Jeff Settle
Preservation class cars are classic cars that have never been restored. A car can only be original once. Once the surface rust overtakes any paint, visually the cars is reduced to a rich, brown patina and aging chrome producing lines and curves with dark areas and highlights. They become more design than function.
You never know where a car might be or how many years it has been since it last moved. Many times it sits in an environment less than conducive to beautiful images. Capturing the essence of these vehicles involves selective lighting to bring out form without introduction of extraneous surroundings.
Car photography is a passion. Unlike many car photographers, I shoot the details of cars. Rather than place a car in a scene, I prefer to show the character of the car itself. And rather than shooting new cars, I prefer the old, the classic, the forgotten and the abandoned.
Cars have lines and surfaces that communicate about the society they were born into and the technology available at the time. They convey something of their own past. The details were given a lot of attention by designers but many have been forgotten. Most go unnoticed by consumers.
The goal is to show the unseen with a new perspective. And, just possibly, when you see a car, you will say to yourself, "I remember when ...."