The show that started it all…

Essentially I started this kustom and hot rod photographic adventure in 2006. That’s the first photos that I have from my old Sony Digital camera with the small CD discs. I remember that first day in Lawrence, KS filling the camera up with about 180 photos and resorting to my phone’s camera to cover the rest of the show. Those photos were less than inspiring… from both cameras. The show was the 2006 Kruzin’ In The Heartland held in Lawrence, KS.

I’d seen the ad for the show in Ol Skool Rodz I believe, my uncle Paul (povertyflats to many of  you) and my father and I headed up early on Saturday morning to see the show. It was supposed to be hot that day and we were leaving by about noon, but there were only a couple hundred cars max so it wasn’t hard to get all the way through the show in that time.

I had never really seen a hot rod like this, I was used to street rods, this was something new to me, many of these rides looked attainable. Most of the street rods were kind of about how big the billet wheels were, or how much it cost to have this or that machined, these weren’t about that game at all.

The first time I really stopped to look at a FED. I was amazed that the driver was resting his important parts on a part of the car that seemed somewhat fragile kind of like sitting on a grenade and then pulling the pin.
 

I’ve seen this one around a few times, as I remember it was pretty fast in Salina a couple of years later, then it got kept out of Hunnert a year or two after that for wheels that were too new or something along those lines (those wheels are not on it in this photo).

Don’t shoot into the sun!

I did that a lot that day

Dad in his somewhat goofy hat on the right.

I shot a lot more engines and interiors that day than I do now, maybe I should take the time to do more of those shots, some of  you might appreciate that.

Hey I know that car! Krobe’s other ride! See an article about his 30 Model A Coupe tomorrow here on this blog, use the subscribe feature on the right to make sure you don’t miss it.

This ride would drastically change over the next few years. Built by Bright Built Hot Rods in Salina, KS. After an unfortunate accident with a Subaru, it would become much different.

Hmmmm this one looks familiar too… right Eric?

My first photo of The Tiki Taxi, now Steve has become a good friend.

Jack’s 30 Coupe, Jack’s not too bad a fella either. He also owns the 29 Roadster on 32 rails that I shot a video of last year, and his 51 Ford is under construction now, see the post on Fast AL’s Upholstery for a shot of it.

I wonder now how different my life would have been for those next few years if I’d actually met a few of my hoodlum friends that day instead of seeing their cars and meeting them 6 years later.

Any way that it happened, I’m glad to be able to look back and see my friends were there all along, we just hadn’t crossed paths yet. Get out to a show this year, take a kid and get them involved, meet the people, scope the cars, enjoy it all.

See you at a show,

Travis

A Fun Weekend February 2-3, 2013

The weekend started off with a trip to Park City, KS to attend the Wichita Model A Club’s annual swap meet.  As usual, lots of people, lots of vendors and I left with nothing. It was a trip to just see some friends and socialize for me. By mid-afternoon I’d headed for Joplin to meet up with Ryno of Ryno Built and shoot his amazing 61 Ford Unibody pickup.

Ryno has a few projects going on, this intake and triple 94 carb setup are for his wife’s 9 passenger wagon, which lays frame of course. 🙂 More pics of it next time.

Not long after arriving we grabbed some great BBQ at Woody’s Smokehouse BBQ and headed out in search of shoot locations. The flake in the new paint job looked spectacular.

We found some great spots and shot for a couple of hours experimenting with different shooting angles, techniques, locations. So far from the back of the camera we captured some great images.

Sunday morning we got up early and went back out to capture some more images. We explored a bit of Route 66 looking for good locations and ended up heading back to downtown Joplin where there were a few places to hit.

Then we headed out for a late breakfast. Headed south from downtown we went through the damage path of the horrible tornado that hit Joplin in May of 2011.

The roads southeast of Joplin were great and beautiful even in the winter, I imagine in the fall they are even more beautiful.

We ended up at the Under Cliff, great food, great location, and great roads leading to it. The breakfast was really really good.

Obligatory Povertyflats food shot 🙂

Then it was off to Dewey, OK to visit Fast A.L.’s Upholstery. Aaron has been working on Jack’s 51 Ford and it’s turning out amazing. Look for more info on the shop visit later this week and a full feature (or series of them) in some magazines coming soon!

The end of the trip was a stop at my Dad’s to pick up my dog. Dad had found some great little book magazines and gave them to me. A really kool ending of a great weekend!

See you at a show,

Travis

Februrary Schedule

Rundown of all of the things that Royboy Productions will do in February

February 2
Wichita Model A Swap Meet held at the Kansas Pavillion, Park City, KS

February 9
O’Reilly Auto Parts World of Wheels – held at Bartle Hall, Kansas City, MO

Photos from 2012

February 16
Starbird Exotic Car Show – held at Quiktrip Center, Tulsa, OK
Photos from 2012

February 23
The Park City Chill – held at the Kansas Pavillion, Park City, KS
Photos from 2012

If you’ll be at one of these events and want some photos of your car, let me know here. The indoor shows do not provide the best opportunity for photos but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get any good ones.

See you at a show,

Travis

Some Recent Instagram Pics

Pick up the new Car Kulture Deluxe for a feature on The Toad that I shot/wrote. Doug's Olds is one kool kustom, for more shots of it from this shoot go to http://royboyproductions.smugmug.com/Cars/Shoots/Doug-Reeds-Toad/

Pick up the new Car Kulture Deluxe for a feature on The Toad that I shot/wrote. Doug’s Olds is one kool kustom, for more shots of it from this shoot go to http://royboyproductions.smugmug.com/Cars/Shoots/Doug-Reeds-Toad/

Turning the hides at the HAMB Drags

Turning the hides at the HAMB Drags” alt=”Turning the hides at the HAMB Drags

I've been posting photos of the new paint that Jeff Myers of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS did on my Galaxie. Here's some of his collection in front of the shop.
I’ve been posting photos of the new paint that Jeff Myers of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS did on my Galaxie. Here’s some of his collection in front of the shop.” alt=”I’ve been posting photos of the new paint that Jeff Myers of Premier Body & Paint in Arkansas City, KS did on my Galaxie. Here’s some of his collection in front of the shop.

Toast's 40 Ford at the Stray Kat 500. 1st weekend each May in Dewey, OK
Toast’s 40 Ford at the Stray Kat 500. 1st weekend each May in Dewey, OK

A kool mild kustom cruising the parking lot of the host hotel for the Stray Kat 500. 1st weekend each May

This 54 Pontiac is always good to see at shows across the region.

Flathead Friday! This time it's Doc Parson's beautiful 27 Ford with its immaculate flattie. This is one of the cleanest lil Hot rods anywhere.

54 Caddy taillight

I'm looking forward to my 3rd Lonestar Roundup, first time with a car not just the camera! Here's one from last year.

58 Chevy, laid out, wires, Lonestar Roundup

Follow @royboyprods for more! Also @royboyprods on twitter!

See you at a show,

Travis

2013 Starbird-Devlin Car Show for Charity: A Look Back Pt. 1

For the first time ever, my Galaxie will be entered into an indoor car show. Now to be clear, this car was never meant to be a show car, only a kool kustom that I occasionally show off at shows. This first indoor show will be the Starbird-Devlin show in Wichita, KS at Century II on Jan. 18-20th.

I’ve been attending the show here on and off since the early 80’s. Back then I remember very little about the show or the cars that I saw there. Mostly the memories are just of good times with my dad and sometimes Grandpa at the Starbird show. It was a big deal. Not even an all too present case of the chicken pox could keep me away, when my folks asked if I was well enough to go, I lied my ass off. I was going to the Starbird show.

Over the years that I’ve been attending with a camera in hand we’ve been privy to some pretty fantastic vehicles on display at the show.

2007

2009

2010
Full Resolution

Full Resolution

Full Resolution
Lil Coffin

Full Resolution

Full Resolution

Full Resolution
The Toad (see Issue #57 of Car Kulture Deluxe for a full feature on The Toad)

Full Resolution
The Trixie Tee

Full Resolution

Full Resolution
Starbird’s Predicta BubbleTop

Part 2 will post tomorrow and will include 2011 and 2012 favorites.

Use the controls on the right to follow this blog and get updates whenever a new post is up.

Comment below on what your favorite ride featured here is.

See you at a show,

Travis

Best of 2012 Photobook?

Last year I produced a Best of 2011 PhotoBook of all of my favorite images of 2011. Starting with about 14,000 images they were narrowed down to about 1,000 and then about 800 made their way into the final book. There were 21 feature chapters in all, each with a few hundred words describing the chapter and lots of photos of each event featured.

Best of 2011 : Hardcover by Royboy Productions | All of Royboy’s Blurb Books

It is available as a hardcover, softcover and ebook if you’re interested in checking it out.

So the plan all along on this end was to do another for this year, however this time would be different, 100 or so photos on as many pages, each one with a sentence or two about it. More of a coffee table book.

So what say ye? Would that book be something you’d be interested in? Unfortunately these are a bit pricey compared to your normal Barnes & Noble type book, but they are made on demand specifically for you as you order.  For a HardCover with a Dust Jacket, they’ll run about $51 plus shipping, $41 for softcover and $9.99 for ebook version. Leave a comment here to let me know what you think.

See you at a show,

Travis

New Kustom Paint, Old Kustom Flavor

I’ve had my 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 since 2004. When she first entered my life she looked like a 70’s cruiser. Stock body, dark tinted windows (80’s probably), Cragar S/S wheels and some fairly large raised white letter tires.

Continue reading “New Kustom Paint, Old Kustom Flavor”

Heading out today for the 3rd Annual Mid Decembrrrr Run

So as I sit here typing we’re a couple of hours away from the 3rd Annual Mid Decembrrrr Run. Folks from hundreds of miles away are now on their way to Salina, KS to meet up and go on a long drive in our classic cars. It’s been a really good time so far, hopefully this year is too!

This will be it as far as 2012 goes for me and my cameras. It’s been a fantastic year, went new places, met new people and had a great time throughout it all. For 2012 there are 33 galleries with 7,987 photos so far, whew, my shutter finger is tired! To see them all go here: http://royboyproductions.smugmug.com/Cars/2012
Some of my favorites are

Fuel Altered “Black Mariah” doing a smoky burnout at the 2012 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular, see more from that weekend here.


Twin Hemi’d rail doing a smoky burnout at the 2012 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular, see more from that weekend here.


The Anderson 36 at the 2012 Iron Invasion, see more from that show here.


The Chrismas Brothers Coupe at the 2012 Iron Invasion, see more from that show here.

About a year ago I joined Instagram, it’s been a fun way to give new life to some old photos and spread the word about what it is that I do here. http://instagram.com/royboyprods is where you can find those photos if you are not already on Instagram.

Have a great weekend, I’m off with a bunch of my rod/kustom friends for a road trip. Merry Christmas and I’ll see you at a show,

Travis

 

Atlas Speed & Custom Shop Visit!

Despite cold weather and reports that the show has become a bit small I headed south Thursday night headed for Denison, TX for the 2012 KKOA Hotrodding Hullabaloo, Denison is also home to Atlas Speed & Custom so what better excuse to go to TX for the weekend?

Friday started with a shop visit to my buddies Atlas Speed & Custom in downtown Denison for a look around the shop and to check in on the Revolution 32 build. 




Mike’s new toy, it’s a vintage build right hand drive from England I believe. Super kool car, especially the front license plate…




Atlas’ logo was done by Jeff Norwell, and it’s cool factor is off the scale.


Lots of cool old Hot Rod mags and others for sale in the store area.


Vintage go fast goodies on display




Daddy-o was working hard but still took 30 minutes to show me around town and tell me some history.



Daddy-O’s own Chevy waiting it’s turn.


Modifying a $250 brake pedal to fit.




The Atlas boys are also the members of the band Pushrod who will be performing at the Hot Rod Revolution this weekend in Austin. Mike’s dad was a member of the Leonard Stockers.


Punchlist above the workbench leading the way to the finish line.


I’m looking forward to seeing the truck progress throughout its build. The 51 passenger car dash is a nice touch.


Daddy-O’s sedan waiting along side the others (still say you need to give me this because I’m a super duper nice guy)









I posted this on the 32 build thread but if you haven’t seen it here ya go.



To see the entire build thread go here.

See you at a show,

Travis

Royboy Features Episode 2 Jeff Myers’ 63 Galaxie

I’ve been blessed to meet some great folks in my travels around the midwest attending car shows from Austin to Chicago. So about a year back I decided that I wanted to feature some of the great people and their vehicles in a way that photographs alone couldn’t do. So in August the first video was released of Yblock292’s 29 Roadster. A bit behind schedule here is the 2nd video, this time of Finkd (Jeff Myers) beautiful mild custom 63 Ford Galaxie.

Jeff has become a great friend and was nice enough to take me and the camera for a ride to explain all about the car. I hope you enjoy it!

Jeff’s Arkansas City, KS based shop Premier Body & Paint is a H.A.M.B. Alliance Vendor so if you need some work done, make sure to join and let him know you’re a member! Music in this one was provided by my buddies The Rumblejetts, make sure to support them as well.

See you at a show,

Travis

2012 Last Run Arkansas City, KS

The first stop for my Saturday Sept. 22nd was at the Last Run in Arkansas City, KS. I’ve heard about this show for over a decade, it was time to finally check it out. Enjoy the slideshow and click any photo to go to the full gallery.

See you at a show,

Travis

2012 Ol Marais River Run, Ottawa, KS Car Show

Held on Sept. 15th, 2012 in Ottawa, KS

Click on any photo to go to the entire gallery.

See you at a show,
Royboy

Had a great time at the 2012 Stray Kat Kustoms Starliner show at the Kansas Aviation Museum

Had a great time at the 2012 Stray Kat Kustoms Starliner show at the Kansas Aviation Museum You should have been there too!

There are over 600 images in the gallery including some instagram versions and more artistic edits of some of the photos. There are another 70 or so that will be turned in to a magazine for possible show coverage feature. Speaking of that checkout Car Kulture Deluxe issue #54 for the feature on the Vibrasonic and the show coverage of the 2012 Stray Kat 500, both shot by Royboy and the 500 article was written by me as well! For some great audio about the Vibrasonic, go to Johnny King’s site here.

See you at a show,

Travis

2012 H.A.M.B. Drags Coverage!

Click any of the photos to go see the whole gallery! To see some select favorite shots and some commentary go to this thread on the H.A.M.B.

Go to the gallery and click “Buy” to get the image printed to hang on your wall.

For 2011 H.A.M.B. Drags coverage go here
For 2010 H.A.M.B. Drags coverage go here

for more information on the H.A.M.B. Drags go to www.hambdrags.com

for info on Mo-Kan Dragway go to www.mokandragway.com

See you at a show,

Travis

Royboy Productions Features Episode 1

A few months ago it became apparent that a new feature needed to be added to Royboy Productions. Photos do a good job of conveying the car show experience but something else was needed. Starting at the end of 2011 video was captured of a few really cool cars, interviews shot with the owner or builder explaining the cars in their own words, in their own voice. This is episode number 1. I hope you enjoy it!

 If the video does not work, click here to go to it.

 

2012 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular Coverage

The 2012 KKOA Leadsled Spectacular photos are up!

 

 Click the slide show to go to the full gallery of 990 photos, new videos will be added throughout the week!

Here’s a few of my favorite images from the weekend.

 

 Enjoy the photos and if you like them consider buying a print or download, gas, cameras, hotels are all expensive! See you at a show, Travis