“The Art Of Racing In The Rain” Photo-Series

On March 22nd, 2020, India went into lock-down along with a whole bunch of other countries to protect itself from the COVID-19 pandemic that was spreading across the globe faster than wildfire. This meant that all activities that required leaving the confines of the home were put on hold.

What does that mean for an automotive photographer whose job is to capture images of vehicles in various locations? Well, it simply means that that would no longer happen till this pandemic passes over. And just like that, all projects, local and international were canceled until further notice.

Limited resources push the boundaries of creativity and force you to come out of your comfort zone to do something different. That was the root of the “Art of Racing in the Rain” series.

I was to be in Europe for a few projects and had been in talks with Lamborghini for an opportunity to photograph one of their cars while we were in Italy. Mind you, I have been a Lamborghini fan ever since I laid eyes on a Miura poster when I was a kid.

My thoughts were constantly circling back to the fact that I would have been photographing a Lamborghini in Tuscany. It was most probably that constant itch and the fact that I could not do anything about it, one of the main driving forces for the scale model shoot.

Since the gyms were shut, the treadmill at home was being put to use. During a cooldown session, it dawned on me that the treadmill belt below looked very similar to a road in motion, something we photographers see while hanging out the back of a car to take rolling shots. It was a eureka moment and I thought that since it looks like a rolling road, it should give me similar results to if I were photographing tracking shots or rigs shots of a real car. I tried it out immediately and it was exactly how I had imagined.

More info: theautofocus.com