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Returning back to the beginning

Identical twins commemorated 50 years of owning matching cars with photoshoot

By Sarah Shurge
The year was 1972. Two identical
twins purchased two Ford Gran Tori-
nos from Jack Demmer Ford in
Wayne. Their vehicle’s VIN numbers
only one number apart. Flash for-
ward to the year 2022, those same
identical twins had a 50-year photo-
shoot with those same cars in front
of that same dealership.
Richard Gish and Rodney Gish
were 19 years old when they decided
they needed to buy new cars.
“We wanted more of a sporty-mus-
cle car, but not the Mustang. The
next best thing was the Gran Torino.
We liked the design of it,” said Rod-
ney.
With a little pressure from their
father and some convincing from his
brother, Richard joined Rodney on a
trip to Jack Demmer Ford to look at
cars.
A silver Gran Torino with black
bucket seats caught the eye of
Richard, and a metallic green Gran
Torino with ginger bucket seats
caught the eye of Rodney.
Richard and Rodney ordered
their cars with a manual four-speed
transmission, however, both of their
cars arrived off Wayne’s Ford Assem- Richard Gish and Rodney Gish Ford Gran Torinos were shot by Don Ling and his business partner and wife, Lorna, at Jack
bly line with an automatic instead.
Their salesperson, Al Bruhowski re- Demmer Ford in Wayne. Photo by Don Ling, www.art-afterdark.com
ordered their cars with the correct doing photography since 1987 and For Richard and Rodney’s photo- bouncing off the building onto the
transmission. started Art After Dark in July 2020. shoot, Ling had the two Torinos po- cars and the constant flow of traffic
Then the twins’ second cars ar- The photoshoot occurred on Oc- sitioned so you could see the going past forced the team to pause
rived with the correct transmission tober 6th, 2022 in front of Jack building in the background with many times during the shoot.
but the wrong axle ratio in them. Demmer Ford. Ling and Lorna ar- Jack Demmer signage. The Ford “Part of what this process re-
Members at Demmer noticed the rived around 6 p.m. to set up. Prior sign was also part of the background. quires is as close to absolute dark-
mistake and fixed it. to sunset, they set up their camera “We were honored that these gen- ness as possible. When working on
Richard picked up his new car on a tripod, which cannot move dur- tlemen wanted to use Jack Demmer Michigan Ave, the streetlights and
the Friday before Memorial Day in ing the entire photoshoot. Lorna op- Ford for the photoshoot. This is a headlights are hard to work with,”
1972. Rodney’s car came in two days erates the computer that is tethered great story to tell, and they are part said Ling. “Most of the time I’m in a
before that. to the camera. Her job is to trigger of our history,” said Jim Demmer, dark, controlled situation, without
For the most part, both cars are the camera, while Ling lights the Jack Demmer Ford Vice President. traffic. This was probably the most
stocked, aside from minor modifica- cars. “Plus, their Gran Torinos are really challenging project done to control
tions to the motor. Both have their The team must wait for total cool.” lighting.”
original interior still, but both exteri- darkness, which allows a handheld The shoot started around 7:30 After months of work, Ling was
ors have been repainted. Richard re- light to light the car in many different p.m. and finished between 8:30 and able to present the finished project
painted his around 2003 or 2004, ways and many different exposures. 9 p.m. Ling stated he did 150 expo- to Rodney in the beginning of May
and Rodney repainted his shortly Each exposure shows a small and sures that night. 2023. It’s now on display in Rod-
after in 2005. specific part of the car. “The storyline was perfect. The ney’s living room.
To celebrate the 50-year anniver- Ling might light a tire four differ- twin brothers, the cars, the dealer, it “It’s a great looking picture,” said
sary of having the same cars, Rod- ent ways, or a grill work four differ- really needed to be done there,” said Rodney. “Every time I see the photo
ney’s good friend Marilyn Lang ent ways. Then all of the exposures Ling. “It was not a perfect arrange- it reminds me of childhood memo-
booked a photoshoot for the twins. are brought together in photoshop ment setup, but the storyline over- ries and brings back memories of
Don Ling and his business part- and like a puzzle, all of the pieces rode that.” what we did together. I’m really
ner and wife, Lorna, were the photog- are put together for the finished Ling explained that the warmth of
raphers for the shoot. Ling has been product. the streetlights on Michigan Ave was See Gran Torino, page 4
The Wayne Dispatch · July 2023 · 3