Letting the car tell the story - Michael Valeri
One thing we want to do more of here at Car Church is shine a bit of a light on the people behind the lens.
We all love seeing the finished photos from a car meet, show or feature shoot, but there’s usually a bloke or girl standing somewhere in the background, camera in hand, putting in the hours to actually capture those moments.
For our first Featured Photographer, we caught up with Michael Valeri from Michael Valeri Photography.
Michael has been photographing cars around Sydney for well over a decade and has worked with some seriously impressive builds, builders and magazines along the way.
But like most good stories in the car scene, it didn’t start with some massive plan.
It started with a love of photography, a love of cars and a random Saturday afternoon at Harry’s Café De Wheels.
Where it started
Michael’s interest in photography goes all the way back to high school.
He even had a makeshift darkroom set up in the family bathroom where he would develop his own black and white prints.
His first serious camera was a second-hand Minolta Maxxum 9000, which he purchased from photojournalist Brendan Esposito.
Michael initially started photographing weddings, portraits and events around 2007, but a chance catch-up with an old high school mate would eventually send his photography in a completely different direction.
His mate suggested he head down to the Saturday car meets at Harry’s Café De Wheels in Liverpool.
Michael had always been into cars and bikes. As a kid he was constantly drawing them and even finding excuses to make school projects about hot rods and motorcycles.
So heading down to Harry’s probably wasn't going to take much convincing.
Then, in 2012, something happened that really kicked the whole automotive photography thing into gear.
While driving down the Hume Highway towards Harry’s, Michael found himself behind an incredible green custom ‘something’.
He had never seen anything quite like it.
Later that afternoon, while walking around photographing the cars at Harry’s, he came across the same green car again and started shooting it.
At the time Michael had no idea just how significant the car actually was.
It was a 1958 Borgward Goliath built by Paul Bennett, one of Australia's most respected custom car builders.
The car had taken out the Meguiar's Superstars Best of Breed award at MotorEx 2012.
Michael posted his photos from Harry’s online and a couple of months later received a phone call from Paul Bennett himself.
Paul had seen the photos and loved the way Michael had captured not only the Goliath, but the whole atmosphere surrounding the car meet.
That phone call opened a pretty incredible door.
Paul invited Michael to his home, showed him through his workshop and his personal collection of cars, and the following year invited him to display some of his automotive photography alongside the Goliath at MotorEx 2013.
Michael had several 20 x 30-inch prints displayed around the car.
That year, renowned automotive designer Chip Foose was attending MotorEx and stopped by Paul’s display as he made his way through the show. Michael’s photograph of the Borgward immediately caught his eye — he liked it so much that he signed the framed print, turning it into a very special piece of Michael’s automotive photography story.
“So, that’s how I got started in automotive photography… and what a journey it’s been.” - Michael
Fifteen years later – what keeps you interested?
For Michael, one of the biggest attractions is that no two shoots are ever really the same.
You never know what is going to roll through the gate next.
It might be a beautifully restored classic, a wild custom build, a truck, bike, street car or something completely unexpected.
Michael says he genuinely appreciates anything on wheels.
That variety keeps things interesting, but there's another part to it as well — constantly trying to improve.
Even after all these years he's still learning, still experimenting and still trying to make the next photograph better than the last.
His philosophy is pretty simple and rings true on many levels
“When you stop caring, it’s time to stop.”
Letting the car tell the story
When Michael is photographing a feature car, he doesn't just find a random carpark and start taking photos.
The car itself helps dictate the shoot.
The location, the background and the overall feel should make sense with the vehicle.
Sometimes that means photographing a car around the workshop where it was built, the paint shop where it was sprayed or somewhere connected to the owner's story.
It becomes more than just taking a technically good photo.
You're trying to capture some of the personality behind the build.
“… the car and its story will guide you.”
the automotive community
One thing the car scene does incredibly well is bring people together.
Photography has allowed Michael to build friendships and working relationships with car owners, builders, enthusiasts and magazines right across Sydney and beyond.
Those relationships aren't something that happen overnight either.
Michael says trust and respect go a long way.
Over the years his work has led to opportunities photographing some of Australia's best custom cars and producing editorial work for automotive publications including CRUZIN Magazine, along with other automotive features.
But underneath all of that, it's still about the people.
The owners.
The builders.
The photographers.
The clubs.
The people standing around drinking coffee at 7am talking absolute rubbish about cars.
That's the community.
Want to get into automotive photography?
We also asked Michael what he'd say to someone walking around a Cars & Coffee with their first camera thinking:
"I'd love to have a crack at this, but I wouldn't know where to start."
His advice?
Just start.
Get up early.
Head down to your local Cars & Coffee or car show.
Take photos.
Then take more.
Practice, practice and practice some more.
Put in the time, experiment, make mistakes and most importantly actually enjoy doing it.
You don't need the world's most expensive camera.
You don't need to know every setting on day one.
And you definitely don't need to spend your whole time comparing yourself to photographers who might have been doing it for twenty years.
Michael summed that up with another cracker line:
“The only photographer you need to compare yourself to is the one you used to be.”
Michael's journey from developing black and white photos in the family bathroom to photographing some of Australia's best custom cars is exactly the sort of story we love about the automotive community.
Sometimes one car meet, one conversation or one photograph can send you down a completely different road.
Cars might be the thing that gets us all through the gate, but it's the people, stories and friendships around them that keep us coming back.
Michael Valeri Photography
Automotive Photography – Sydney, NSW
https://www.facebook.com/Michaelvaleriphotographycomau
https://www.instagram.com/michaelvaleriphotography/
Got a photographer, builder, owner or automotive character you reckon we should feature? Send them our way.
