Artist creates ‘car-tography’ illusions

He’s a poet, painter, guitarist and most recently, a photographer of toy car illusions.

When he was growing up, the multi-talented artist Andre Feriante drove a number of classic cars: a 1968 Mustang, a 1972 Datsun 510 and a 1971 Lincoln Mercury Station Wagon, to name a few. He spent much of his early life in Italy and has always had an appreciation for old things.

He now photographs some of those same classic cars, albeit in diecast form, to create an image that can trick the mind into thinking the model car is a real car.

Feriante, a Langley resident who is known as the founder of Guitar Fest, stumbled upon this additional creative outlet by accident while in Rite-Aid perusing the model car section to find some kids gifts. He bought a toy car.

“Pretty much right away, the idea came to me to see if I could make it look like it was a real car in the Rite-Aid parking lot,” he said. He started collecting cars and snapping photos.

He later learned that he had been experimenting in forced perspective photography, a technique which uses the space between subjects to create an interesting or unusual relationship between them. For Feriante, that involves strategically placing a model car somewhere – usually near water – and lowering his iPhone camera within eye level of the car’s windshield.

Some who do forced perspective photography often make model surfaces, such as a tiny parking lot, to place their cars on. Feriante doesn’t, opting to place a car on a natural surface instead such as a wooden railing or a gravel ledge.

“The hardest part is the wheels hitting the ground and the ground being believable,” he said. “That eliminates that challenge, when you create that little model like that.”

After taking a photo, he likes fiddling around with the built-in filters on his iPhone to create a whimsical finished product.

“I’ve never really been into realism that much. I like the photos to be a little bit impressionistic,” he said. “Sometimes you get a shot that the way it is, it’s just right. But I like to mess with the filters a little bit and give it a certain touch.”

His abstract car photos have featured an out-of-focus couple, a former state ferry and neon lights.

“I think the quest for beauty and the quest for understanding what we’re doing here through serenity and nature is parallel with my music, and the car just happens to be something I love,” he said.

He dubs his hobby “car-tography.” His photos got some attention recently when they were displayed at Artworks Gallery in Langley during the month of July. He chose 13 to frame.

Reactions were varied. Feriante said he may have inadvertently won some people over when it comes to classic cars. He had heard people say they weren’t that interested in cars, but they changed their tune when they saw his photos.

He hopes to take his show on the road sometime soon to the Lodge at St. Edward State Park in Kenmore, where he currently performs music every Thursday.

He also thinks it might be fun to do custom portraits for people and their classic cars, plus the diecast model equivalent of the car.

“The three characters would be there together in the picture,” he said. “You wouldn’t know that one of the cars is a toy car.”

For more information about Feriante, visit andreferiante.com.

Models of several classic cars look like they’ve been parked at the South Whidbey Harbor.

Photos by Andre Feriante A model of a 1958 Corvette, photographed at the South Whidbey Harbor on Aug. 17, looks like it could be a real car parked at the marina.