Spending the day with a 1965 Chevrolet Malibu SS
Shot Breakdown: Pictured at the end of golden hour, on the side of a dirt road in central Vermont with one hell of a view; we have our subject. Back lit with the final moments of the setting sun, giving us a gorgeous starburst into the 20mm 1.8 prime from Nikon with the D850 on the back. Two strobes were used to balance the lighting up front, otherwise all we would have had is a silhouette of the car. The strobes were set up off camera on light stands with radio receivers.
The story: I love cars. I definitely inherited that from my father. Like so many of us he had a yearning for vintage American muscle cars. Additionally, he just loved to drive. When he had to give up his driver’s license due to aging eyes he was understandably miserable. So, this last Father’s day (2021) I wanted to take him for a cruise with the top down in… something. I drive a Rav4, don’t get me wrong it’s a great car but certainly not my Dad’s idea of a special moment. Turns out it’s difficult to rent something special in Vermont. There were some services in Boston and New York but I would need the car for at least a couple of days to transport it to and from the rental location, with surprising my father in the middle. It made things overwhelmingly cost prohibitive. I mentioned to my wife what I was trying to do and she made some magic happen. Her boss is the caretaker of her father’s prized 65 Malibu SS and lent it to us for the day, no money exchanged, just a favor. Next step was surprising my Dad.
It took him a few minutes to realize it was me behind the wheel of the Malibu when him and my Mom pulled up. After the triple take concluded and explaining that no I didn’t buy it (I wish), we got Dad loaded up shotgun and just him and I took off for a couple hours driving through the green mountains with the top down. We experienced quite a few whistles, cat calls, questions, and hollered compliments. We got waves from bikers, nods from sports car owners, and were even asked to race a couple of times. “We’re taking it low and slow, today” I would respond, to Dad’s disappointment. After a couple of hours in the sun Dad was ready to call it a day. After hugs and goodbyes we went our separate ways, and my wife and I were off to catch sunset somewhere. I even got her to model for me.
We lost my father the following December, just a few months ago at the time of me writing this. With Spring on the horizon I’ve been thinking about this day a lot. It’s always awkward asking for favors, especially involving something as important to a family as a car like this. It’s not like would be capable of replacing it if something had happened. But, often in life the more awkward conversations you’re willing to have the further you’ll go. I am so glad I took my dad out that afternoon.