One of the most enjoyable aspects of any Cars & Coffee events is the unpredictability of what kinds of cars show up. Take f’rinstance the venerable Nissan GTR. There were a dozen of these Godzilla cars at December’s event at the vehicle vault in Park, CO. Then there was the gaggle of Ducati motorcycles that showed up to widen this event’s perspective.

And while the young people hovered excitedly around exotics, like the Gold AMG GT or the many Lamborghini’s in attendance, I enjoyed looking at some of the other cars like the Porsche 968 cabriolet, a car my wife Mary has always wanted, and the two Toyota MR2’s that were there—one from the first generation and the other form the second— both in mint or near mint conditions. I really wanted to talk to the owners but they were not hovering around their cars the way most people do; my guess is they were out gawking at the many high end exotics, including a McLaren that was in attendance.

This time of year, shooting the cars can be a challenge and I’m not talking about the challenge of people walking in around the cars you’re trying to photograph. Tip: Be patient and keep shooting. Nope. It’s the light. This time of the year, during the hours of the show, the sun is lower in the horizon and as you can see in these images produces contrasty photographs. Tip: Shoot low angles. If your camera has a flip out screen, use it and keep going lower shooting as you go and then come up unto you get the angle you think looks best. Remember: You are the one that gets to decide what look best.

One thing that I did notice is that many of the most interesting cars arrive early, well before the official 9:00AM start time (so they get a good spot, I guess) but also leave early opening spots for the latecomers. So tip to the wise: Arrive early and hang around while the “shift changes.”

In 2018 be sure to join us at the Second Tuesday Cars and Coffee that are sponsored by the Vehicle Vault and held in Parker, CO. The next one is this Saturday January 13, 2018 and we hope to see you there. Be sure to say Hi.

• Starts: 9:00 am
• Ends: – 12:00 pm
• Location: Vehicle Vault 18301 Lincoln Meadows Parkway Parker, Colorado 8013

Last year, the Automezzi Italian Car Show celebrated its 25th year of exhibiting Italian cars, motorcycles and scooters to benefit Denver area charities. This year the event is being held on Sunday August 14th at Anderson Park in Wheat Ridge, CO. While I’m a confessed Anglophile both Mary and I love Italian cars but it’s been a while since I’ve owned one, my last being a (brand new) 1970 Fiat 850 Sypder.

2016’s Celebration Of Italian Motoring will feature over 125 Italian cars and vehicles from the Italian Exotic Car, Motorcycle and Scooter Clubs of the Denver/Rocky Mountain Region. Marques displayed at the recent Sunday show include Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, DeTomaso Pantera, Lancia, Ducati, Moto Guzzi. Aprilia, Lambretta and Vespa.

This show is typically a time when I bring  new gear to test for Shutterbug magazine for this and my other blogs. This year, my plan are to bring the new Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH. lens, which as I write this is not quite available but should be real soon now.

The lens is a 24mm equivalent lens designed for Micro Four-thirds digital cameras that uses a pair of aspherical elements, two ultra extra-low dispersion elements and one extra-low dispersion element to control spherical and chromatic aberrations for sharpness and clarity from edge-to-edge. Its all metal construction is weather-resistant and there’s a manual AF/MF switch for, you know, those people who want to focus themselves. (Not me.)

The 2016 the Automezzi Italian car show should be lots of fun. If you attend, please say “Hi” to Mary and I.

• Location: Anderson Park, Wheat Ridge, Colorado (44th/Field)
  Show hours: 9AM to 1PM

Stuart Codding is a wonderful writer who takes you behind the scenes of the creation of some of the most amazing supercars ever constructed, while providing insights, exploding myths but at the same time creating enough mystery to make you not quite sure if some of the myths aren’t true after all. And that makes for a fun read because the creation of Lamborghini’s cars is not without some histrionics and drama that would have made a helluva reality TV show. But fear not, gentle reader, we have something better—without commercials—where Codling and photographer James Mann show what are undeniably the most amazingly beautiful and outrageous sports and GT cars ever built.

A word About James Mann. Mr. Mann is, I think one of the finest automobile photographers in the world and certainly Lamborghini Supercars 50 Years is a splendid example of the sheer artistry of his work. He is also author of the sadly out-of-print (but well worth searching for) How to Photograph Cars that takes you behind the scenes showing how he creates his automotive masterworks.

The book is structured almost like a novel with chapters built around a specific car. I especially enjoyed how Giugiaro—a designer whose work I’ve always admired—claimed then unclaimed then claimed again that he designed the groundbreaking Miura, which after much debate seems was Gandini ‘s work. The Countach chapter alone would make a wonderful movie or HBO series with all of the evolutionary changes in a car that would in itself be a game changer in the world of sports and GT cars and influence car design for many years.

Lamborghini Supercars 50 Years may look like a coffee table, with lavish production values and 224 page with beautiful printing and Mann’s stunning photographs add to that, but it’s much more. It’s a fascinating history book about one of the most unique automobiles companies that was ever founded and as you follow the company through it’s many owners over the years to Volkswagen’s stewardship, you will be struck by how faithful VW has been to the soul of the marque making all of us glad that Lamborghini is still around and building breathtakingly beautiful state-of-the-art automobiles. Lamborghini Supercars 50 Years is simply the best book on automobiles I’ve read all year.