The Discovery Channel US Interview
Commercial photographer Tim Wallace was on the other side of the lens for a change recently when he was interviewed by Brian Greene of The Discovery Channel for a programme series that is currently filming around the world that looks at peoples passion for cars. The series is over 52 episodes and is entitled "The Road to Provenance’ and tells the story of peoples passion for cars around the world and will commence showing on The Discovery Channel on July 11 in the US firstly and then worldwide. My own interview is in episode 8 of the series with the series being narrated and introduced by Gordon McCall.
08/05/2020
Tim - "It was a great honour and in truth it came as a bit of surprise to be asked to be part of the series. The interview was based around the Aston Martin 'Portfolio of Dreams' Book that I photographed over the course of a number of years, recording all the significant Aston Martin models through the ages from the very first car Bamford Martin made through to the modern supercars that the company produce today. I also talk about some of my other work for some of my other clients such as McLaren and how I approach that, what it is actually like to work in studio with some of these cars and how I personally approach these commissions. I have always loved cars since I was a very young boy and I remember that my grandparents often used to take me to a market stall that was in my home town of York where there was a toy stall and they used to have a massive amount of 'Matchbox' cars, if I was good then I would get a new car. I had quite a collection and rather than play with them all the time and throw them into a box, I used to keep those little yellow boxes in perfect condition and I would line them all up in rows in my bedroom and place the cars on top. The funny thing is that our youngest son is also very much a car lover these days and without any comment from me he loves to do the very same thing with his cars today...
To me cars are more sculptures than machines and I photograph them very much with that in mind, using light to shape the delicate intricate curves and shapes that make up their form. Over the years there have been many cars designed and made and some are to me latterly works of art in my mind that evoke such feeling when you look at them. I am often asked which car is my favourite and its an impossible question to answer really, when I ask our youngest son which of his cars is his favourite he replies with a ascending list of his top 20 and i guess I feel very much the same."
Aston Martin Book 'Portfolio Of Dreams'
In 2017 we were extremely proud and honoured to officially announce that the Aston Martin Book 'Portfolio Of Dreams' official launch launched with Sir Stirling Moss writing the foreword to photographer Tim Wallace's Aston book that journeys through the life and models of Aston Martin from the very first prototype car to the very latest models of today. The book project has been a mammoth piece of work over 4 years between Aston in the UK and Automotive Car and Commercial Transport Photographer Tim Wallace.
It is a wonderful celebration of Aston Martin through their first 100 years and is a major publication of nearly 700 pages of stunning photography from Tim capturing each of their significant models built and created over that time. It includes some very famous cars through the years, race winners, and starts its journey from the very first Bamford Martin car all the way through to the infamous DB5 and onwards to the latest DBS and One77 models of recent years.
The book is now on general release and is available to purchase through Aston.
Tim - "Being asked to create all the photography for the Aston book was indeed a great honour and it was a project that I worked on for over 4 years. The book primarily a 'coffee table' style book of great photography looking at each of the models through the history of Aston Martin design and endeavour to create cars that instil both passion and soul. Its was a truly massive project and I still remember that initial meeting that I had at Aston when the idea came to light, the task to create a pictorial book of beautiful photography that followed through every model that Aston Martin ever made from the very first prototype Bamford A3, a car that is closely guarded and indeed priceless today, through then to all the variants and models to the cars of today that Aston Martin have become so well known for crafting and producing.
Some of the cars that I have captured for this book such as the Zagato's VEV1 and VEV2 that are very rare and today are in the same condition as the day that they drove out of the factory gates, they are truly amazing cars with such a wonderful rich history.
For me personally it's a joy to shoot these cars and we have been working with Aston in the UK and Europe for just over 10 years now so I am very familiar with both the company and the vehicles themselves which is a major benefit to the project for me personally.
I get asked a lot by people if i drive that cars, the answer is yes I do as I often position them myself into where I need them for the shoot, some cars are indeed easier to drive than others especially some of the pre-war models that have their accelerator switches on the actual starring wheel, not to mention those where the pedal layout is all mixed around... it takes a bit of concentration whilst driving those around as it really is the very last car in the world that you would want to damage, safe to say that my insurance for such things is very significant indeed!
It was in the early part of 2017 that the provisional first layouts where shown to me and indeed having the material to 'fill' almost 700 pages is no easy task aside the layouts themselves but the project progressed and this August the first 2000 books were delivered to Aston where I visited to sign the Limited-Edition copies that sold out virtually straight away after being announced. I think that its for to say that I was smiling that day and I guess for me what made it that bit extra special was to have the honour for Sir Stirling Moss write the foreword for my book, a great honour indeed."
Sir Stirling Moss Foreword
"Many of you will be aware that Aston Martin have always held a special place in my heart, and I was back behind the wheel of the fantastic DBR1 recently as part of the company’s centenary celebrations. This drive around the Nürburgring once again reminded me of just what a beautiful car it is.
There’s something about making your car not only perform well, but look fantastic too.
I’ve long held the belief that ugly cars don’t win races, no logic to it I know, but maybe it has something to do with attention to detail. The DBR1 was a great example of this, not only one of the nicest cars I’ve ever driven and winner of the World Championship in 1959, but one of the best looking too.
The DBR1 embodies much of what I’ve always loved about British road-racing cars, the incredible engineering, the hand-crafted, traditional workmanship and the exceptional beauty. Indeed, that lovely old racer is the very essence of Aston Martin’s own mantra, Power, Beauty & Soul. Many books have been written over the years about the history, engineering and racing heritage of Aston Martin, but what I love about this book in particular, is its focus on style, and Aston Martin have always had great style. I remember when Lance Macklin and I drove a factory DB2 in the Daily Express Rally, it certainly attracted a lot of pretty girls all around the UK"
"I’ve always been a big fan of design & technology and when coupled with style, you know you are going to have a winning formula, and it’s this that has led to Aston Martin becoming such a big part of British heritage. We all know that Aston Martin is one of the world’s most recognisable brands, and the desirability of these stunning cars is well documented, with classic examples in particular achieving an incredible status.
This must be due in no small part to the great attention to detail and simple, beautiful lines afforded to every model. An Aston Martin will always look fantastic, whether parked in the high street or tearing down the back roads.
This fabulous book acknowledges this as never before, and every image has been given the same attention to detail that Aston Martin gave the original cars.
It’s obvious as you flick through the pages, that an awful lot of time and effort has gone into its creation, and the result is a book which I’m sure will take its place among the “must haves” for anyone interested in car photography and not just those with an interest in Aston Martin
Well done Tim Wallace and well-done Aston Workshop for having the vision and the tenacity to make this project a reality."
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