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With its mountains, lakes, and spectacular views, Colorado has a lot to offer for great photography. That’s why Denver native, and Wonderful Machine photographer Matt Jones took the opportunity to explore this beautiful wilderness and showcase his photography skills with a self-assigned automotive and lifestyle project.
Matt has wanted to break into the automotive specialty, and decided to set aside some time to create a strong body of work for a post-holiday promo. Though he does not often photograph vehicles, he wanted to put his creative skills to the test and broaden his portfolio. In his free time, Matt loves to take his Toyota Tacoma for a ride to explore the outdoors, and wanted to create something that could demonstrate his potential while resonating with his own lifestyle.
I wanted to capture a variety of images, while keeping the vehicle in the spotlight. On a personal level, I simply challenged myself to stay true to what I normally do, as this was my first time ever shooting photos of a vehicle in action.
The goal of the shoot was to spend two full days shooting, and to come back with 10-12 portfolio worthy images. Matt wanted the project to highlight the iconic Toyota 4Runner, while adding lifestyle elements to each scene. Using Google maps as his only scouting tool, Matt set out to Schofield Pass near Crested Butte, Colorado to make it happen.
To deal with the challenge of shooting a car in motion, he brought along a friend and colleague who had experience as a location scout in the world of automotive photography. Matt’s friend was an invaluable help in achieving the perfect ¾ angle, which has become ubiquitous with automotive advertising. A project like this may look like fun, but Matt focused on mimicking the fast-paced working environments of the day to day projects he is familiar with.
I was constantly under pressure trying to find the next best shot. It was a great “fire drill” shoot, if you want to call it that.
Matt was aiming for variety with this project, and fortunately for him, the Colorado weather treated him well. The first day, the weather gave a more seasonally ambiguous feel to the photos. Then on the morning of the second day, they were gifted with a fresh 12’’ of Colorado snow which really added to the look and aesthetic of the shoot.
Matt walked away with a series of photos that demonstarted his developing skills with automotive photography. He was pleased with the responses to the images on social media, and is motivated to continue to push his own boundaries. It takes a large body of work to prove yourself in any arena, so for his next shoot, Matt plans to tackle a similar vehicle project that’s focus is around all the winter sports that Colorado has to offer: skiing, snowshoeing, ice climbing, etc.
See more of Matt at: http://www.mattjonesphotography.com