Following International Women’s Day last week, we’d like to recognise that the achievements of women aren’t designated to one day of the year; they should be celebrated every day. With this in mind, there couldn’t be a more appropriate time for Charles & Dean to kick-start our ‘How Cars Make Me Feel’ series with the wonderful Amy Shore, who spoke to us about her passion for photographing people and cars as a true inspiration.
They say it’s common to have ‘all the gear and no idea’. Amy Shore was quite the opposite. With just two camera lenses, a night googling ‘car photoshoots’, and a few weddings under her belt, Amy photographed a mind-bendingly beautiful vintage car; the Ferrari P4.
Just two weeks later, she photographed a stunning wedding which was picked up by several blogs online, and two weeks after that, she headed to Goodwood where she went viral for her personable shots of Revival, all thanks to a little Facebook message containing a few of her photos.
That was over a decade ago. Since then, Amy has been recognised worldwide for her unique automotive, lifestyle and landscape photography.
A Love of Cars Is Born
Whilst it's safe to say Amy has always been passionate about cars thanks to her dad’s background in F1 and later classic car restoration, she very much nurtured her own ambition with the purchase of her first car, a Classic Mini that she bought when she was just 19 years old.
But her love of cars can be traced back even further than that. As someone who craves freedom, there’s nothing quite like a long drive or a road trip for Amy. As little as four years old, she would draw out road markings in chalk and race her little brother on their bikes to mimic the fast pace of the tarmac.
Still one of her daily drivers all these years later (alongside her Defender), Amy’s Classic Mini has continued to give her the feeling of freedom she always craved, amplified by the ‘coolness’ of a classic, having reached the most northern point of the Shetland Islands in it on her own. Exploring in something as temperamental as a Classic Mini certainly has a thrill factor to it, encouraging an element of challenge which has been reflected in her work.
Why Classic?
Rather than concentrating on the numbers, statistics or mechanics around a car, Amy’s attention has always been drawn to aesthetics. Reflecting on the current cars on the road around her as she headed to Scotland in a 2002 BMW 330 D Grand Touring in Oxford Green (her sturdiest mode of transport), embarking on yet another challenge to see whether she could get there and back with one tank of fuel, she couldn’t help but comment on the somewhat dull shapes of modern cars. To Amy, something as classic as an MGB or a Mini possesses a simplicity that is both charming and characteristic, yet they can still keep up with modern classics, even more so as you approach classic Ferraris and Jaguar E Types. These machines were incredible back in the day and far more achievable than today’s cars. As soon as the salt is off the roads, Amy can often be seen bombing up and down the country in a classic car, believing that people can and should use them, given the fact they will have offset their carbon footprint quite some time ago.
Favourite Car
Very early on in her career, Amy came up close with some incredible classic cars, slightly frustratingly before she even knew how important and special they were. Having always been of the opinion that your dream car should be one that is realistic (within the realms of achievement), even though she thinks a Short Wheelbase Ferrari 250 GT the most beautiful car in the world, the stunning shape and comfortability paired with the affordability of an E-Type Coupe makes it her car of choice.
‘Whilst there is a big love at the minute for Japanese 90s cars (and they are super cool) they don’t suit me. There’s nothing more classic in my eyes than the E-Type Coupe that I road tripped in back in 2021.’
Favourite Driving Moment
Driving up the Apple Cross Pass in Scotland in her Mini when she did the first North Coast 500 trip on her own, Amy had popped in her headphones and truly unlocked the feeling of freedom she had always yearned for.
'The first time you get that true feeling of freedom, you'll never be able to repeat it. Every time I drive up that road, I get an echo of that feeling. I can remember how I felt and that's very special and fascinating to me.
Ambitions For The Future
With such a strong digital footprint, Amy would like to do more commercial and perhaps traditional work, striving to see her photos on a large billboard. Whilst her work has featured on billboards previously, she can’t beat the feeling of seeing it magnified in such a tangible way.
On her recent shoot with Cutler Arts & Lifestyle Magazine, Amy shot some stunning photos of her friend Georgia in a car full of flowers. It’s the projects that push boundaries and are a little bit different that she would like to keep shooting as she progresses.
How Cars Make Amy Feel
‘Supercars are more about speed and performance, which I love, but for me, classic cars are about the excitement of the journey and the window through time. It’s the aesthetics, the freedom and the challenge that I associate with classic cars that drives me.’
Charles & Dean exists to open a door of possibilities to ambitious individuals like Amy by finding the right finance at the right time to provide bespoke funding solutions. Founded in 2011 as a high-end car finance brokerage, Charles & Dean has since grown into an accredited provider of asset finance and has secured thousands of funding offers for cars and businesses alike. Charles & Dean’s high growth team is made up of experts committed to disrupting the world of finance and funding, fostering close relationships with a curated panel of lenders.
We currently offer a range of flexible products across the Vehicle Finance (Prestige, Luxury & Supercar Finance, Classic & Motorsport Finance) and Business Finance (Asset Finance, Lease Finance, Hire Purchase, Business Loans, Recovery Loans, Refinance etc.) markets.
Comments