In the old days I liked to be as close to the ground as possible when
filming wildlife as it served to glorify the animal and, at the margin,
it also allowed for a little more immersion for the viewer. It became
very much my signature style in the field to offer the visual
perspective of a small ant.

I don’t see why the approach should
be that different when filming a 1957 Porsche Speedster. It has an
aesthetic beauty that needs to be showcased and a ground up perspective
also highlights the dust being kicked up from behind the car. Dust is
always best captured using strong back light and this does present tonal
range challenges to our printers. Luckily, we have the best craftsmen
in our studio who can bring out the shadow detail without losing the
detail in the highlights. It is a different craft to being a
photographer.

The talent on this shot came from the very top
drawer - Jimmie Johnson - the most decorated of NASCAR drivers, is
behind the wheel of the Speedster, whilst supermodel Shanina Shaik is
the lady theatrically acknowledging his victory. Both Jimmie and Shanina
enjoyed themselves that morning at Willow Springs racetrack in
California and I think it shows. From my own selfish perspective, Jimmie
had to focus slightly on slowing down before he ran me over and I guess
he could be forgiven for having his eyes elsewhere.

I want to
thank Sam Byrne of Cross Harbour Capital for facilitating this shoot.
Without him, we had no circuit to film on, no Porsche Speedster and no
Jimmie. Shanina is strong enough to be filmed without props anywhere,
but this weighty ensemble has a little magic to it.