Through the whole region around the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast, we were amazed at the number of old Fiats that were still driving around. They are only seen rarely in the north of Italy, but here they were everywhere! We decided that this is where Fiats go to retire – southern Italy. Kind of like VW bugs in Mexico.
The Fiat 500 or Cinquecento (pronounced chink-quah-chen-toh) pictured above is the most common version, and it holds a special place in the hearts of Italians because it was so prevalent years ago. The less-commonly-spotted Fiat 600 or Seicento (say-chen-toh) holds a special place in our hearts, because we have one waiting for us in the US. It’s a 1960 Fiat 600 “Convertible” and it needs some work to be driveable. It will be our little piece of Italy when we get home, thanks to our good friend Jack.
The top photo of the Fiat 500 in Sorrento just seemed to need a bit of vintage treatment. Here are the details of what I did in Photoshop Elements:
1. Pioneer Woman “Seventies” Action (these are free actions, available here)
2. Levels layer to brighten and increase contrast
3. Hue/Saturation layer with saturation set to +11 to boost the color of the car, and make it stand out a bit more against the more neutral background.
One final reminder, don’t miss out on the Mortal Muses 9 Muses Musing holiday celebration, starting tomorrow through January 1! Each day, on the Mortal Muses blog, we will be announcing a special holiday prompt word as your daily photo/creativity assignment, along with a giveaway. Just link up your blog or a Flickr photo for that day’s assignment to be entered to win. A fun, free, no pressure way to stay creative during the holiday season! I hope to see you there.
December 14, 2010 11:01 am
Lovely old cars. They are quintessential Italy, don't you think
December 14, 2010 1:11 pm
Am a VW girl. Think there should be one in every driveway so I understand your Car Love! Beautiful Miss K! How fun will it be to wrok on yours when you get home. What color are you thinking? At one time we own 3 and have owned 7. The red one was to die for, the yellow one – not so much. Love it!
December 14, 2010 1:50 pm
I agree, these are so italian and beautiful and I love the new ones they bought out here, fiats and vespas are true italian style to me.
December 14, 2010 3:29 pm
I love these old cars, but I can't help but imagine the looks you'll get on the roads back in the US.
December 14, 2010 6:07 pm
Cool cars! Thanks for the visit!
December 14, 2010 6:37 pm
Great cars! We loved seeing these when we were over there. You only see the very odd one here in NZ.
December 14, 2010 7:13 pm
love these!!!
December 14, 2010 7:20 pm
love the vintage finish…it fits the image beautifully!
December 14, 2010 7:46 pm
Very cool shots! I really love that first one.
Erika B
December 14, 2010 7:53 pm
Oh I love these! Great editing to get a vintage look on the little red one!
December 14, 2010 8:30 pm
Love, love the first frame!!
December 14, 2010 8:58 pm
The processing of the first one is great! Very nice entries!
December 14, 2010 9:23 pm
Love what you did here Kat! Fantastic!!
December 14, 2010 10:41 pm
I love these shots!
December 14, 2010 11:19 pm
oh, I just love PW's seventies action, don't you?
December 15, 2010 3:53 am
Love the edit on the first image. And thanks for stopping by. =)
December 15, 2010 6:27 am
I love these old cars! what a great first shot! (thanks for the comment I agree if you dont take time you will get burned out… I think I was almost there.)
December 15, 2010 7:28 am
Love that first photo! Your edit is great
December 16, 2010 5:18 pm
Excellent first frame.
February 15, 2011 1:58 pm
Love these Fiats! Glad to see how you processed it too. I am finally getting very interested in that.