how he’d affected my life. It was a very productive exercise. As it turns out, he had a great impact on my central passion; dogs. And not just dogs in general, but specifically American Cocker Spaniels. Oddly enough, it wasn’t anything he did that fueled this specific passion; it was simply inviting us to visit in the Cariboo. You see, that’s where, as a kid, I was introduced to a Cocker Spaniel that was allowed to roam. He roamed into my sphere of interest and I kind of adopted him for the week or two that we stayed at my uncle’s lakeshore cabin. Then years later I did adopt a rescue Spaniel from the same area. I’ve had one ever since.

But this post is really about my second passion; air-cooled Volkswagens, specifically Beetles. To drill down even further, oval-rear-window Beetles; pre-1958 models.

I’ve never owned a pre-58 Bug before, but I did briefly have a ’55 Kombi, which in layman’s terms is a VW van sort of halfway between a panel van (no side windows) and a Deluxe Microbus, which had windows all around and even small rectangular windows along the roof perimeter. I sold it years ago however to partly finance post-secondary education. Now they’re priced into the stratosphere for a nice one.

I’ve been monitoring prices of air-cooled Ovals the last few years as our debts gradually get paid down. Maybe in a few more years I’ll be able to get back into VW ownership. A colleague at work recently noticed a vintage restored Beetle on my screen-saver. He commented on it, a bit unclear as to why I had chosen that image. When I explained my passion for these old cars he asked, “Wouldn’t you rather buy a BMW instead?” Well…no. We have a nice reliable car for daily transportation. I’d rather have that one and a vintage Oval than have one BMW in the garage. But that’s just me. 

There’s a site I follow almost religiously called The Samba. It’s almost completely devoted to air-cooled VWs. I follow the “New Car Ads” section, which incidentally doesn’t mean New Cars, but rather New Postings of Cars for Sale. Out of probably a dozen or two new ads every day that are posted, I’ve come across maybe a dozen-and-a-half pre-58 Bugs per year that I’d buy in a heartbeat if I had the money today.

Here are my 3 current favorites: 

No. 1 is a 1957 Oval Window, the body and interior fully restored to original style. The engine is about twice the displacement of the original and probably 6 or 7 times the horsepower. Of course the brakes and suspension have been aptly upgraded to complement the power increase. And to top it off, it’s a former DBK club car from California (a legendary car club from SoCal). And it’s listed for sale at about half what it would cost the average hobbyist to reproduce to this high level of finish and detail.

1957 Beetle sedan

2165cc with 48s

The second one is 3 years older but equally well restored and performance-modified. It was completely dis-assembled prior to re-painting. That’s by far the best way to go. It’s how these cars were originally painted at the VW factory. A custom cloth interior was installed; the early cars were a bit more stylish in terms of upholstery. If you look at late 60’s cars you’ll predominately find vinyl on the seats, door panels and headliner. I had a ’62 like that. It’s OK, but certainly not in the league of cloth. Again, this one’s also got a powerful engine, upgraded brakes and suspension, new wiring harness, etc; it’s basically a new car. And the price is at least half what it would cost someone to restore this 58-year-old car. I can’t understand how it hasn’t been snapped up yet.

1954 Oval sedan

Completely disassembled before being re-sprayed.

Cloth seats, headliner and door panels

The latest one that’s been posted is also a ’57, this one's closer to home in Washington state. All the bells and whistles of the previous two cars, but listed at significantly more money. I doubt it’ll sell at that price. That’s not to say it’s not worth the money. My wife may disagree with me, but the value in parts and labour on this car is probably twice what the owner is now asking for it. (BTW, the price on the first car has dropped about 4 grand since it was initially listed; actually dropped more than that more but the ad says you get lesser value wheels for the reduced price.)

1957 Oval sedan

Large displacement engine.

Stock-style interior; this one's done in vinyl.

The last one is a car I followed on The Samba quite a while ago for a few months until the price dropped low enough that someone took the bait. This one was (and is) a gorgeous piece of engineering. I saw a photo of the original car, just before the restoration started. A low-mileage non-rusty car; an ideal candidate.

Prior to restoration.

The original colour was retained for vintage curb appeal. To the uninitiated, aside from the lowered stance and custom wheels, it could be a stock Beetle. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. A lot of thought went into carefully fitting a turbocharged engine into the space originally occupied by a 1200. The decklid fully closes, which is pretty rare for such a highly modified Bug.

1955 Oval sedan

Incredibly neat and detailed turbo-charged engine, all tucked beneath the stock decklid.

I could go on. There have been several more in the last couple of years I’ve had my eye on. I just hope that by the time finances permit such an extravagance, that cars of this calibre will still be within reach. The recent economic downturn has helped suppress prices (for me, that is), and the value of the Canadian dollar versus the US currency is in my favour now as well. I don’t anticipate any decline in this particular passion of mine anytime soon. If I can’t indulge in a purchase now, at least I can “live the dream” through the eyes of The Samba for now.

Fortunately my primary passion, my American Cocker Spaniel, is beside me right now, softy snoring.