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Martijn Oort • He was born in 1961 in Leiden, The Netherlands. • He began his career with freelance advertising photography in 1989 in a studio in Amsterdam. • He began specializing in car photography on location, and in landscapes in 1998. • Clients include Volvo, Acura, Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler, Renault, Audi, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz and others. Better Photography
In the Fast Lane
This was a campaign for the Mercedes M-class to show that a 4x4 car is needed in the city as well. The car was shot in Paris, with extra rain machines and the gulli in the foreground was a large set, which made it possible for me to get the camera in so low. Both shots were blended into one final image
It is difficult to miss the distinct signature style that puts Martijn Oort’s car images in a different league altogether. In this interview, he talks to Samira Sukhija about his passion for cars and landscapes. June 2008
June 2008
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“I think you can recognize my personal style and identity as a Dutch man. I’m inspired by old Dutch painters like Rembrandt and Breitner… their moody skies, the atmospheric landscapes and the use of light”
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artijn’s childhood fascination for cars transformed into a career in automobile photography in his adult life. In his own words, he sees cars as sculptures. He seeks out their design lines, their character, and their personality before he frames them in his viewfinder. In exploring his story, we were left awed by the sheer effort that goes into creating stunning car photographs.
The Story “Since I was very young I was interested in cars. Cars often tell a lot about people; they say something about their lifestyle and personality. I try to bring that in my shots”, Martijn explains. Before he sets out to shoot a car, he identifies the interesting design lines, and aspects that make a car different from the others. “Together with the Art Director, I work out the best angle to show the car in its elements. Sometimes it is aggressive, sometimes lovely… it depends on the character of the car and the concept of the ad.”
The Style An interesting aspect of Martijn’s work is that he places the cars against a backdrop – a landscape, a cityscape or an architectural marvel. This comes from his interest in landscape photography. “I often combine my interest for two extremely different genres of photography. It is challenging to bring a picturesque landscape and a beautiful car together in one shot. It is a delicate combination. The search for elements, the balance, all combine into a small story. It is something you have to think about, and work out precisely. As long as the lighting, perspective and mood are the same, you will never know if it was a single shoot, or different shoots combined into one. I think you can recognize my personal style and identity as a Dutch man. I’m inspired by old Dutch painters like Rembrandt and Breitner… their moody skies, the atmospheric landscapes and the use of light.”
The concept was ‘dream garage for a dream car’. It is a good example of my work with postproduction. Not an easy task! The house and garage was a specially designed set, shot in the open. The backdrop is the Los Angeles cityscape. The car was shot outdoors with extra lighting. The bushes in the foreground were shot in Malibu. A flashlight was used to imitate the garage light. Better Photography
On the Use of Post Production Post-production is an important aspect of Martijn’s work. He explains that depending on the shots, cars always June 2008
June 2008
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PThis r o fisi lone e of the 12 shots for the Mercedes-Benz 2008 Calendar. The company sponsors the German athletes, so they wanted to have a visual link to the Olympic games in 2008 in Beijing. The shot was taken north of San Francisco, in the Redwoods.
Profile This was the introduction of the Audi TT for Germany, around Christmas (though this was shot in autumn). We blocked a crossing in the centre of Chicago for the whole weekend, and used a special effects company to add fake snow. Audi flew in 3 cars; we shot them in different perspectives to show a street full of cars. We also hired the Salvation Army and other extras to add a human element. This is a classic shot for me, probably my best shot ever.... (So far!)
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“While doing postproduction, sometimes the client has more wishes, and wants to go further than you want to go. The result looks artificial.”
need to be retouched to make them nicer and shinier and landscapes sometimes needs some alterations, though less than cars. “As long as it is done sensibly, and carefully, you won’t notice it. We all know it’s now possible to enhance images, but you should know how far you can go,” he elaborates. He also cautions that since there are so many options, the risk of doing too much postproduction is always there and that it can destroy the image. “Sometimes the client has more wishes, and wants to go further than you want to go. The result looks artificial.”
On the Mercedes-Benz 2008 series
This shot was taken for Volvo Sweden for a brochure for the S80 in Cape Town. The car could not be placed on the location, so the background shot was taken separately. The car was shot the next day, in matching light and perspective, and combined in postproduction. Better Photography
June 2008
Gear Guide • He shoots on 4”x5” • He stopped using film two years ago. • He now uses a Sinar View Camera with a Phase One P45+ digital back. June 2008
A body of work that caught our attention was a series of images for the Mercedes Benz 2008 Calendar. It was shot in 12 different countries, and every frame has a lone runner with the Olympic torch in it. When asked to elaborate on the concept and execution of the campaign, Martijn said, “The Calendar was a huge project, with a lot of logistics involved. It was a challenging trip – different time zones, climates, languages, and no break in between. We took off, and did the 40-day trip in one stretch! But it is one of the best trips I ever did.” The locations were scouted
before they travelled out and the cars were organised through local Mercedes-Benz dealerships that delivered on location. The athlete in the frames was always a local, to keep the original look of the country and it’s people. To see more of Martijn’s work, visit www.martijnoort.com
Martijn’s Techniques for Shooting Cars on Location: • Natural Lighting: Martijn shoots cars in natural settings like landscapes, and cityscapes, so available light is the primary source of light. “I tend to keep things natural as possible, but at dusk or at night we often bring in extra tungsten light to enhance lines of the car or to bring in light into dark shadow areas. The light in the background determines the additional lights and its direction. It needs to be similar to the natural source. This keeps things natural and believable. At the end of the day, it is a matter of taste, experience and the eye. I try as much as possible to shoot the cars on the real location, or if that’s not possible, in the same area. That helps to keep the reflections believable, and realistic. The car is after all the most important subject in the photograph.” • Scouting for locations: He usually has scouts who are precisely briefed on requirements like the kind of lighting needed. He makes use of a computer program to figure out the compass reading and the exact time of sunrise, or sunset anywhere in the world and passes on that information to the scouts. • Dealing with Weather: Since Martijn relies so much on natural lighting, he has to deal with the unpredictability of weather. He says, “Sometimes we do not get the light we want, as it’s cloudy or rainy. But that keeps things unpredictable, and we do get results different from the one we planned. That can be interesting and refreshing... Otherwise it’s a matter of coming back, and doing a re-shoot to get the desired conditions. Not much we can do about... Better Photography