The Picture Maker
Let me start this article with a brief introduction, my name is Thomas van Rooij and I am a photographer by profession. From a young age, I have been a true car enthusiast and I was able to unite this love for our personal four-wheelers with a newfound passion for photography several years ago.
As a car photographer, I have been inspired by some, to me, famous names from America. Their distinct style with lots of detail, striking compositions and beautiful use of color is what has driven me to look more at the image than at the car in front of the lens. I think this allows me to fairly distinguish myself in the Netherlands from a large proportion of people who unite the same two passions. One of the best experiences I have had with my photography was my trip to Spain to capture a Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 Superveloce on film. During this photo shoot, we pulled out all the stops. We visited numerous special locations in the 4 days we spent on the series. It was also during this shoot that I shot my most famous photo ever, the Italian bull in the Las Ventas arena in Madrid with a real torero!
I still sometimes get criticism from people about the fact that my work can no longer be called photography due to the fact that I am also well versed in post-processing photos, but opinions will always be divided on this. If you look closely at the press materials of the major car brands, you will never see a photo that anyone could have shot this way. That is exactly the challenge I find in photography; creating unique imagery. The fact that the results are often used to promote my clients’ companies only makes it a plus that I can provide striking or distinctive material, and fortunately I get mostly very positive reactions to my work, of which you can see five examples below.
I got in touch with Rob from PassionWithoutLimits through photography. He was looking for a photographer and apparently my style appealed to him because since our first contact, I have had the opportunity to do all the official photo shoots of his fleet of wedding cars. Since the newest addition to the collection of ceremony cars you can rent from PassionWithoutLimits had not yet been photographed, we scheduled a date when we would photograph the new Audi TTS Cabrio and the Aston Martin DBS. My luck was that the Audi was in my neighborhood earlier that week and wasn’t booked for the rest of the week, so we decided to park her in my garage for that long. Thus, I was fortunate enough to be able to drive the obligatory drives roofless for a few days.
I noticed that the TTS is a tremendous pleasure to drive. The car feels playful and light but is like a block on the road thanks to the all-wheel drive. The car is beautifully finished and the sporty details on the exterior do not stand out but in my opinion give the car a much tougher look than the standard TT. The days I got to spend with the TTS also gave me a nice opportunity to take a closer look at the car’s lines, something that comes in handy when you want to portray the car in a nice way. As a location, I decided to use a brand new parking deck; that deck had opened a day before our appointment and so I knew it would not be crowded. The modern design of this spacious location had to give a fresh look to the photos. Of course, photographing shiny black cars is always a challenge but the cars and location came together beautifully during this photo shoot, if I do say so myself, as you can see in the gallery below.
After the photo shoot, we drove the TTS back onto the trailer so she could return home with her owner and to end a great week with a bang, the Aston Martin then stayed overnight with me so I could take this amazing machine to Cars & Coffee the next day. You were able to read all about this earlier on this blog. Do not hesitate to contact PassionWithoutLimits if you are interested in renting one of their magnificent wedding cars for your special day. You can choose from a wide range of options including the elegant a beastly Aston Martin DBS, the powerful looking Audi RS5 or the luxurious Maserati Quattroporte Sport GTS; the perfect finishing touch for your wedding!
