The Beauty of Details, Car Badges, and Classic MG-TC's

Filed in archive As We See Things , British Cars , Photographs on December 8, 2009

With cars it's often the details that make one more attractive than another. The same could be said about the art of photographing vintage automobiles for some photographers prefer to focus on the details rather than the entire vehicle. Easy to do with classics from an era before envelope bodies took over and everything from headlights to bumpers merged into a characterless shape. My brother Alan is one of those who believes less is more when photographing cars and sent me this fascinating shot of an MG TC, a vintage sports car just bristling with details of considerable charm.

You'll note that the owner has added his own in the form of car badges, two set on the "badge bar" and a few mounted on the grille. I can remember when badges were a mark of honor, signifying which car club the driver belonged to, which country was his home, which racing and rallying groups he was affiliated with. The problem with contemporary autos, of course, is that there's nothing to attach them to. Oddly, car badges seem to be exclusive with European and sports cars; perhaps there are "hemi" badges and "muscle car" badges to be found but I've never seen one. On the other hand it was America that invented bumper stickers, those little symbols of bad taste that will never become a badge of honor.

[Photo Credit: Alan Powell]