BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Whether they’re Cadillacs, El Caminos, or Firebirds, photographer Christopher Benton has an eye for the classics.
Benton, 50, snaps shots of classic cars throughout the city, documenting the autos on his blog, “Rides.”
“Walking around the neighborhoods I would see these cars and they sort of became personified to me,” Benton said. “I was always really surprised to see the old, unique ones usually all by themselves on the street.”
He first started shooting random cars in 2000, while living in Queens.
While the photos aim to highlight the vintage vehicles, they also focus on the juxtaposition with neighborhood backgrounds.
“I don’t think I’m really a car nut, per se, but it has a lot to do with aesthetics, really cool design, and everything working in harmony with the lines and colors,” Benton added.
Once he spots his subject, Benton often waits days or weeks for a particular car to be parked in the perfect spot.
In one blog post, he says he watched a Cadillac El Dorado for five years before it was stationed in front of a Marcus Garvey Boulevard building in Brooklyn.
“A lot of industrial-type areas seem like the best stomping grounds,” he said of his scouting routine.
Benton doesn't own a car and prefers to find his subjects while walking around the city.
Astoria, Long Island City, Red Hook, and Williamsburg are home to many classic beauties, he added.
His most recent shots have been taken in his neighborhood, Bedford-Stuyvesant, where a historic brownstone set the scene.
Occasionally, he’ll meet the autos’ owners and give prints of their rides as gifts.
Sometimes they turn out to be pleasant surprises, like the elderly woman from a Bed-Stuy church who drives a bright red, Pontiac Firebird.
The project has taken Benton to neighborhoods across the country, including New Orleans, and rides have caught his eye in Finland and Japan.
