Light Painting a 1973 Pontiac Firebird
The spring of 2024 has brought several cool light painting projects to fruition, including this amazing 1973 Pontiac Firebird! I light painted this wonderful 73 Firebird in early May at North Speed and Restoration in East Bethel, Minnesota.
Here’s the set-up photo of the 77 Firebird in North Speed’s parking lot.
This cool light painting also fittingly features their shop as the backdrop for the car. And, while we were at it, we did a separate light painting of the engine compartment too!
North Speed and Restoration
I met Ron and his wife Nikki, the owners of North Speed and Restoration, at Motorhead Madness back in March. When I saw this car on display there, I just had to talk to them about it. And, when I found out that they did the fantastic restoration, and that they were located not far from me, I knew I wanted to have a working relationship with them!
At North Speed and Restoration, they specialize in going above and beyond the ordinary when they restore a vehicle. Exceptional paint jobs are certainly one of their specialties. That, and they have been known to hide little (and sometimes big) Easter eggs here and there in the final restorations.
The taillights on this 1973 Pontiac Firebird, are a good example. When Ron was moving the car into place for the light painting, I noticed that these taillights were not exactly “stock”. Nope, they’re “animated” in a really cool way. You just have to see it in person!
Here’s the final one-of-a-kind artwork of the 77 Firebird in North Speed’s parking lot.
It’s Also What Makes My Light Paintings Different
Those “extras” that Ron and his crew put into their work are the same way I like to go about my light painting projects. I always add special touches to every light painting project I create.
Sometimes it is little things that I fixed or corrected that my client doesn’t even notice until it’s on their wall. Occasionally, my client might ask me if I can “fix” something that they wish was different on their vehicle or the location that they selected. And sometimes it’s something big, like a cool sky replacement when we weren’t blessed with a good one that evening.
Back to the 1973 Pontiac Firebird
This 1973 Pontiac Firebird restoration features the following:
- Motor: 482 CI Pontiac Motor (which we also light painted, see below)
- Transmission: Tremec TO 5 Speed
- Paint: PPG Red Jewel (it is spectacular!)
- Wheels & Tires: Forgeline GA3C with Pirelli P Zero tires
- Custom Modifications: Flush glass (which looks super cool!), Wilwood brakes, Holley EfI, custom bumper,
custom interior by Knish Kustomz, and the aforementioned custom taillights
Light Painting a 482 CI Pontiac Motor
The 482 CI Pontiac before we light painted it.
When Ron and I finished light painting the Pontiac and the shop, I asked him if he’d like to light paint the engine compartment, and he was game! It didn’t take too long to do the photography part and, since most engines feature a lot of parts out in the open, light painting an engine makes for a cool light painting!
Here’s the final light painted image of the Firebird’s 482 CI Pontiac Motor.
1973 Pontiac Firebird – The Movie
As always, I created a short “Build” video that features the images that went into creating this cool light painting of this cool 73 Firebird. It concludes with the light painting creation coming to life, one layer at a time in Photoshop. That video is on our YouTube channel and is linked below.
North Speed and Restoration Open House
On Saturday, June 1st, Ron, Nikki, and their crew held an Open House at their place in East Bethel, MN. They invited me to have my Light Painting Photography booth set up there and I took them up on it.
We also unveiled their stunning light painting of the 1973 Pontiac Firebird at the event. It looks pretty sweet and will be prominently on display right in their lobby.
It was a great event, with lots of cool cars, good food, and fun for everyone! They even had NSRA Safety Inspectors on hand to do free safety inspections for anyone who wished to have that done. I’ve put together a little slide show in honor of the occasion.
There’s More, Lots More!
If you enjoyed seeing this cool light painting project of the 1973 Pontiac Firebird, you’ll love seeing all of the other cool projects we’ve done. They’re over on our dedicated Light Painting Website at: https://michaelandersonlightpainting.com/
Thank you for taking time out of your day to read our post! – M&J