A NEED FOR SPEED
I hate repeating myself. Ask anyone who has the great pleasure of living with me. The second you utter “wait,” the sigh starts forming in my molecules. By the time you get to the “say that again,” my eyes are scanning the shadows of my skull, rolling furiously down towards daylight, as my previous statement slithers out at an even lower volume than it did the first time. It should come as no shock that I worry endlessly about whether I’m repeating myself in my work. This fear has pushed me to chase new subjects, and so I’ve arrived on dainty hands and creaky knees at the foot of California’s unofficial mascot, the automobile.
I’ve always loved cars, but that love has not translated into much knowledge about them. Sure, I can change a tire (in theory), and I’ve acquired all my license ranks in Gran Turismo across five generations of PlayStation but I’m no grease monkey. I’d like to be though! Instead I’ve chosen to settle for photographing cars, up to this point almost exclusively virtually—long live DRIVECLUB (see, image on the right).
Real world automotive photography has been a mixed bag for me. Most commercial automotive photography reeks of Photoshop and feels mostly artificial, even when it’s not explicitly so. Sometimes that works for the car (and me), oftentimes it doesn’t. While I’ve never shot a race, I can’t say I find the idea of shooting one all that exciting. Waiting in one spot for cars to blur past me isn’t an active enough shooting experience for me.
But here I am, A7R V in tow, prowling the streets, leering at cars like I’m on the hunt for catalytic converters to lift, trying to make photographs. The classics speak to me the most, they’re made with love. Modern car design is handicapped by P&L sheets, terrified drivers who prioritize their own safety over the collective’s, and if you listen to some designers, safety requirements. I don’t buy the last reason because the Ford Bronco, Cadillac Lyriq, Corvette Stingray, McLaren Speedtail, hell even the new Toyota Prius all exist today. Beautiful design can still spark joy in onlookers, but automakers and consumers have to give a damn. Cars are expensive necessities for many today, not an expression of their owner’s identity. I’m not even sure we know what beautiful is anymore. Take a look at the best selling car of 1963 alongside the best selling car 60 years later.
I’m still chasing beauty though, and in a town like Los Angeles, gorgeous relics aren’t hard to come by. I’m still discovering how I see cars and what I want my images to say about them. I yearn for narrative in all that I do, so I’d love to shadow a race team or small garage and profile the craftspeople there. If anyone has any leads please send them my way. Until then I’ll continue to my hunt for the glass & steel mementos from an America that was.