The beginning of this year completely changed the trajectory of my photography journey. I had been shooting whatever I could find on the street a year prior, going to local automotive events as a spectator, and sticking to my comfort zone. Unfortunately, great photographs are far and few between in the comfort zone, so I had to do something about this. This is a short reflection on how THE ICE changed my life.
My very first automotive event that I had gone to with a media pass was the Authentic Picnic (happening again August 2nd!), where I had written to the organizers and gotten invited to a promotional shoot because of my beloved 996. During this promotional shoot, I got to meet Peter Mosoni, my favorite automotive photographer, and I got a small glimpse into his world. It seemed like a dream then, travelling across the world to shoot the most incredible car events, and I could have never believed that just a year later, that would be me.
The seed that had been planted in my head that day began to sprout around November, when Peter posted his accreditation acceptance to THE ICE on his story, and asked who else he’ll see there. I don’t often take things as a challenge, but this single instagram story really kicked me into high gear, and soon I was in a frenzy, knowing I had to go to this as an accredited media no matter what. Luckily, while I didn’t have a large online following or a media outlet to work for, I did know some of the wonderful people at the Budapest 365 Oldtimer Museum, who I had petitioned to allow me to go as their photographer, to help promote their upcoming Italian car exhibit. Even before the letter of assignment had been signed and sent off to the media team of THE ICE, I had booked tickets, accommodation and a rental car, believing that it would work out. Good thing I did too, because in the nick of time I got all the paperwork done, and had the media accreditation in my inbox.
Now, the reason I highlight this process is because it really showed me above all that you don’t get anything you don’t ask for. I had always been rather timid and afraid to ask for things, but this was a major step forward to me. As I stepped out onto the frozen lake of St. Moritz, this lesson really hit home and would carry me across the world.
The experience there was hot, cold, sweaty, numbing, incredibly busy and tiring, but also one of the most fulfilling weekends of my life. I had gotten so much bolder, asking so many people for their photo, and talking to so many other creators, photographers, and important people in the automotive world.
I was shooting a McLaren F1 GTR with the cold wind sapping the heat from my fingers as I felt a tap on my shoulder, and who should it be but Peter! I briefly regaled him with the story of how I had ended up here, and after a chat, we both went about our business, the overwhelming amount of incredible cars taking back our attention. Cars I had only seen in magazines, on instagram or on Top Gear, sitting out in front of me with engine bays exposed, and owners all too eager to talk about them. This last point is why I am so in love with older cars.
In my experience, old cars are so much more of a pain to deal with, so much more inconvenient, uncomfortable and inefficient, that the people that spend the time and enormous sums of money on them to keep them in immaculate shape are some of the truest petrol heads out there. I got to hear so many stories of racing teams, personal collections, and historic automotive events, but my favorite driver by far was a man by the name of Érik Comas.
Érik was a driver for Nissan in Lemans (with his own Wikipedia page!) who had made a deal with Nissan that he’d drive for them in exchange for letting him keep the car after. So became the only privately owned R390 GT1, a bona fide race car on the road. The way he ripped it out on the frozen lake really showed his love for driving, and his utterly unique car.
As the weekend came to a close, I was sitting in the Hanselmann cafe drinking a hot chocolate, and thinking about all of this. I had made it to my first international automotive event, but I needed more. I was drained but I was hooked, and it just so happens that I had met a gentleman in the media tent by the name of Shin Ekko, who talked all about other events he went to go judge and curate for. One of these events was the upcoming Concourse of Elegance in Kyoto, but that’s an adventure for another day.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! I always post photos but I wanted to start writing this blog to gather all of my thoughts on this past year and all of the places I’ve been to, people I’ve met, and cars I’ve photographed. I want to do one of these for each of my events, with hopefully many more in the future! Ciao for now,
Nick