A few weeks back, I was able to spend the morning with my buddy Saif and his Ferrari F355 Berlinetta!
Wake up call was at 5:30am on a Saturday. I decided the night before to use my Leica M (typ240) equipped with a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2 for the entire photo shoot. No other camera, no other lenses. I wanted to travel light, which is the perfect formula for using the Leica.
I met Saif early in the morning so we could get the best light as possible (and also this was the only time we both had that day). He warmed up the F355’s V8 engine and gearbox, then we made our way to Santiago Canyon to take some photographs.
As we were making our way to the canyon, it was foggy and dark, which I not to worried about, which would have made for some moody photographs which would have been cool. As we crested over the 241, the cloud cover and fog quickly dissipated to reveal the newly green(ish) landscape.
We chose a road that heads into the infamous Black Star Canyon in Southern California. There have been many stories of people going there at night and seeing some strange things... Not during the day though. Blackstar Canyon is very popular for hiking and trail riding, and has some amazing scenery.
We stopped at an area to pull over to get a few photographs with the red rock cliffs in the background, along with some detail shots of his F355.
After firing off a few photographs, it was time to head back to the house and hit up one more location. On the way over, Saif stretched the legs of the F355 a little, and oh man, the sound of that V8 is pure glory! There really is nothing like driving (or riding in my case) in an older Ferrari. The rawness of this car is just fantastic, and it makes all the right noises.
As we got closer to the second location, we dove back into the fog layer which was fantastic. I really wanted to get a few shots of the pop-up lights, which was a huge deal to me. I can't even name a modern supercar with pop-up headlights... they are so unique to that time in automotive history.
Once pulled over, Saif positioned the Ferrari, popped up those awesome headlights, turned the wheels slightly, and then I snapped away grabbing photos of the front and the rear end.
Using the Leica for this quick little shoot was incredible. I was able to move around quickly and the ease of not having any supporting gear was a relief. It sure was nice not having to move around a tripod or lights (even though I mainly shoot natural light).
From there, we went across the street, where there was a bridge over the 241 and decided to take a few photos there as well. I tried to move quickly so we would not be in anyone's way. I think I ended up taking 4 or 5 photos, then we were on our way back to the house.
Overall, it was a fun little photo shoot and always have a great time hanging out with Saif.
The full photo gallery is located on my SmugMug account, which is linked here: https://davidcoyne.smugmug.com/Automotive-Photoshoots/Ferrari-F355-Berlinetta-Gallery-81-Motorcars/
I am looking to do more blog posts in the future of photoshoots and weekend car shows, as it helps give my work some purpose. I want to get better at telling stories, written and photographically... so I though blog posts on my website would be the best possible way to do that. I have never been the best writer, but I am looking forward to improving this skill as I continue on.
Thank you for taking the time to read and view this post, it is greatly appreciated!