"Cars & Characters" – the 2019 Standox calendar shows character
Each and every year, the Standox wall calendar shows exceptional vehicles, displayed to show them off at their best. With its 2019 calendar, the company goes one step further. In tune with the theme, "Cars & Characters", the focus this year is on vehicle owners. The twelve portraits demonstrate that the relationship between an owner and their car can be something quite special. At times the car comes to embody its owner’s lifestyle.
Blue skies, sun, sea – and in the middle of this seaside idyll: a white BMW i8. The owner of the sporty plug-in hybrid, a kite surfer decked out in neoprene, is in the process of getting his stunt kite out of the car – ready to ride the waves. Conditions for the photo shoot for the May page are excellent. The only thing that’s missing is a fill-in flash, to highlight the BMW owner’s face. Later on, while processing the image, not only are the colours enhanced, but other kite surfers are also added to the picture. Vehicle, theme and visual composition are meant to reflect the character of the owner: high-tech with a sense of style, combined with a love of the sea, water sports and nature.
Two powerhouses showcase the American Way of Life.
The staff with the Van der Vaart photographic studio in the Netherlands are responsible for creating these twelve character studies for Standox. They demonstrate considerable variety. There’s the down-to-earth farmer, for example, whose pride and joy is his classic Mercedes-Benz E-Class model. And here are two friends, still young at heart, who celebrate life by taking their nippy Mini out for a spin along the Riviera. The page for October shows two powerhouses: A muscle-bound owner with tattooed arms, clad entirely in black, including hefty biker boots, poses with his car: a 1930s Ford B transformed into stylish hot rod. It’s an embodiment not just of his personal motto: "Life is a beautiful ride", but also of the American Way of Life.
The Morgan three-wheeler in the car park
Some of the pictures in the calendar have an elaborate history. The November picture of the Morgan three-wheeler on a serpentine mountain road was actually shot on the roof of a Dutch car park. The evocative mountain scenery was added to the picture later on and, at the same time, the colour of the traditional three-wheeler was altered. The Morgan is actually red (based on a 1908 design), but it was digitally recoloured in a variant of the famous "British racing green". A little trick the photographer used to give the picture a quintessentially British look.
All the pictures in the new Standox wall calendar are available at www.standox.com/characters
