December 22, 2024

The first time I went to Old Car City was in March of 2014. It had been on my wish list for a few years at this point. I didn’t know anybody who had been there, but it was a pretty well know place amongst photographers.

The guys with Dean Lewis
Us with owner/artist Dean Lewis

I convinced Darryl, Dan, and Eric to make the trip down there. Our plan was simple, drive the 13 hours down there in one shot, spend two days photographing in the yard, and head back at the end of the 2nd day, and make the final leg home the next morning. That set the framework for every trip I’ve made there since then. You might think that two days wondering around a junkyard taking pictures of old wrecks is a long time, but it went by quick, and we enjoyed clicking our way through this photographer’s paradise.

vintage Cadillac hood ornament
These vintage Cadillac hood ornaments are popular to photograph.

We also started another tradition of shooting until noon and walking across the street to eat at Wes-man’s. Wesman’s is a popular local eatery that has people coming up from Atlanta to eat there. Speaking of eating, it was late when we got there the first night, and we hadn’t eaten yet, but there was a Waffle House next to our hotel, so we walked over. The young man behind the counter welcomed us and said, You’all ever been to a Waffle House before? A couple of us said sure. He said you’all ever been to a Waffle House after 2:00 a.m.? We said that we hadn’t. To which he replied, It gets downright sinful in her after 2, boobies and everything, and just like that he became part of our Old Car City folklore.