The Business Decision

Back in 2009, Joyo and I rolled into Bonneville like a couple of bad apples, half-fermented and dangerously close to spoiling the whole damn bunch. We barely made it out in one piece, dodging both catastrophe and law enforcement with pounding hangovers and that creeping feeling that we had pushed our luck too far. But before we left…

“Hey, you see that flamed model-40 over there? Your headache bad enough that I can’t stop real quick and put it on film?”

Joyo grunted something affirmative, and I yanked the rental into the pits for a quick shoot. My hands were sluggish, my brain still swimming in the sins of the night before, but I did my best to focus the camera. That’s when I heard the footsteps from behind. Quick. Sharp. Coming in hot with purpose.

“Can I help you?” a man barked. “What’s your business here?”

My memory from that moment is hazy—blurred by exhaustion and dehydration. But I do remember this: the guy was deeply, seriously concerned about why I was circling his coupe with a camera like some kind of hungry vulture. My lack of a business card didn’t help matters. And to be fair, I probably looked like a total degenerate—sunburned, hungover, and radiating the kind of energy that suggests nothing good is about to happen.

Thank god for Joyo. He managed to smooth things over, defusing the tension just enough for the guy to stop bristling. Hell, we even convinced him to pull the coupe into a better spot for cleaner shots.

Years later, I learned the man’s name—Dave Mehelich. And now, here I am, selling prints of his old car. Maybe his paranoia wasn’t so unfounded after all.

Anyway, I’ve been working on these prints for a while now. There are five of them—signed, numbered, printed on Ilford paper at 17 by 22 inches. I’m asking $65 each, which is a lot of money for something you don’t need… But I need to buy more photo paper, so tough shit.

Get yours here.

Shot on a Leica M6 with a 50mm DR Summicron exposing Ilford Hp5.