Daimler, Fiat and Opel together in one photo production? Yes, you can, if you take a leap back to the 70s.
Rüdiger, the owner of “Sir Colman”, the mustard yellow Daimler (not Jaguar), was kind enough to send me some photos. He was busy taking photos during production. Thanks again for this, because they turned out quite well, I have already received more unkind “making-ofs”. My favorite is the portrait of my thermos flask, which has already had more on-location productions than some of my cameras.
I photographed the three cars on behalf of ClasssicCars. We use an airfield to have some space. However, this always requires a lot of patience and coordination so that you don’t get in the way of air traffic. It would be a shame if the Fiat were to be shredded by a propeller. And I wouldn’t necessarily want to stand in the cloud of flying parts either.
Because the old wisdom of war photographers also applies to cars: no photo is worth risking your life for. Even though I unfortunately know photographers who would do that. But as I said, it’s always about dealing with risks professionally, i.e. minimizing or eliminating them. You owe it to the client alone, because my job is to deliver good photos at a certain point in time. Anything else would make little sense, because the client would have no pictures and the photographer would be rid of the client.
To ensure that this doesn’t happen, I prepare myself thematically and technically for my assignments. And clients appreciate that.
Incidentally, the production involved six-cylinder engines. The one in the Fiat was even developed specifically for the 130. A rare car, known to some from the Lake Constance crime scenes.
Interestingly, the Commodore is a two-door saloon. And it’s as impractical as it sounds. But it still has its charm.
My personal highlight is of course the Daimler, my Jaguar in the 90s didn’t drive much better. And it definitely drives better than the Q3 we used as a production vehicle.
Daimler, Fiat and Opel in one photo is understandable if they all have six-cylinder engines.
