An Amazing 14-Vehicle Light Painting in a Garage Condo
We started 2025 out with a bang! Joannie and I hit the road in late January to exhibit our light painting photography at the Cars on 5th Concourse in Naples, Florida. We had a great time, saw hundreds of amazing cars, and met lots of great car owners too. I even had the opportunity to do a bunch of wildlife photography on the trip!
The person that helped set this up for us was a guy named Steve. We met him at "Back to the Fifties" at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds back in June. (As a side-note, we will be there once again this June.) Steve told us that we just had to attend Cars on 5th, and he actually helped to make that happen!
We had 2 light painting projects lined up for on the way down and back, but Mother Nature had other ideas. They will be rescheduled for much warmer days in the springtime. However, while we were in Florida, we did photograph three light painting projects. This is the first of those that Joannie and I created for Steve in his amazing garage!
Please check out the full story by clicking on the button below.
An amazing 14-vehicle light painted photograph created in a cool garage condo.

Included in this one-of-a-kind light painting project are a 1957 C1 Corvette, a 1960 C1 Corvette, a 1965 C2 Corvette Coupe, a 1969 C3 Corvette Coupe, a 1993 C4 Corvette Convertible ZR1, a 2013 50th Anniversary Edition C6 Corvette Convertible, a 2016 C7 Corvette Convertible Z06, a 2024 Chevrolet Z06 Corvette Coupe 3LZ, a 1933 Ford Sedan, a 1953 Chevy Truck, the shell of NASCAR #24, a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL, a 1959 Chevrolet El Camino, and a 1964 Chevrolet El Camino!

Light painting a Route 66 Diorama (circa 1958)
When we went to visit Steve's garage condo, we were greeted by an amazing Route 66 diorama right as we walked in the front doors! As a former model railroader, I was blown away! I just had to light paint it!
It was created by a guy named Don Bonin. It took Don nearly 3 years to design and build this amazing tribute to Route 66! To read a lot more about this cool light painting project, click on the button located under the 3rd section.
Because its a whopping 20 feet wide, and located just inside the front doors, we decided to break it up into a 3-piece panorama. The section you see below is the left side of the diorama. Included in this section are Cline's Garage, Cline's Flying C Ranch, the Flying C Cafe, and Homer's Used Cars Parts Junkyard, all circa 1958.
Part of a 3-image panorama of an amazing Route 66 diorama! Included in this section are Cline's Garage, Cline's Flying C Ranch, the Flying C Cafe, and Homer's Junkyard, all circa 1958.

The left section of the Route 66 diorama features Cline's Garage, Cline's Flying C Ranch, the Flying C Cafe, and Homer's Used Cars Parts Junkyard. Oh yeah, tther''s lots of cool period cars and trucks from the Franklin Mint too!

The center section of the Route 66 diorama (below) features the centerpiece of the display, the Tower Court. This is as it looked in the 1940's. During that time period, it was common for motels to be called "courts". The fancier ones, like this one, all had a garage for each unit. 
The Tower Court is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Part of a 3-image panorama of an amazing Route 66 diorama! This section features the Tower Court Motel as it looked like in the 1940's.

Here's the centerpiece of the Route 66 diorama, the Tower Court. It was very common at the time to call motels "courts".

On the right side of the Route 66 diorama (below) we've got the "Don Bonin" Chevrolet Dealership and a Standard Service Station. The Chevy Dealership was located on Route 66 (it was actually a Ford Dealership at one time) in Kansas and the Standard Service Station was in Illinios. The button below will take you to the very entertaining "Rest of the Story".
Part of a 3-piece panorama of an amazing Route 66 diorama. In this section there's a Chevrolet dealership and a Standard Gas Station.

The far left section of Steve's Route 66 diorama (circa 1958). Featured here is the Don Bonin Chevrolet Dealership (named after the creator of the diorama), and a Standard Gas Station, both in amazing detail!

A Cool Light Painting of a 2024 Ford Mustang GT Performance
Up next, we have the third light painting project that we created on our Florida trip. This one's a pretty light painted photograph of a 2024 Mustang GT Performance as well as the client's beautiful home in Fort Myers, Florida.
This beautiful combo belongs to Bob and his wife Sharyl. Bob is the brother of our long-time friend Sally. We went over to visit Bob and Sharyl, and Bob made the "mistake" of showing us his Mustang GT. I just had to light paint it!
It was a little complicated, but we did manage to pull it off. The whole story is on our blog (which is linked below). The unique factor about this project was when the city's sprinkler system came on and got us, and our gear wet! Thankfully, we were almost done with the photography, but it did make for some wild moments!
A beautiful light painted photograph of a 2024 Mustang GT Performance and the client's home.

A cool light painting of Bob and Sharyl's beautiful home, and Bob's "toy", a hot 2024 Mustang GT Performance!

Coming soon (if Mother Nature cooperates) - Several pieces of heavy equipment used in the logging industry. 
Light painting projects created in Missouri while at the Lake of the Ozarks Corvette Club Show.
A four-car light painting project in Alabama.
We've also got several other projects that we just booked at Motorhead Madness in Duluth. Including one with 10 vehicles (all Fords)! We just need some consistent warm weather up here in Minnesota and Wisconsin!
Back to Top