Richard is a photographer with a great eye, a real love for film and Christmas cards, and an easygoing approach to shooting. He’s got a knack for finding stories and character in what he photographs and these days he’s out there with his trusty Pentax 67, capturing not just the cars themselves but the people, quirks, and communities that make car culture what it is.
Age (or age range):
36
Where you live and/or where are you from?
Coventry, in the UK
What is your earliest memory with a camera?
I definitely remember having a camera as a kid - I think I'd always shown interest in cameras and photography, so my parents got me a really basic point and shoot from a pretty young age (probably only 6 or 7). We're talking really basic fixed focus, manual thumb-wheel wind, and shooting cheap Jessops (a camera store chain in the UK) film. Probably one of the earliest specific memories I have is my parents getting annoyed with me for deciding it was really important to document that year's Christmas cards before they got thrown away - probably taking documentary photography a bit too far
Do you remember your first roll of film?
Unfortunately, I'm old enough that film photography was just photography when I first had a camera, so I definitely don't remember my very first roll. However, after getting into digital in my teens, I rediscovered film whilst at university. My first roll of this return to film was shot with my granddad's old Voigtlander Vitessa, bought in Malta in the mid-1950s when he was stationed there with the Royal Navy. The camera also came with a Weston Master handheld light meter, which was fortunate as smartphone light meter apps weren't quite yet a thing in 2008! In terms of what I shot with it, it was nothing particularly special (just some fairly mediocre cityscapes around Leeds), but the fact that it was with my granddad's old camera (a rangefinder, and a fairly unusually-laid-out one at that!) made it pretty cool. I was definitely excited to get the scans back from the lab!
What drew you to photographing cars?
I've been interested in cars for as long as I can remember - I was the weird kid who could name almost any car on sight, even if that was only from seeing the tail lights in the dark on the motorway. At that point, it was pretty much guaranteed that at some point I'd end up pointing a camera at them. The first event I deliberately went to with a camera and the intention to take photos of cars was a Sunday Scramble event at Bicester Heritage here in the UK - the combination of cool old cars and the old airfield buildings got me almost immediately hooked.
What do cars represent to you beyond the machine itself?
Two things: the (slightly cliche, but no less true for it) sense of freedom and possibility, and the communities that form around them. The latter has definitely become more important to me - whilst I tend to focus more around vintage and classic cars and there's an assumption that that means all of the same kinds of people, nothing could be further from the truth. Finding the niches and subcultures and trying to capture something of that in my work is something I'm finding more and more interesting.
What’s your process when planning a shoot?
"Process" is definitely a strong word for the sort of thing I normally do! To date, the overwhelming majority of my work is shot at events rather than standalone planned shoots, and I tend to try not to go into it with too much of a plan, as I find overthinking things rarely benefits the end results I get. The most important thing for me is making sure I've got the right kit with me, and at least half as much film again as I expect to shoot, just in case.
Is there a photographer, artist or genre that influences your photography and why?
In the contemporary car photography world, Amy Shore has definitely been a source of inspiration - her people-photographer-that-happens-to-shoot-cars style is something that resonates with me. The machines are nothing without the people that surround them, and this is where the interesting stuff is for me
Have you ever tried alternative development methods or film stocks for a specific creative effect?
This isn't something I've delved too deeply into (though a few years back did help a friend with coating some glass plates with homemade emulsion, which was pretty cool!). I tend to stick with the film stocks and development methods I know... I should probably explore a bit more!
What’s your go-to film camera for shooting and what would be your dream film camera to shoot with?
The vast majority of my work is shot with a Pentax 67 with the 90mm f/2.8 lens, though my Rolleiflex is a pretty close second place to that. In general, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty happy with that setup, and I'd sound pretty spoiled if that wasn't true! That being said, I am beginning to have some dangerous ideas about trying to shoot handheld large format... I'd love to get my hands on one of the 1930s-1950s Graflex 4x5 SLRs!
How do you stay inspired when creativity feels low or stagnant?
Usually, this just means I need to try something different for a bit - sometimes that means finding different subjects to shoot (apparently, there are things other than cars to point a camera at?), sometimes it means spending some time looking at photography books, and sometimes it just means leaving photography alone for a little bit.
Which car have you been waiting to shoot and have yet to encounter?
This is a difficult one... we're really lucky here in the UK to have some incredible events with an amazing array of cars on show in a relatively small area. The closest I can think of is that I'd love to see a Porsche 917 racing... though I can completely understand why that's not something you see often!
Have you ever completely messed up a roll? What happened and what did you learn from it?
Absolutely - it was early on in developing my own film, and I hadn't let the reel I was trying to load dry out properly after last using it. The film got stuck, and I tried to force it through... it completely crumpled to the point of being unusable. The lesson here was simple - keep your kit clean, and make sure everything's properly dry before you start!
What’s your favorite season or time of year for shooting cars, and what makes it special?
Probably spring - it's not so much about the season itself (though the morning and evening light happening at more reasonable times is nice!), but what it represents. Spring means the beginning of event season, which means the winter's over and it's time to get back out and shoot!
What’s the best advice you’ve received about photography — and who gave it to you?
It's absolutely not specific to photography, it's not exactly especially profound, and I can't remember who told me this first, but it's ever more important in a world of social media: comparison is the thief of joy. The world wants us to look at others and feel bad, because at that point there's a good chance we'll spend some money. There's only one person that it's worth comparing yourself and whatever it is you do (whether that's photography or something else entirely), and that's you a year, or five years, or ten years ago. If you're getting better at what it is you do, that's all that really matters.
What do you hope to transmit with your photographs?
I've hinted at it a few times already, but I increasingly find myself trying to capture something of the essence of different car cultures, whether that's vintage hot rods, pre-war sports cars, rallying, modified modern classics, or another of the endless other niches and subcultures. The connection that people have to their chosen flavour of wheeled machine, and the way that those machines bring them together, feels ever more important in a world where genuine human interaction feels ever more elusive.
Is there anything that you'd like to promote? I.e. Your business website and what you do, other social channels, or projects you wanna promote?
Definitely my website: www.filmphotomotive.com. I haven't quite got there yet, but I'm planning to start selling some limited run prints, and in the meantime it's a good place to see my work with a few more pixels than Instagram allows!
