A Moveable Creative Feast

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Luxury Cars & The Finest of Art

If you have been following The Man Has Style for a few years now, you may remember when I came across the work of Bill Pack. I was blown away by his attention to detail and the beauty of the luxurious cars he was capturing through his photographic art. So much, that I had to interview him back then on The Man Has Style and my admiration has only grow and I wanted to share the latest from Bill’s latest achievements once again.

Bill’s photos are what I see as the definition of perfection. He has an ability to capture the emotion of what is so beautiful about these amazing, and often rare, cars which makes each piece even more appealing. Bill captures the curves of the car, so you feel like you are on a journey in your vision, yet he takes it further. It’s like you can hear the most amazing music playing and your eyes are taking in every spectacular detail and a story in unfolding.

I wanted to talk to Bill about what has been happening since our last interview and find out more about his new book that has just launched on Kickstarter. Enjoy the read.

1954 Jaguar XK 120m by bill pack

Exclusive Q&A with Bill Pack

TMHS: How do you feel when a client confirms you will be photographing a particular car/collection?

Bill Pack: Thank you for inviting me back, I love what you are doing with TMHS and the diversity of talent that you feature. I’m privileged to have made the cut twice now.

The creative process, I find, never grows old. Each email or phone call that comes in sets into motion a new set of experiences, that continually add new chapters to this story. 

I have come to think of it as, A Moveable Creative Feast (stealing just a bit from the Hemingway novel “A Moveable Feast,” that was set in the 1920’s Paris about writers, painters and cafe society. They would move their entourages from one cafe to the next creating a continual feast of creative ideas and conversation.).

In somewhat of the same vein, I move my creative process “Painting with Light” from one location to the next, creating Automotive Art. It is a creative feast that I am privileged to enjoy.

I do, research the cars beforehand. However, I understand the design of the car more intimately as I use my lighting technique, “Painting With Light”. It is during this process that I invariably discover hidden design elements that I could never have expected or anticipated.

(Wayne Carini of “Chasing Classic Cars” who has been around these cars all his life says this about my work. “All of your images bring out shapes in cars I have not seen before.”). I can not explain how exciting and fulfilling this is.

Why my eye is drawn to specific areas of a car is a mystery that I am sure will never be fully answered. Part of it is because I am drawn to cars from a designers perspective which is different from most automotive photographers. Because I approach the car from a different point of view, I create imagery that has a different look and feel. Whatever it is, I have learned to enjoy and appreciate the experience.  

1963 e-type jaguar series 1 by bill pack

TMHS: Last time I interviewed you was 2 years ago what has been happening in the world of Bill Pack and V12 Enterprises?

Bill Pack: Wow, so much has happened. I will just have to hit the highlights.

When we had our first interview, I had just launched this new venture of creating Automotive Art, I call V12 Enterprises. I had just started my Instagram account which is how we connected. Not too many people knew about my work, but thanks to you and TMHS momentum began to build.

Ok, here we go. 

I collaborated with an upstart high-end collector car auction company out of NY for a little over a year. The CEO contacted me and wanted to base the companies identity branding around my work. I met so many wonderful people. It was an opportunity to gain difficult access to the top influencers in the collector car market.   

During this time I started a collaboration with a talented award-winning designer, Lionel Ferreira of Ferreira Design Company. Through this collaboration, we are publishing my first book of Automotive Art. His work is phenomenal. 

Other highlights:

I traveled to all corners of the US and Canada photographing about 250 cars.

I was privileged to view private collections, no one has heard of, ranging from fifteen to over six hundred beautiful automotive treasures per collection. 

I sent a prototype of my book to Jay Leno, and he gave me a call.
We had a great conversation about cars and the book. I have to admit, that was pretty cool.

There has been more press than I could have ever imagined.

I have had the honor of being a guest on Mark Greene’s Cars Yeah podcast, twice no less. http://carsyeah.com/ourportfolio/745-bill-pack/. Mark’s podcast is an excellent insight into the world of car enthusiasts who have turned their passion for cars into a business. 

My work has been featured in the following:

Gentleman Drive Magazine out of Spain.

Petrolicious

Classic Car Curation from the UK

ChicMoto

DecorGirl

Ecurie from the UK

I received the prestigious international Communication Arts magazine – “Photography Award of Excellence.”

 I was the featured artist of the week for the Smithsonian Magazines IG account.

Currently, I’m in talks with an online magazine based in Germany to produce a monthly feature of my Automotive Art.

Now we are doing our second interview. So how cool is that? 

As I reflect, it is all quite humbling. Something that started out as an idea four and half years ago has turned into all this. It is not from what I have done, I just created my imagery. It has gotten to this point because of encouragement and help from people in positions of influence. I never could have achieved this on my own.  

1955 Porsche 550 Spyder by Bill Pack

TMHS: Have you located a 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport by Scaglietti to photograph? You mentioned it was on your wish list!

Bill Pack: No, and I am so looking forward to the time when I get to spend a day or two with one.

TMHS: Do you have a favorite part of a car to photograph? Or is it different for each car? I particularly like the hood ornaments (or mascot for those of signifance) and find one such as the 1938 Mercedes Benz 540 Norrmalm Cabriolet mascot quite captivating.

Bill Pack: It is different for each car. If I had to narrow it down it would be lines and curves. I just get lost in them. When I combine that with my lighting, they just move me. It is the best way that I can describe it. It is a physical feeling deep in my soul. When I get that emotion, I know I have something special.

When I light a car, I image the car’s designer drawing that first line on paper. For me, this is full of passion and emotion. When a designer moves to clay models of the car, the designer has special tools to shape the clay to form the lines. I look for those lines and sculpt them with my lighting tools, much like the designer when he sculpts the clay. 

1938 Mercedes Benz 540k by Bill Pack

The Kickstarter Campaign

TMHS: You have a Kickstarter campaign coming up for your book. Can you tell me more about this?

Bill Pack: This is a very cool project, and we are very excited about this. It started out as a promotional book for me to use as my portfolio. I attend various Concur d’ Elegance’s around the country. Invariably each time I have the book out a group of people gather around asking where they could buy a copy. So that started the process of designing a book to sell.  

We are running a Kickstarter Campaign to publish V12’s inaugural book of Automotive Art, this will be the first of many volumes.

Lionel has created a fantastic design for the book. He has given the book a tactical quality of surfaces that I just love. To me, it’s not just about graphic design when viewing a book, for me, it is how does it feel in your hands. What is the experience one has when viewing the book? What senses are engaged? Lionel has created something that is experiential, and in my mind, it is perfect. 

The Kickstarter Campaign runs for 25 days. The purpose of the campaign is to invite people to be a part of this art project. It’s not just buying a book, but having a role in its creation. Bringing a community together to produce something that did not exist.

I invite your readers to join us and be apart of the process.

View the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/v12enterprises/v12-automotive-art-volume-one

918 Porsche Weissach edition

Inspiration

TMHS: Where do you draw inspiration from for your automotive art?

Bill Pack: I have been a photographer for many years, and over time I have trained myself to see. What I mean about this is, as I go about my day, out of habit I look at how light interacts with the world. How it plays across buildings, trees, roads, whatever is around me. I am always looking for the light, and I learn so much from this practice.

I have an eclectic mix of influencers that have shaped my work over the years.  

Ansel Adams
Irving Penn
Herb Ritts
Robert Mapplethorpe
Caravaggio
Saul Bass
Charles and Ray Eames
Mark Rothko

 The unifying theme is simplicity, a singular focus, and bold design.

1933 Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental DHC

TMHS: Three things you use most in your day?

Bill Pack:

1. Peets Coffee

2. Spotify

3. Pen and a black leather journal

TMHS: One item of clothing you love the most?

Bill Pack: I love my George Lug Brogue Chelsea Frye Boots. They are my traveling boots. Ah, the places we have been and the stories we can tell.

D-Type Long Nose Jaguar by Bill Pack

TMHS: Favorite quote – and why?

Bill Pack: “There’s no right or wrong time. Just start. Better now than later and better late than never.” – Simon Sinek

This venture came later in life for me. I had no connections to the car collector world, I did not even have a car image in my portfolio that resembled what I had in my mind. I was not even sure there was a market, or how it would be received. I shared my dream with a few close friends. Then, I took that first step, and I have never looked back. The experience has been beyond my wildest dreams. The exciting part is that there is so much more to come. 