AMY SHORE

b500 magazine

AMY SHORE - More Purple Haze than Purple Rain

Amy Shore is renowned for her photojournalistic style in the automotive world. Her aim is to portray the love and passion we all have for machines on wheels through rose tinted spectacles, whether that be road trips across Europe, humble workshops or worldwide events such as the Goodwood Revival.

As I sat, practically licking the windscreen, attempting to squeeze past an 85 year old woman in a Peugeot 107 coming the opposite way down a narrow Dartmoor lane, I must admit that it wasn’t quite what I had envisioned for my first E-Type experience. After all, almost 60 years to the day previously, Sir William Lyons revealed a car to the world what would later be described by Enzo Ferrari as “The most beautiful car ever made”, and I had imagined my glorious initial encounter to be a little bit more glamorous than

being buttered up a dry stone wall by a stone faced OAP. But still, even in less-than-perfect circumstances, the long, louvred bonnet wrapped lovingly around Bill Heynes’ XK engine is a profile like no other. The windscreen a little rectangular slice of history itself. And when I eventually managed to untangle myself and find a quiet stretch of road, I discovered the soundtrack to go with the view - because when that engine hits 4,000rpm, it sings. A smile will spread across your face in time with the rise in revs, and you won’t be able to suppress it. In fact, it only falters when traffic appears to spoil the fun.

To celebrate this jubilee, Jaguar Classic tasked me with taking one of its collection E-Types - called

‘Purple Haze’ thanks to its Cadbury’s purple hue - for one week to capture a collection of images. And when a brand that you highly respect offers you the opportunity to drive a car as special as this, it’s probably wise not to plan on half measures. Corners were both metaphorically and literally not cut - over the week of possessing the keys to the car, we ventured over 800 miles and thankfully most of that was not on complex, tiny Dartmoor lanes but instead on sweeping serpentine roads. It’s safe to say that by the time I returned the car - filthy and with considerably less tyre tread than what I left with - we were well acquainted.

None more so than at one particular point, now etched on my brain. There are few moments in my career where I can confidently say that everything came together so perfectly that the shot just appeared in front of me. Usually I’m at risk of being run over by a car in the assembly area at Goodwood, or have a client breathing down my neck frustrated that I can’t Photoshop a sunny blue sky into the miserable English landscape. But on this trip, I found myself on the very top of the Dartmoor National Park at sunset, with long golden rays at my feet, an empty road, and the most beautiful car ever made.

I couldn’t have asked for more. I shot that car until the sun slipped behind the distant hills and I knew that I’d nailed the brief.

It’s a special car, this. In fact, it only really has one downside, and that’s the fact that it’s perfectly capable of galloping along at speeds just above the legal, without apparent strain. Right up until a police car slides up alongside you.

Tentatively looking to the right as I lifted from the throttle, I caught the eye of the policeman with a sheepish look on my face. No words were spoken, but instead two gestures from him. Thumbs up. Slow down. Thumbs up. Message received, Officer.

All the best, - Amy :)