Photographing the Cult of Porsche

Nostalgia post: back between 2009 - 2012 I made several trips from the UK to California to shoot stories on classic Porsches and their owners.

My travel companion was journalist friend John Glynn - he'd find amazing cars, organise the shoots and write them up. I'd smash-away on a filthy-sensored Nikon D3.

After a mayhem week or so of no sleep, rental car thrashing and hyper-inventive swearing, we'd return to the UK and sell the completed features to magazines.

This was just before these cars absolutely exploded in popularity. The network of true enthusiasts was small, and many of them existed within a tight-knit, pseudo-secret club called RGruppe.

Around 2012 I was contacted by Ricoh, who asked to use some of my images to demonstrate a new high-volume inkjet printer they were marketing. I suggested we make a book featuring the RGruppe Porsches John and I had shot during our trips. 'The Cult of Porsche' was born.

The first volume, of an intended three, featured a striking yellow cover embossed with the title 'In the Beginning' (draft copies featured a typo 'In the Beginninng'). About fifty copies were printed, most of which remain on a shelf in my office. The project ultimately succumbed to real-world work pressures and we never started on the second book.

After ten years building up a list of amazing clients in the UK and Europe, I was able to move myself, my family and my business to California. Perhaps now it's time to get started on the next two volumes.

Below are a few of my favourite images from those trips...

1). This car started life as a '67 912. Now mostly carbon fibre, with a 997 GT3 Cup motor, it was built for Pete von Behrens by Hayden Burvill.

2). Beautiful 67S 911 shot on the streets of San Francisco. In the background is Coit Tower.

3) Mike Gagen drives his track monster 911 down a residential street. Slicks, no muffler.

4) A seminal moment for me - Bob Tilton and Chris Neilsen, carve up a Californian backroad. Bob is a hero of mine, and the understated, utilitarian aesthetic of Bob's beautiful SWB 911L was the key influence when I built my lighweight 912 several years later.

5) Bata Mataja built this spectacular home in the hills of Malibu, and this 356 Speedster for racing in SCCA. Big American Dream.

6) I've never met anyone more amped on life than crazy Terry English. This picture, taken minutes from his Santa Barbara home, might explain why.