A winter's tale

It’s not that long ago that winters weren’t particularly cold. Or at least not in this part of the world. When it all of a sudden did start snowing, even if that was in the middle of the night, families got out to make snow men and have snow fights, only to find out that it had all gone the next morning. We just settled in thinking harsh winters were a thing of the past, blaming global warming, when it all changed in the last few years.

It was in the autumn of 2007 that I was on one of my jaunts in the UK to photograph a few cars for the book and talk to their owners/builders. The weather was fine but the radio in my hired vehicle forecasted blizzard-like conditions. This while I’d just made an arrangement to photograph Paul Ogle’s Fletcher GT up in Yorkshire. I arrived early and waited for Paul when the first snowflakes began to fall. By the time Paul arrived in the little green machine all of the surroundings were covered in a ferry tale white.

What to do? We parked the car under some big fir trees and waited for the snow to stop, or at least most of it. That took about an hour and Paul now didn’t have much time left before he had to go to work.

We quickly drove the Fletcher to an open spot and I jumped around it making pictures faster then I ever did. Not easy as snow started falling again, trying hard to camouflage the car. In only a few minutes time I was ready, it must have been the quickest photoshoot I ever did.  But could I use it? I thought I just might.

Back home I found two or three pictures okay, the rest of them would have been a hell of a job to touch up in Photoshop. Blast. Luckily Paul had a friend who happened to be a photographer and he sent me a stack of superb pictures when Spring was there. I never used the snowy Fletcher pics. Until now.

Picture: Jeroen Booij