Monday Afternoons in Årstaviken
What to do after work on Monday afternoons? Watch TV at home, go shopping or do some gardening? Classic car enthusiasts from Stockholm don’t have to think about it for too long. When the weather is nice, they flock to Årstaviken for the weekly classic car meetings.
The organizer is Automobilhistoriska Klubben: the first and oldest classic car club in Sweden. Founded in 1950. All kinds of classic and enthusiast cars are welcomed, but each week the topic of the meeting is different. Sometimes they are dedicated to one particular brand; on other occasions, they are dedicated to machines from certain periods or countries.
I don’t have any classic cars in Stockholm, that I could drive to the event, but still, I have my reasons to get there. I often repeat, that cars are only an excuse. The real force that drags me to the events is the opportunity to meet passionate people. Unfortunately, because of my poor skills in Swedish, this aspect is painfully compromised. There is, however, something more!
As an analog camera collector, I’m looking for the opportunities to test and play with my recently acquired equipment, and those meetings are perfect for that. Cars and photography are two passions that can be so neatly combined. The location in Årstaviken and the afternoon sun adds to the experience.
The number of cars present at the meeting is a function of the weather. Some of the participants deserve true respect for their determination to face suboptimal conditions. I was especially surprised to see how many Rolls-Royce's and Bentley's attended their day despite the rain. But the event is obviously at its best when it’s warm and sunny. The whole area is filled with cars and their cheerful owners. The sound of happy chatter is filling the air. As a car-less car enthusiast, I can also enjoy a bubbly drink served in a bar built out of shipping containers.
As at every car event in Sweden, one can expect a wide selection of American metal. But don’t worry; the variety of vehicles reaches way beyond that. It would be hard to list all the interesting machines I have seen throughout the year. Italian cars don’t come often. But when they do, they have much to offer. I’ll dedicate a separate article to them.
It’s hard to pick favorite cars, but maybe it will go easier with the cameras. Canon A1? I’ve tested it here before one of my most ambitious analog projects: shooting film at the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix. I also did the first test of the Nikon F75 here. After proving its flawless operation, it was later taken on for another challenging project: the GPPPZ Rally.
Pentax ME Super was very enjoyable to use but showed very serious light leakage. The Minolta 9000 went under the radar. The biggest surprise was a humble Chinon CE-4. The forgotten, simple and cheap camera turned out to be not only very enjoyable to use, but also left nothing to be desired about the quality of the photos.
Visiting the meetings on my Monday’s way back home from the office became a kind of habit. Thanks to attractive location, and interesting variety of cars, it’s hard to justify missing the opportunity to be the guest of the meeting. I hope the event will be back next season: I already have some ideas which cameras to take.