Location scouting in Switzerland

This week saw the team in the beautiful mountains and valleys of Switzerland as we worked too seek out fresh new locations within this dramatic landscape. Unlike some car photographers who find themselves based largely in studios for their shoots AmbientLife photographer Tim Wallace has always worked hard to try and stay in the ‘environment’ believing that this is truly where a car belongs rather than in a clinical white box.

Tim – “A lot of commercial work these days can find itself heavily in debt to CGI and composite work and techniques. With a ever changing industry and client demands to seek out ever more inspirational imagery for their campaigns its a tough role these days at times however I do still strongly believe that nothing can quite match the ‘real world’ and as such we invest time on a regular basis to seek out new locations, wether that be for a stills shoot itself or to capture an area for later ‘composite’ work where logistically its not possible to get a client vehicle in that chosen scene. I think its important to shoot as close as possible to the actual scene and get the very best from it that you can, I read recently that all car photographers are basically frustrated landscape photographers…lol, not sure about that but I guess I do both in many ways as I shoot some of the Worlds most intoxicating landscapes from San Francisco to The Alps of Switzerland, the only difference is that I will include a car in that scene and use it to build what I hope will be a image that sell the emotion of the car I am working with and the dream so to speak of its ownership, its really a case of creating an image that the viewer looks at and says, ‘wow I want to be in that car right there’, that’s what a good emotional commercial image has the power to do. The Alps and valleys of Switzerland are among one of my favourite places to shoot not least simply due to the sheer scale of the landscapes there, truly breath taking on many occasions and this week we have been looking at different new area’s to work in from Les Diablerets to Montreux in the south. I look forward to returning there in a few months again when the whole landscape will change again as we see spring make an appearance.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

As 2012 grows to a near and Christmas approaches we would like to take the opportunity to wish all our clients and our colleagues a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and fruitful New Year.
2012 has been a very eventful year for Ambientlife and has seen our company complete projects and commercial shoots around the globe as well as Tim continuing his work in delivering seminars in the UK, Europe and the US. We have seen great success from the training video’s that Tim recorded in the US earlier this year as a guest of Scott Kelby and Kelby Training and there are plans to return to the US in early 2013 to record some further classes to add to the catalogue of work available online for people to view. 2012 also saw Tim continue his work with some of our long established clients such as Aston and Jaguar as we strove forward to support these clients with their media requirements such as the exciting new ‘Aston Legend’ book that Tim is currently working on and is expected to be published world wide in 2013, and work for Jaguar to support their needs at international trade shows and motor events.

Tim - “Its been an amazing year that all started off really in the US with the launch of the video work we recored for Kelby, never one to be completely comfortable in front of a camera and more at home behind it I think, but this work has received great reviews across the globe and I am very touched and pleased that so many people have written to me since their release in February to say that these classes have really helped them understand light and look at photography in a different and new way, very well worth while and satisfying.
Its been a busy year with our automotive car work as always and we have had the addition of some pretty big projects that have stretched us at times but its all been a great learning curve in life and one that has lead us to meet some amazing people and visit some remarkable locations and places around the globe. Probably one of my biggest challenges this year has been to start work on the ‘Aston Legends’ book. I remember the first production meeting for this at Aston and at the time it was described to me as like ‘eating an elephant’ one mouth full at a time…lol
There is a huge amount of work to do as you simply don’t realise just what goes into filling a 400 page book until you actually sit down and start to plan it out but I am glad to say that we estimate that we are over 50% of the way through now and its very exciting indeed and I look forward greatly to see the completed book available and on the book store shelves, personally this is a life time goal for me and one thats been very satisfying indeed.
The year ended commercially for us in California shooting various work throughout the area and visiting some truly amazing locations such as Death Valley, LA, and Yosemite National Park. Throughout all our work it would not be possible to achieve the work that I do without the support of those that we work with and most of all my life and business partner Jess who simply is the most supportive and amazing person in her own right with her brilliant behind the scenes work on logistics and locations as well as bring the glue behind the scenes that helps keep everything together and me on the straight and narrow.
The year end is almost here and myself and Jess have taken some time out to be at our home in Switzerland to enjoy this festive period with friends and family not to mention catch up some skiing in the Alps where I hope to survive another year…!
I would like to personally wish all the people that we have met this year a very merry Christmas and a very peaceful and happy New Year as we look forward to many more adventures and challenges ahead of us.”

2013 Aston Martin Calendar

For the past 5 years UK Commercial Car Photographer Tim Wallace has been commissioned to shoot the Aston Calendar, this has grown over the last 5 years and is now purchased by Aston Martin Owners and enthusiasts quite literally Worldwide with print runs in both Europe and now this year for the first time in China also to manage the demand for the calendar in that region also. In November last year Aston launched the new 2012 collection and this has been so well received and favoured by Aston’s customers and and followers that it has been put in reprint as orders still flood in, a great accolade to the work and the enthusiasm of our followers with it now having a cult following around the world from the US to Russia and Japan.
The 2013 edition of the calendar has virtually sold out already and represents ` cross section of the Aston models through the years photographed through out the World in locations from the US to the Alpine passes of Switzerland.

500px Editors award for ‘DB5 Switzerland’

AmbientLife photography receives the ‘Editors choice’ award for Tim’s ‘DB5 Switzerland’ image after being selected from over 6 million images this week at 500px, the home of Professional Photography Galleries and display online.

500px, pronounced five hundred pixels, is an online photography gallery that was co-founded by Oleg Gutsol and Evgeny Tchebotarev (artistically also known as “Ian Sobolev”).The Toronto based company launched its Web 2.0 version in 2009 and is aimed at professional photographers encouraging members to upload their best work.
500px is seen as a place to gain exposure, find inspiration and connect photographers with one another. It hosts over 6 million photos to date.

Come and join us on 500px Tim Wallace Gallery

Interested in learning how to light and shoot car and automotive photography?
Why not join us here to enjoy over 4 hours of video tutorial classes on car photography Tim Wallace – Kelby Training Instructor

2013 Seminar Events with photographer Tim Wallace
Check out our events booking page and our main seminar page here at AmbientLife

Iconic Aston Martin DB5 Photography in Switzerland

The location was Switzerland and the car, the iconic Aston Martin DB5, very possibly one of the best know and most famous cars in the World as James Bonds car, first appearing in the film Goldfinger.
The shoot was for our Aston client and will be used within marketing advertising both in Europe and Asia.

Tim -”Switzerland is a truly wonderful location for this sort of work as its really suits the cars personality and many ways when I shoot a car thats is what I am looking at first, ‘what does this car say to me, what does it represent’. When your working commercially you need to have a very firm idea in your head as to which way you want to portray the subject and this is very often driven by your client themselves, however the photographer is always part of these plans of course and at this stage its good to also consider the viewer, the clients customer if you like, and look at their aspirations and desires as these are the things that a commercial photographer should really focus on to create a body of work that really hits the message home and creates that all important desire to drive the clients marketing and advertising forward successfully. In the case of the DB5 it really is a car thats an icon and for me to drive this through the Alps on a beautiful sunny day is in many ways, perfect,”

New Aston Martin Enhancements website work completed

Commercial car photographer Tim Wallace has been working closely with our Aston Martin client this month as a new project to create a dedicated Aston Martin ‘Enhancements’ website nears completion.
Aston fully restore many vintage classic Aston Martin’s ranging from very early models such as the DB1 through to the infamous DB5 and later models such as the more recent V8. All of these cars are able to have modern enhancements made to them such as the installation of power steering and handling suspension upgrades through to satellite navigation systems and adjusting the driving position from the right to the left. The site is planned to go live in August and represents a view off all the current and popular enhancements available with all photography being provided by Ambient Life and shot by photographer Tim Wallace.

2013 Aston Martin Book – Work Begins

Exciting news this week as work has now officially started on a proposed Aston Martin book. This has been a long term personal for car photographer Tim Wallace and has been under discussion for over 2 years now. It is hoped that the book will be completed and available by the end of 2012 for launch in early 2013 and it will be a hard back book with the aim to bring together the very best collection of Aston Martin photography very before made available to the public. Featuring all the Aston Martin models through the ages from the very early DB1 right through the the current range and the infamous One77 super Aston’s.

Tim “Its a great honour to be asked to do this book based around the range of Aston Martins through the years. Over the last few years I have become quite well known for my automotive car work and most of all probably for my Aston Martin work, for me photographing cars has never been about just showing the viewer what a model looks like but more about trying to capture and represent its form and character, cars to me have a personality, each one slightly different to the other, its having the ability to capture this passion and drama in a single image that is for me the gift of great car photography. We started work on the book earlier this week and as the chief designer said, ‘this is going to be a little like eating an elephant, one mouth full at a time…’
Over the last 5 years I have shot a huge amount of Aston’s and at last count that is near the 200 mark however as with any commercial work the photography and its style is dictated by the final requirement for its output so not ever piece of work has been shot in a dramatic style, for instance people very rarely think that all the parts and engineering side of the work has also to be covered, not to mention the ‘clinical’ work as I call it for marketing and brochures, so it is quite a massive task to ensure that I produce enough high quality work to fill a 300 page book. Also we are seeking to shoot all through the range and some models such as the infamous DBR2 are rare to say the least with only two in existence and with a price tag of £8m we have our work cut out for us but we are very lucky that as this is a joint venture with our client we have amazing access to some of the Worlds most beautiful and best kept Aston Martin secrets.
An amazing project and one that will I feel prove to be both demanding and ultimately very rewarding all at the same time.”

Aston 2013 Calendar Project Starts

For the last 5 years Car Photographer Tim Wallace has been involved in the annual Aston Calendar for our UK client. These have in recent years become a collectors item with sales of the Calendar reaching all across the globe from China to the US. Each year Tim starts work on this project as we enter the early part of the year to allow him to start to build up a body of work that not only inspires and captures the heart of the Aston Martin brand but also takes the work through the different seasons of the year.

The Calendar will be in design in August and we hope to have it ready for shipping Worldwide by the end of October. As with all the Aston Calendar work that Tim produces, it will be available to purchase as a limited edition signed print exclusively through our clients art site following the release of the 2013 edition.

Le Grand Feature

This month we are very honoured to announce a feature that will appear in ‘Le Grand’ a Worldwide magazine that has its roots based in high end luxury living and life style. The magazine interviewed AmbientLife photographer Tim Wallace earlier this year to talk to him about his work with some the Worlds finest prestige car manufacturers such as Aston Martin and Bentley as well as take a look at how his work has impacted on this market Worldwide to create a desire that drives and influences his clients customers. The magazine is published in both English and Chinese across the World and has an online version available for subscribers to the facility with many sections including not only prestige automotive but also high end fashion, jewellery, lifestyle products and yachting to name a few.

Aston Martin Restorations

This week we have been working with one of our longest running clients Aston Martin and their Restorations Centre. Tim has been heavily connected to Aston for a number of years now and its a relationship that has seen both companies work together on many different aspects of the business from the brochure and lifestyle work that Tim shoots on a regular basis for the Aston to the restorations and engineering projects. Over the last few weeks Tim has been working closely with Aston to create some powerful images for the restorations and classic side of the business that not only demonstrate some of the work that goes on behind the scenes and Aston but also for use in global events such as the recent Essen Car Show in Germany that Aston attended using Tim’s work as a launch platform visually.