Nikon Pro Book – Spring Edition

Nikon launch their Nikon Pro Book for Spring 2013 featuring some photography recently completed by Commercial Car Photographer Tim Wallace during a shoot in Los Angeles using Nikon based equipment with the infamous Aston Martin DBS

Nikon Pro is a very highly successful publication that in the past few years has won five industry awards. It is aimed at working professional photographers and agencies across Europe and demands the highest quality work in its features to showcase the work of professionals from around the globe. Its current readership levels exceed 75,000 and it is also a source for advanced technical information as well as new products that are soon to be available, reports and reviews.

Tim – “I’m delighted that we have had some work chosen for this years exciting Spring edition of Nikon Pro and in many ways its a great honour as I know that Nikon actively choose each year the photography to include from quite literally a global pool. In my work as a professional commercial photographer I use both medium format (Hasselblad H3 / H4) and DSLR (D3s / D4) camera solutions to best adapt and work in what can often be a changing and demanding field of photography. Since the onset of the ‘digital age’ we have heard many voice concerns about if digital holds the quality of film and in my opinion digital as a whole overtook film for dynamic range and quality approx 3 years ago. Nikon is a brand that I am very familiar with having used these camera’s all my life since my first Nikon, a rather battered FM that still resides on top of my book shelve in the office, and for me they are a valuable addition to my high end medium format equipment. I think the comparison between DSLR and medium format will always be made but for me its quite simply a case of what is fit for purpose for the shoot in question. I will never be looking to get 14 frames a second from my Hasselblad but on the other side of things I would not expect to maintain the noise control and speed of my D3s and D4 if it attempted to reproduce the fine definition and resolution from a Hasselblad. In essence each has their role and each has their strong points, as a professional working photographer my only comment would be that its not productive to believe that you must ‘choose’ between either, use what works for you and if that means working on both a DSLR and medium format then pick the best ‘tool’ for the job at that point”

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.

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.

DBS shoot Switzerland

The Aston Martin DBS is today still seen as one of the best known current Aston super cars and one of the most aggressive looking with its sleek lines and deep intake details. This week car photographer Tim Wallace spent some time with the DBS for Aston shooting this elegant beast in locations from the Swiss Alps to the beautiful rural town of Estavayer-le-Lac in Switzerland for an advertising feature.

The car was made famous by James Bond in last year’s Casino Royale, with the DBS is a race-bred road car based on the DB9 and Le Mans class-winning DBRS9. Using a tweaked version of the six-litre V12 engine from the outgoing Vanquish S, the DBS produces a titanic 510bhp and 420lb/ft of pulling power.

Engineers have tuned the engine to give it a bit more oomph above 5,500rpm – making it the fastest accelerating Aston ever.
The DBS rockets from 0-62mph (100kph) in 4.3 seconds and 0-100mph in 9.4 seconds before running out of steam at 191mph.
Weight has been cut by 120kg, by fitting lighter seats, lighter brakes and carbon fibre panels.

The DBS’s handling is more responsive than on the brilliant DB9, with an adaptive suspension varying the level of stiffness according to the road conditions. On the outside, the DBS – which rolls on sexy 20-inch wheels – has a sculpted, muscular bodykit reflecting the DBRS9 with more air intakes than on the DB9 to increase airflow into the engine

Aston Martin DBS Shoot

The Aston Martin DBS is the favourite of many for its aggressive good looks and its powerful presence on the road and this week car photographer Tim Wallace got to grips with the DBS for a marketing shoot for our UK Aston client.

The car was made famous by James Bond in last year’s Casino Royale, with the DBS is a race-bred road car based on the DB9 and Le Mans class-winning DBRS9. Using a tweaked version of the six-litre V12 engine from the outgoing Vanquish S, the DBS produces a titanic 510bhp and 420lb/ft of pulling power.
Engineers have tuned the engine to give it a bit more oomph above 5,500rpm – making it the fastest accelerating Aston ever.
The DBS rockets from 0-62mph (100kph) in 4.3 seconds and 0-100mph in 9.4 seconds before running out of steam at 191mph.
Weight has been cut by 120kg, by fitting lighter seats, lighter brakes and carbon fibre panels.
The DBS’s handling is more responsive than on the brilliant DB9, with an adaptive suspension varying the level of stiffness according to the road conditions. On the outside, the DBS – which rolls on sexy 20-inch wheels – has a sculpted, muscular bodykit reflecting the DBRS9 with more air intakes than on the DB9 to increase airflow into the engine.

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.

2012 Aston Calendar proves to be our best yet

Earlier this week we saw the Aston 2012 calendar that was produced and shot by commercial car photographer Tim Wallace receive such high feedback that a second print run has been now completed in China to accommodate the demand on that side of the World. Tim has been producing and shooting the calendar for Aston for some 4 years now and over that time the calendar has become somewhat of a collectors item with tens of thousands of copies being sold worldwide and many people reporting that they would like multiple copies as they have one saved from each year.

Tim – “The Aston calendar is really special to me and each year a huge effort goes in to making sure that we have something different, this year I was lucky enough to spend some time in Switzerland and after falling in love with the sweeping mountains and snow covered peaks it was an obvious place to shoot Aston Martin’s. These cars represent different things to different people, some have fond memories of their boy hood dreams after watching the latest James Bond film hankering after that elusive silver birch DB5 classic, while others enjoy more recent memories with the DB9 and are drawn to the styling and engineering of some of Aston’s more recent triumphs such as the One77. Whatever the reason it is safe to say that Aston’s just never die, they stay in our hearts and in our imagination always. It was a pure pleasure to create the images for this years calendar and I hope that many people all over the World will get much enjoyment from it.”