BLOG 2017

PORSCHE 356 SPEEDSTER CAR PHOTOGRAPHY RM SOTHEBY'S

15/12/2017
Today I visited Hemel Hempstead to photograph the 1958 Porsche 356 A 1600 Speedster which has been beautifully restored by Stuttgart based Reutter who since 1932 have had a long relationship with Porsche. The 356 was produced from 1948 to 1963 and has a 1582cc 60 bhp engine, not much by todays standards but seventy years ago it gave great performance in a very light body. The car is a very desirable piece of iconic motoring history and at RM Sotheby's Paris auction that takes place in Paris early next year is is estimated to reach between 300,000-330,000 euros.

As you can see from the photos of this classic car the early December snowfall that hit the country hadn't cleared from the Chiltern Hills yet, the advantage was that the sun was out and I had to take the opportunity to capture the car prior to it being collected for the auction, these images have to be on the RM website asap for interested parties to see a glimpse of the car. The snow gave the Speedster another dimension as it looked like it could have been photographed in Switzerland or Austria where it would be the perfect car to bound around the Alpine passes.

Today was the first time I had used the new addition to my Profoto lighting equipment, the handheld A1. It worked really well with its bigger partners, the 500 watt B1 and 250 watt B2, just adding a subtle fill light to the wheels and arches. Although the snow reflects light on to the car the addition of the Profoto trio adds more depth and with the high speed sync facility allows full control of the light entering in to the camera. The classic car photographs are now live on the RM Sotheby's website and show the full coverage of the photos taken which have to show every aspect of the car, from interior, exterior and engine bay photos.