On a Sunday in March my buddy Jay and I went on a quest to photograph old, rusted, cars from Detroit and then some. We didn’t have to go too far from Nashville, Tennessee. We found what we wanted on a backroad somewhere near Dickson, Tennessee. As we traveled slowly down a narrow 2 lane road, our heads swiveling right and left for abandoned automobile gold. We’d just crested a hill, and passed on our left what looked like a good amount of dead cars on the left side of the road. We immediately pulled over on to the grassy right side of the asphalt. Jay got out to go and talk with an older gentleman who was tinkering around an old Dodge pick up. After a few minutes of respectfully shooting the breeze with the owner we were granted permission to shoot the property. Jay and I took our cameras and after a bit of initial wandering we separated and went on with the exploration of what turned out to be a Necropolis of abandoned cars, and more.

Initially I started my exploration at the from of the property photographing vehicles close to the road. I shot an old Cadilac, from the 40’s. A 70’s era Mustang Mach caught my attention, as did an older truck from the 30’s. Everywhere I turned some Detroit monster sat in the weeds, slowly being eaten by time and the elements. I began to climb up the hill that the vehicles sat upon. As I climbed I shot an older Jeep, a Pontic Trans Am, and so much more. Near the top of the hill sat a large Ranch style home that was surrounded by old cars, tires, motorcycles, and and various bric-a-brac. This was a gold mine of junk! And I was happy as hell to be wandering it all. On the left sat several cars including a Rolls Royce! I had to photograph the Rolls. As I waled around the Rolls I could see that even though the car was slowly giving into the ravages of time its iconic hood ornament, and grill were spotless! It was as if time could not touch them.

I’m not a “car guy”, but I have a soft spot for the classics.

I followed a natural right handed bend that wandered around to the back of the house. It was here that I got a better idea of how large the property was, and how vast this collection of cars, trucks, tractors and more actually was. I later found out from the owner that his collection sat upon 15 acres. I was gobsmacked. The owner’s house that sat upon the top of the hill had a nearly impenetrable maze, and behind it a stand of trees stood. Amongst the trees at the hill top were the rusty cars that reminded me of the carapaces of large beetles, I climbed, shimmied, crawled, and squeezed through the maze of detritus to get to the top of the hill to shoot those old car bodies that were from the 20’s and 30’s. Some vehicles had rusted and crumbled until they were bare skeletons that revealed their steel frames and transmissions.

I wanted to go down the back of that hill to shoot the broken hulks that covered the ground. However we only had maybe and hour or so before the owner would leave to run some errands. With this in mind, I carefully made my way back to the rear of the house. Again, this place was a honey hole for old discarded odds and ends that were easily decades old. I photographed several “Can operated arcade machines that once would tell a person’s weight and reveal your fortune. I was tickled to see these. Old bikes, and even older soft drink machines made up the maze that I carefully explored. I’d just taken what I thought to be a great shot of an old bike, and a vintage hot dog wagon when I heard a horn blowing. That horn was out warning that our time for exploration was drawing to an end.

I tried making my way back to the bottom of the hill. However there were numerous instances where I found myself retracing my steps. I hit dead ends made up of of tires, old filing cabinets, dressers, as well as assorted large tool cases on wheels. Eventually I stepped between a narrow rift in the wall of tires and was able to make my way down the hill to where I had started my exploration. I came across a few more old cars that I really liked the look of, such as an old convertible that had bullet holes in the window? I had to capture shots of them as well!

My last captures were of an ancient Detroit behemoth of a Cadillac called to me. I wonder what this old gal looked like when she ran off the production line? The Flying Goddess looked to be as eternally spotless as the Spirit of Ecstasy that adorns the hood of the Rolls Royce.

I truly hope you enjoyed this little trip through a roadside car necropolis. If you would, please leave a like and a comment or two. Thank you. Oh, also let me know if you might like a print or two.