Capturing the Essence of a 1939 Jaguar SS100 3.5 Litre: A Photographer’s Perspective

As a photographer with a passion for photographing classic cars, bikes and scooters, it was a great few hours I spent recently in leafy Cheshire, near to Manchester Airport photographing a masterpiece like the 1939 Jaguar SS100 3.5 litre. This iconic vehicle, owned and being sold by Brian Classic and Co. Check out their incredible stock on their website, most of the images proudly supplied by me 🙂

I think it really does help to have a passion for something that you photograph, cars, bikes, scooters, architecture and on from that definitely people! To take a portrait of a person you have to capture their personality, their essence. It’s the same with a car, you have to understand it. To appreciate its beauty and show it in the correct and best light. Pick the correct background and process the image in a sympathetic way. I learned this accidentally many years ago when photographing horses. I have no passion for horses (sorry horse lovers). It’s when I was showing the owners what I thought were lovely images, technically and artistically very good and to me a great photograph of a horse. To them it didn’t show the horse correctly, the stance, the eyes, the look on their face! They would show me a photograph of a horse, an image they thought was great but to me nowhere near technically or even artistically as good as mine, but they loved the other more. It’s because I hadn’t captured the beauty and essence of the animal as they saw it.

I understand what are the unique and well designed individual parts of a machine making the whole, having driven, ridden, raced and built many many vehicles.

The Legacy of the 1939 Jaguar SS100

The Jaguar SS100 is a name synonymous with pre-war elegance and performance. Originally produced between 1936 and 1940. With its sleek lines, powerful 3.5-litre engine the SS100 was a trailblazer, setting the stage for future Jaguar models. Only 118 of these 3.5-litre variants were ever produced, making this particular car a rare gem. It was a pleasure driving around the Cheshire countryside in this beauty, well until it started raining! I I absolutely love classic cars, I’m off to Goodwood revival next weekend. However the pre (ish) war vehicles generally pass me by but I was so surprised about how this Jaguar SS drove, you could really sense the quality. It must have been incredible to drive this in the 1930’s, the ride was so smooth and the power and sound were definitely there.

The Art of Photographing a Classic

Photographing a classic car like the 1939 Jaguar SS100 as I’ve said is about more than just pointing and shooting—it’s about understanding the car’s history, design, and the emotion it evokes. Having said that these images are to sell the car, so it’s a compromise, the time it takes photographing the car and for it to fit in photographically with the rest of the images on Brian Classics website.

So these shoots are always about quality images, somewhere between a high end artistic car photoshoot like the one I did of their Ferarri 308 in Catlefield Manchester and the shoots I do for Car and Classics.

Technically I use a Nikon z6ii with prime lenses as much as I can. The longer/more telephoto the lens generally the better. Get it right in camera instead of using Photoshop. A great tip, often overlooked when shooting cars is to use a polarising filter. A filter cuts down on reflections and accentuates the cars colours and bodywork, it’s a very easy and cheap win.

It’s nice though to be able to publish shots of the cars I photograph as I often shoot private car collections and my clients don’t like these images being published which is understandable.

Detail Shots: Preserving the Craftsmanship

Detail shots are essential when photographing a classic car. The 1939 Jaguar SS100 boasts several features that deserve close attention, from the stitching on the leather seats to the dashboard’s intricate gauges. These images can tell a story about the craftsmanship and attention to detail that went into creating this automotive masterpiece.

Final Thoughts

If you’re in the market for a classic car that embodies elegance, history, and performance, the 1939 Jaguar SS100 3.5 litre at Brian Classics in Manchester should be at the top of your list. And if you appreciate the art of automotive photography, you’ll understand the joy that comes from capturing such a timeless vehicle.