The Lamborghini Museum At 85mm

I love cars, and I love photography.

The decision, then, to become a car photographer was maybe the easiest one I have ever made, although not the easiest one to achieve. People often make the incorrect assumption that the best job in the world must equate to being the easiest job in the world, but I don’t think that’s ever been the case.

I think it’s an important part of any career choice that you are regularly challenged to improve, whether by internal or external forces. In my case, I share a platform with some of the best and most exciting car culture photographers there are. I promise you, there’s no better motivation than ensuring you’re not going to be left behind as others continue to grow and improve.

2018 Museo Lamborghini Speedhunters by Paddy McGrath-1
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In any career, you will face difficulties. For creative types, the toughest thing we encounter is often a lack of inspiration or a crisis of confidence. It happens to everyone in the industry at one point or another (I sincerely have my doubts about anyone who claims they’ve never gone through these struggles), but rarely is there one solution to these problems that works for everyone.

My most recent bout of self-doubt was just last year. They occur regularly enough, but my previous tried and tested method of working through it – by literally working through it – wasn’t an option. Since taking over the reigns on Speedhunters, I went from shooting very regularly to barely shooting at all. Year-on-year, I took 62% less photographs in 2018 than I did in 2017, which is a huge drop.

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So, I had to figure out a new way out of the slump, and a morning at Museo Lamborghini seemed like the perfect antidote. While my car brain was very excited at exploring the history of Lamborghini in person, my photographer brain was quite apprehensive. The one thing I had working in my favour was that as we’ve visited the museum before, I didn’t need to sweat the details of the exhibits. These places are very much best enjoyed in person, so consider this a spoiler-free look and all the encouragement you might need to go and see it for yourself. I’m sure Lamborghini would be delighted to welcome you to Sant’Agata Bolognese.

Now, back to the discussion at hand.

Typically, shows and static displays are the most difficult places to rediscover your creativity. It’s very easy to come away with what feel like simple snapshots of great cars, and snapshots are not what we set out to capture on Speedhunters. The internet is full of those, so we aim to capture something special and unique every time we shoot.

2018 Museo Lamborghini Engine-1

I had subconsciously made a decision before I flew to Italy to shoot with prime lenses. Primes might restrict you in terms of versatility, but they force you to think much harder about your composition and encourage you to move around seek out a new point of view.

Over the years I’ve shot professionally, I’ve slowly accrued my perfect lens setup, with a balance between fast primes and versatile zooms. One lens that I love, but criminally underuse is my Canon 85mm f/1.2 L. It’s not the current model, it weighs a proverbial tonne, and is very slow to autofocus which makes it redundant for fast-moving subjects. However, when the normally fast moving subjects are stationary, this 85mm really comes into its own.

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As a focal length, 85mm takes a little bit of getting used to when shooting cars. It’s long enough to completely compress an image, but not so long as that you need to be backed up against a wall all of the time. It encourages you to find details, and when wide open can comfortably isolate something from the background.

Exploring both floors of the museum, I could feel a weight lifting off my shoulders as I tried to find more and more perspectives to shoot. Without realising it, the earlier self-doubt had all but vanished and I felt completely reinvigorated as I tried to figure out how to make the most of the harsh sunlight falling on the cars through the upstairs window.

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2018 Museo Lamborghini Miura-1
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I will confess that there is one (and just one) photograph amongst these that wasn’t shot on the 85mm, as I couldn’t bear to leave it out. I’ll let you try and figure that one out, but don’t use an EXIF reader, as that’s cheating. I also know that reading this might be a chore to the non-creatives out there, and for that I apologise. I just hope that the photographs make up for it.

Anyways, what words could you possibly add to scenes like these, which haven’t been written a thousand times before? Sometimes, the photographs tell you everything you need to know.

Paddy McGrath
Instagram: pmcgphotos
Twitter: pmcgphotos
paddy@speedhunters.com

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1

Brilliant shots Paddy!

2

My guess is this one, do I win a prize?

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Author3

Even if you were right (you're not), there's still no prizes XD

4

Hhhnnnggg!

5

I'm gonna go out on a limb & guess it's that overhead shot of the gallaro engine. :)

Author6

You are correct!

7

85f/1.2 is a beast! laser sharp even wide open

8

Those seats look so good, and so very soft. Probably the norm for something as high end as a Lamborghini. I may not be a photographer but I do understand the creative block all to well. I enjoy creating videos, and I attempt to use my own projects as it makes the content easier to explain, but with it having been down the last year and it taking months to make forward progress due to hiccups, video creation has dwindled and now its again intimidating to open up and put something together. This has inspired me to get back into it, even if it's just playing with old footage that I have just to create something.

9

My guess is the engine shot isnt prime. Youd be standing relatively close, having the focus set super close, yet the background doesnt seem to be the level of expected blur.

Author10

Everything was shot on primes, but there are also multiple engine shots.

11

I love cars and i love photography.


Some of these are masterworks of both. Congratulations on breaking through, if you feel that way - but you should, especially with the subject’s era-appropriate shadow/volume choices on the late-80’s/90’s cars.

12

I absolutely love the composition of this shot! It's such a great angle and it seems like all the planets lined up for it. Great job Paddy!

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13

I really like this piece. I like the short story of the creative struggle with images that tell the tale by being the protagonists themselves. Nothing too exagerrated, no powerpoint-in-article-layout feel, just a concise and honest piece of expression. Very nice :)

Author14

FWIW, I'll post the answer to the question in here tomorrow.

15

My guess is the flag shot at the beginning of the article

16

"For creative types, the toughest thing we encounter is often a lack of inspiration or a crisis of confidence."

There's a third thing, which you alluded to:

If you want to continue to advance in your career, there comes a point when you have to stop doing what you love and take a MANAGEMENT job.

THAT'S the worst part of being someone who Makes things or Does things.

17

Definitely print material , huge on a office wall

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18

These shots are just too good
My favorite Lamborghini is Murcielago, Aventador, Reventon, Espada, LM002, and Miura

Author21

The answer is... this.

The only shot not at 85mm, was this overhead of the Gallardo V10 photographed at 35mm.

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22

Figured you were upstairs looking down. I'm no good at this game.

23

I had the pleasure of visiting the Lamborghini museum and factory last June, it's definitely worth a visit, such a great experience. Beautiful machines. I took lots of pictures when I was there, funnily enough i took the exact same shot of the rear wing adjustment on the Veneno as you did!

24

I know the struggle of the lull all too much. Sometimes it can even be overworking yourself and not really enjoying the process. Some days it definitely feels more like work than passion, and when the heart's not in it, it all falls apart. These photos really show that you took your time, there was no pressure, and you enjoyed the leisurely walk through the museum. I'm jealous. I need that reset for myself right now.

25

What is that Lamborghini in the cover shot? Looks super sweet!

26

Lamborghini P140 prototype.

27

V112

28

Brilliant pictures. This is a dream lens and please treat us more often with 85mm specials.

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