One of the pleasures of “working” at Megadeluxe is discovering talented folks. And when you combine talent with passion…it just doesn’t get any better in my book. Photographer Ashley Border of Wanborough, UK embodies both of these qualities.
Aston Martin DB5
1926 Bentley 3 Litre Red Label
Bentley 3 1/2 Ltr
“Cars were a constant feature of growing up; with early memories of riding in my father’s Triumph TR4 in Singapore. When we returned to the UK he restored MGs and Lotuses. I married into a family with a long history of pre-war supercharged MGs. So cars have always been a big part in the life of our families.”
– ashley border
Company: Lightflow
City: Village of Wanborough, near Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Clients: Thornley Kelham, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Oerlikon Balzers, Private Commissions, and Magazine Publications
Camera of choice: Camera I have – Nikon D700, if I could choose: Hasselblad H4D
From Ashley:
I’m 44, married with two daughters and we have a Shetland Sheepdog called Sammy – think “small Lassie”. I am not a career photographer. These days I consider myself to have something of a dual career – I’m a Software Engineer and Photographer – let’s call it hedging my bets. I’ve always had a fascination with cameras. It started with my father’s 35mm Minolta. I remember the grown up feeling and sense of pride when he trusted me to use it as a boy. I was drawn to the precision engineering – like a scientific instrument; the sound of the shutter and the ‘snick’ of the aperture ring. The micro focus prism and the lollipop light meter. I didn’t know quite what they all did, but the whole effect was verging on magical. As a teenager I studied photography at college and learned darkroom skills. At the time, I knew I loved photography, but it was not a career I could have imagined possible. So instead, I headed into a university degree in Cybernetics; playing with computers and robots! This led to a career as a software engineer and I have worked with various companies and been lucky to travel around the world. Six years ago – I turned to photography as a hobby and became hooked by the immediacy and quality of digital SLRs.
Automotive photography…how did that come about?
Cars were a constant feature of growing up; with early memories of riding in my father’s Triumph TR4 in Singapore. When we returned to the UK he restored MGs and Lotuses. I married into a family with a long history of pre-war supercharged MGs. So cars have always been a big part in the life of our families. That interest and awareness made them the natural subject for my photography work. Car photography is a particularly challenging and emotive subject; where location, lighting, logistics and the elements conspire to make things difficult. For those reasons it’s incredibly rewarding when it comes together. If it wasn’t difficult, it wouldn’t be worth doing…
When sizing up an automobile shot, what’s the first thing you focus on?
It all depends on the situation and the editorial need. On location it really has to be just that – “The Location”, that’s what sets the mood and brings the car to life. Maybe the location complements the car, maybe it challenges preconceptions. Either way, location is everything. In the studio or in controlled situations I concentrate on the styling lines of the car first and its most distinctive features and how those will interact with light on their surface. That’s what it’s all about for me…
BMW 328
“Car photography is a particularly challenging and emotive subject; where location, lighting, logistics and the elements conspire to make things difficult. For those reasons it’s incredibly rewarding when it comes together. If it wasn’t difficult, it wouldn’t be worth doing.”
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