Aston Martin Heritage – DB7 V12 Vantage Shoot

The DB7 has often been referred to as one of the ‘prettiest’ of the more modern Aston classics and the Vantage V12 is a prime example of this train of thought. This week commercial car photographer Tim Wallace was commissioned to shoot the DB7 V12 Vantage for our client Aston as part of a heritage project.

Introduced in 1994, the Ian Callum designed coupe looked sensational then, and the quality of its design is still apparent today. The Volante, a term adopted by Aston Martin for its convertibles, was introduced two years later, in 1996. Those early cars were powered by a 3.2-litre V6, the 6.0-litre V12 ‘Vantage’ version joining the range in 1999. And despite a hefty price hike, such was the interest in the V12 Vantage version that the V6-powered DB7 was soon redundant, Aston Martin subsequently only offering the DB7 with V12 power, in ‘Vantage’ (high performance) specification. Overall the DB7 has been an extraordinary success and to put that into perspective, over its 87-year history, Aston Martin has only ever made 16,000 cars – of which more than 5000 have been DB7s….

The DB7 Vantage Volante nestles in an exclusive club of £100,000+ open topped cars designed for those who enjoy, and can afford, the finer things in life. Price-wise, there’s very little direct; the majority of its rivals tend to be priced around the £60-80,000 mark – and that encompasses cars like Porsche’s 911 Cabriolet, Jaguar’s XKR Cabriolet, the Maserati Spyder and the Mercedes SL55 AMG. If you go to the other side of the £103,000 that you’d pay for the DB7 Volante, there’s always the £112,000 Ferrari 360 Modena Spider too. And once you’re into the realms of paying £100,000 and more for a car, you’re likely to be working to a different set of principles from the typical car buyer – so the £30-40,000 difference between the Aston and its on-paper rivals is less likely to be a decisive purchase factor.

It seems that this is the Aston Martin for the masses. With more than 5,000 examples having been built since it was introduced in 1994, it’s easily the most popular Aston Martin ever. It’s not difficult to see why. It’s rare to meet anyone who isn’t impressed by the DB7′s lithe yet discrete, and even with the roof lopped off in the Volante version it makes many other cars look clumsy. It also has the right image. Rivals like the Jaguar XKR convertible may offer similar performance (even, given that Ford owns both Jaguar and Aston Martin, some common parts), but Aston Martin has far more cachet than its rival marque from Coventry. Even Ferrari struggles to match the prestige and exclusivity associated with Aston. The company may now be under the ultimate control of Ford, but Aston Martin remains a quintessentially English marque and is proud of its heritage. So if you crave exclusivity, style and class (and have the necessary funds) the DB7 is likely to appeal – but if you’re after a real driver’s car then you might want to look at the Italian alternative.

It turns heads for the right reasons. Unlike brasher supercars or more showy sports cars, the DB7 oozes class, its unmistakable style marking you out as someone with exquisite taste. The big 6.0-litre V12, when mated to the smooth five-speed automatic transmission, makes the DB7 a relaxed cruiser, with the potential to turn into a very fast cross country machine should you chance upon a clear country road. Being an Aston Martin, the specification is infinitely variable to your exact requirements. If you want the paint colour to match your favourite jumper you can have it, and interior trim and specification can also be tailored to suit your preferences – the only limiting factors being your imagination and the health of your bank balance.

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

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.

Editors Award from 500px

AmbientLife photography receives the covered ‘Editors choice’ award for AM Vantage 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

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 Martin Photography V8 Vantage

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is seen by many as one of the entry level models of the current Aston range however it is also viewed as one of the most popular of the sports range with both V8 and V12 engines available in this chassis. Car Photographer Tim Wallace spent some time recently photographing the Vantage V8 for some marketing material for our UK client.

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.

Aston Martin Car Photography – Vantage Campaign

This week car and commercial photographer Tim Wallace completed a project for our client Aston Martin looking at the infamous Aston Martin ‘Vantage’ both past and present.

Tim -“It was great to be involved in a project like this, I do a great deal of work with Aston and over the last 4 years of working with them I have really got to know every curve and line of these models, mix that with my passion to shoot and capture detail with lights and good old fashioned lighting photography skills and I am in heaven!
The older ‘vantage’ models are very beautiful cars with their own unique design and lines that so many of us have got to know over the years from films such as James Bond, the new V8 and V12 Vantage models are much more aggressive in their design, low and very predatory in their nature., it was a real pleasure to work on this campaign.”