Exhibited in London…
Go straight to the photos here – or read on for a chance to win a print.
For four days in November, 39 photographers came together to display their best work at the Bargehouse Gallery, just next to the OXO Tower on the Southbank in London.
We were delighted to be part of this year’s exhibition which was the first time it’s been held for two years. The breadth of talent on show was exhilarating and the ability of the photographers represented was very high. Themes ranged from landscape to portrait with travel, street and social commentary thrown in for good measure.
Charles and Andrew struggled with their selection; at first having difficulty refining their options down from 30 – far too many for our wall space – and then finding fault with every single photograph. Eventually we settled on 10 photographs which, we thought, combined some technical skill with impact and striking colours. Each also meant something to the photographer that took it.
Thank you to those brave souls who visited the exhibition and it was especially good to see those who came to see us on the Friday afternoon. We learnt a lot from the experience and really enjoyed the chance to meet other photographers and talk to everyone who stopped by our display about photos and cars. Seeing the photos enlarged in real life rather than on screens was amazing.
You can see the photos we displayed here.
Do get in touch if you have any feedback on the exhibition or would like to talk about any of the photos.
And here’s your reward for reading to the end… Some of the prints that were displayed have already gone to good homes but we will give away one of the remaining photographs displayed to the writer of the best email we get in response to this blog! Email details are here
As ever, thanks for your support.
You wait 18 months and….
It’s no coincidence that our updated blog has appeared after two, yes, TWO!!!, major Goodwood events within a month. But we can also share some photos from trips to Silverstone for the Classic and for the GTS Equipe races in July.
In the meantime, BIG NEWS: Autoclassics.uk is exhibiting at the London Photo Show:
Where and when?
The 2021 London Photo Show, Southbank
Open to the public, 11-14 November 2021, 11am-6pm,
at the Bargehouse Gallery, Oxo Tower Wharf, South Bank, London SE1 9PH
Admission free, no ticket required
Andrew and Charles are going to be “in residence” on Friday 12th November from 3-6pm and if you able to pop in, we’d love to see you. If you can’t make that time, there are still a few places available for the launch event on the evening of Wednesday 10th November. Email or call us to let us know you plan to go and we look forward to seeing you there.
Silverstone – Equipe GTS meeting
Andrew was supporting Nigel Winchester and his beautiful AC Cobra and Nigel swept away allcomers, winning on both days.
Also present was Chris Mann with his lovely 1953 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante which he drives to and from each race event. Click here to see the photos (code – Equipe21 on home page)
Silverstone Classic
CKL Developments sent Charles to the Classic where he was alternately drenched and then baked but managed to come back with some rainy day shots and was most impressed with the reflections from the shiny floor at the International Paddock. Click here to see the photos (code – SilverClassic21 on home page)
Goodwood Classic Car Breakfast
The nice people at Goodwood managed to add an additional member event in August – there was a huge range of members’ cars and we found ourselves talking more than photographing as we caught up on 18 months of stories. Our friend Mark was displaying his immaculate BMW 2002 Targa and coincidentally, his driving holiday ideas were spot on – try Celtic Routes – Self Drive, Guided Tours if you want an amazing tour of the UK’s remoter landscapes.
Click here to see the photos (code – gccb21 on home page)
Goodwood Revival
It was so good to get back to Goodwood after the taster of the Festival of Speed. We had the excitement of looking for our very own brass plaques around the grounds and heard about trees planted in our names in the middle of a forest not far away (nobody we know went in search of the trees – we’re not that brave). Both these gifts from Goodwood were for keeping our membership going through the pandemic and added a bit of extra fun and “ownership” to the Goodwood experience.
Nigel Winchester was racing his AC Cobra on the Friday and Andrew managed to get some wonderful shots of the car racing against the sunset.
We were blessed with great weather, an amazing turnout of star cars and a sprinkling of celebrities. Have a look at a small selection of the shots here (code – revival21 on home page)
Goodwood Members Meeting 78
Coming so soon after Revival, some of the surprise and delight was initially missing from the event but, after rain made for interesting photos on Saturday morning, the weekend developed into one of the best garden parties you can imagine.
MM is much more relaxed than Revival and there is so much to do. Andrew struggled with the head cold that is going around and so missed some of the weekend – nonetheless, both Charles and Andrew managed to get some special images.
Have a look at a small selection of the shots here (code – revival21 on home page)
That’s all for this update – let us know what you think. Are there enough photos? Do we give too little detail? Have you any ideas of car-based photo projects we should do next?
Contact us:
Andrew Waller
Charles Woollam
Back to the Future…
The Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021 – by Andrew and Charles
If you just want to skip to see (what we think are) our top 20 photos from FoS, either click here, or enter fos21 as the access code on the home page of this website. Otherwise, read on….
It was great to be back at Goodwood for the Festival of Speed 2021 – we’d missed it so much. Although Goodwood had two years to think about it, practical logistics meant that there was very little time to get everything organised – but despite the lack of time, there was a lot to see and ultra-rare cars like the Cheetah-Chevrolet which made an insane amount of noise!
The thing that makes FoS different and, perhaps more relevant to everyday life, is its focus on the future – this year the Future Lab was bigger than ever, we got to see men flying with both jet powered and electric turbine jet packs and there was a big “Electric Avenue” tent devoted to current and soon-to-be launched electric cars.
An entertaining addition to the show was the Driftkhana which was a timed drifting competition held on the main hillclimb route – a really good way for everyone to see new skills and to get covered in tyre smoke.
More than ever, we were struck by the friendliness, the opportunity to catch up with old friends and the joy of immersing ourselves in the world of cars.
For Carlos!
As a veteran Revivalist, Charles tolerates the Festival of Speed but, after the Covid Crisis had kept us all locked up for a winter, a summer and two springs, any opportunity to whip down to Goodwood has to be welcomed, right? It was near miracle that the show was allowed to go on – the Goodwood team must have worked very hard to get everything in place in time but they did it very, very well.
Huge emphasis on electric vehicles. There lies the future, without a doubt, but it’s not a very interesting future so Charles eschewed the south side of the track and spend his time wandering around the paddocks catching up with a fairly thin selection of elderly racing cars and a sprinkling of rare and aesthetic sports cars from the 50s and 60s.
In a pageant that is increasingly oriented towards tin top racing cars and super road cars, the Festival was saved only by its wide selection of Formula One cars from the late-60s and early 70s. These are the cars that were cut out of Motorsport and stuck on the bedroom walls of our childhood homes!
The black and gold JPS Lotuses are always striking and it was good to see Sir Jackie and a fine selection of championship-winning blue Tyrell-Cosworths. There was even a tool room copy of Jodi Scheckter’s controversial six-wheeler!
A shout out to Avit Racing, too, for their show-stealing recreation of the Embassy Racing Team and Graham Hill’s red and white Shadow and, poignantly, we saw the Martini-liveried Brabham-Cosworth BT44B, once driven by Carlos Reutemann, who had died a few days before. The message on the side of the car, driven up the hill by Marino Franchitti, said it simply and with pathos. It just said “For Carlos”.
A&C
An interview with Andrew & Charles, founders of Autoclassics.uk
by Andrew Barber
When you meet Charles Woollam and Andrew Waller for the first time, it soon becomes very apparent that they both have a huge knowledge of, and passion for, classic, vintage and prestige cars, along with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of motorsport. What also becomes apparent is their passion for photography (and their competitive nature!).
I am meeting Charles and Andrew in the garden on a sunny summer morning. They have driven to Hampshire in their (near identical) silver Mercedes SLKs and I ask them how their love of cars came about?
They tell me that it is no surprise that they both became “petrol heads” as they grew up in families that were in some way involved with cars and motorsport.
Andrew’s father was, in the 1950s, deeply involved in Land Rover trialling. “It was not until after his death, when we discovered records of my father winning regional events, that I realised how successful he had been,” says Andrew.
He also had an uncle who had various classic sports cars from the era, including MGB GTs, E-type Jaguars and, later, Ferraris including a 246GT Dino and a 250 SWB.
“As a child, whenever uncle Michael visited us, I was taken by the beauty and apparent speed of his latest car. My particular favourite was an E-type, which he had in the early 70s. I guess this is where my love of expensive, fast cars really started,” he confesses.
He also recalls, as a young boy, standing on the roadside watching the vintage cars struggling past on the classic London to Brighton car run. “They weren’t as fast as my uncle’s cars, but in my eyes, they were just as special,” he says.
Charles’s explanation of his love of all things automotive is not dissimilar. His father had Jaguars. “Buckets of them” apparently.
He was also mad about car racing and subscribed to Motorsport magazine and throughout the early 1970s, Charles would thumb through these magazines once his father had finished with them and kept a scrapbook of photos he carefully cut out.
Then he recounts a tale of how, when he was very young, he posed for a photo next to a waxwork model of two-time world champion Jim Clark, while on a family visit to Madame Tussauds in London. “For me, he was an absolute legend. He was the only celebrity on display that day that I was interested in,” he says, adding “Fast cars and motor racing is something that’s in the blood and it never, really goes away.”
They talk and tease each other about the cars they have owned themselves. I ask them what their favourite was and the most fun to drive?
Charles tells me about a Triumph Vitesse he once owned. “It was very punchy in low gears!” he admits.
Andrew recalls a bright orange Mini Clubman he had for a while when he borrowed it from a family member that “hopped around corners” but his favourite (for now) is the SLK he is driving today. “It’s fast!” he grins.
Changing the subject as quick as a racing gear change, I ask them how they became friends.
They explain how they met while both working for the same surveying firm and their mutual love of motorsport and photography created an instant bond that has endured over the years.
As their careers took different paths they would still meet frequently, away from work, to indulge in their passion for cars and taking pictures (mainly of cars!) and it will come as no surprise that, in addition to hanging around race circuits, they also became regular attendees at the Goodwood Revival and the Festival of Speed. These classic events have become a rich hunting ground for each of them, both vying to see who could capture the best image of the event!
“It’s not just the speed that I am interested in, though,” says Charles, “I love the classic lines of the cars from the 50s and 60s, many of which look like they’re flying even when they are stationary. It’s their design and beauty that I love to capture.”
Andrew reminds Charles that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and reveals that his true love, in terms of cars, is not drawn to one particular era.
“It’s the rarity value that attracts me,” he says. “When you see a classic that you know only a handful were made of, or if it’s a car that was driven by a racing legend or took part in a famous race; that’s what fascinates me and gives them that special appeal.”
It was following a visit to Goodwood that Charles and Andrew decided to set up Autoclassics.uk as a business venture.
While at one of the Goodwood events they got talking to a private collector of classic cars, who invited them to visit him at home and spend the day taking photos of his cars.
“It was the most fun we’d had for a long time!” grins Andrew.
“Getting the right photo takes time,” says Charles. “You need to get the lighting, positioning and angles just right to do a car justice. It can take hours, but that day flew by!”
“This collector was very happy with the results when he saw them that he asked us for very large prints of some of the shots that we took. They look amazing on the walls of the garage where his cars are kept. It made us think that there was a gap in the market for the provision of high-quality photography and prints that don’t cost the earth,” says Andrew.
Not long after, Charles was put in contact with CKL Developments, who restore, maintain and undertake race preparation of Jaguars for their owners. He was invited along to a track day at Goodwood and was given the freedom of the circuit to enable him to get shots of the cars that CKL were responsible for.
“I could go pretty much anywhere and was able to get some amazing photos for the client. It was like street photography on a race circuit, with no crowds!” he smiles.
Andrew and Charles subsequently received further commissions from owners of classic and vintage cars who also wanted high-quality images.
“Sometimes they are just looking to capture the essence and beauty of their pride and joy, or they may be looking for an action shot of themselves in their car as they sweep around a tight corner on a track day. Others are looking to sell a particular car and want photos that highlight its beauty and quality,” says Charles.
“When you’re looking to sell a modern classic or vintage car in what can be a highly competitive and crowded marketplace, you need to be able to make your car stand out from the crowd. Photos taken on a mobile phone are fine for classified adverts in the local paper, but we find that clients want something more that can help them to illustrate sales literature and attract buyers,” Andrew explains.
“There’s a big gap between the photos produced by Bonhams for their auction brochures and those you see in Autotrader!” laughs Charles, adding, “That’s where we fit in.”
“Our photos reflect our love of cars and capture the magic of motorsport. In many ways, we see cars as works of art,” says Andrew.
“What could be better than having paying clients who enable us to indulge our passion?” he asks.
What indeed?