Corvette: Year by Year

1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Corvette Photography

By Paul Pollock

I have too many hobbies. Can’t help it! I won’t list them here other than to tell you about two of them: photography and Corvettes.

I first started actively photographing Corvettes around 2001, when I was putting material together for my Corvette Story web site that went live in 2005. Currently, the Corvette photos folder on my computer has almost 60,000 files and I estimate about 80% of them are photographs I’ve taken since 2001.

Usually I’m a “save the best for last” kinda guy, but this time I’ll start with my favorite. Mind you that when I say favorite I mean my favorite today. Next week it might be a different photo; I never offer any consistency guarantees.

Not sure exactly where to start, so I think we'll start with the early years. There is a lot to like about the C1 Corvette and a favorite for me is the C1 interiors, specifically 1958 to 1962.

C1 Dashboards

1958 thru 1962 Corvette dashboards are an absolute styling highlight and a favorite subject for me and my camera.

My technique here is to just stick my camera into the interior (convertibles with the top down works best) and, with the shutter in continuous mode, just click away. With some practice you'll get good at aiming the camera. You will of course, end up with a lot of wasted shots but the good ones make it worthwhile. Also, it is considered good practice to ask the Corvette owners' permission.

Reflections

C2 Corvette taillights reflect nicely in the chrome bumpers.

Motion Blur

Ask a Corvette owner what they most like to do in their Corvette and the usual answer is "Drive It!" But it's difficult to get a photo to convey that message. Most car photographs have a problem: The car looks like it is parked.

Motion Blur is my favorite automotive photographers trick. Basically, you lower the shutter speed and then follow the car with the camera as it travels in front of you. If all goes well, the car is in focus and the background is blurry. The tricky part is keeping the camera movement smooth; any variation will ruin the shot. For this reason, the yield on motion blur photographs is low.

1968 Chevrolet Corvette in Safari Yellow Motion Blur Photograph

This photo of my own 1968 Corvette (spousal unit was behind the camera) used motion blur to convey speed. Shutter speed was 1/50th second, slow enough to blur the background.

2014 C7 Corvette Willow Springs International Raceway - Motion Blur

Torch Red 2014 C7 Corvette motion blur taken at Willow Springs International Raceway. Shutter was at 1/30 second. I stood in the hot desert sun for almost four hours looking for this shot; as I said the yield for this kind of photograph is low. But the results make it worthwhile.

2016 Corvette in Laguna Blue Tintcoat at MPG Track Day

Another shot of a C7 at Willow Springs International Raceway. Notice that the Corvette is sharp with no blurred lines at the front fender vents but the background and wheels are blurred illustrating the speed. Shutter: 1/160 sec; F/9; ASA 100; lens: 70 mm.

The Golden Hour

In photography, lighting is everything. But more is not necessarily better; mid-day sun often makes for terrible photographs as glare is a problem and shadows are sharp and cause details to disappear.

The golden hour is about twenty minutes after sunrise or before sunset. The lighting becomes redder and softer as the sunlight has to travel further through the atmosphere and becomes more diffused.

2018 Chevrolet Corvette Carbon 65 Edition photographed during Golden Hour

Above: 2019 Corvette Carbon 65 Edition photograph courtesy of GM. A classic Golden Hour photograph.

Below: 2016 Blade Silver Convertible at Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park also during the Golden Hour.

2016 Chevrolet Corvette C7 photographed at Golden Hour

2016 Corvette C7 Convertible in Blade Sliver at the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Above: This is what I call my "brochure photo", as the marketing types love this sort of shot.

Below: More classic golden hour images taken at Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park.

This GM sourced photograph is the lead photo in our 1984 Corvette page. It's a good example of a Golden Hour image, with the sun low in the sky. But look at the headlight buckets which are not even with the hood, a problem compounded by the low angle of the sun. The photo was of an early production Corvette and such distortions are common at that stage.