"Sunday Service" at Rolls Royce

Over the last year or two I have frequently driven past the stately iron gates of the Rolls Royce factory at Chichester, and I have often wondered exactly what lay behind them. The place even has its own roundabout (Goodwood Motor Circuit is about 500 yards to the left) and it has something of an air of mystery. And so when I discovered that one of my car clubs, Pistonheads, had arranged a Sunday morning gathering at the facility, I was amazed, and delighted. I think this shows just how much clout Pistonheads has - I've been to a lot of the meetings and without exception they are impressive and meticulously organized. You can find Pistonheads here.

As one would expect, the Rolls Royce factory is vast, and spotless, and ultra modern. Several hundred car enthusiasts made good use of the enormous car parks early this morning, and what a showing it was. The weather wasn't the greatest, but the staff had kindly opened the foyer to us, and the coffee shop, so we were warm and comfortable. The light wasn't the best, but I wasn't going to miss the chance to photograph some of my favourite cars. We were very pleased to see some Ultimas at the gathering, I feel fortunate to see these cars, let alone photograph them and talk to their owners, who never tire of answering questions and showing people their cars. The owners deserved to have their photographs taken, too, and I can't help feeling that it must be quite an undertaking for such tall men to get in and out of what is in fact a racing car.

I never pressure my subjects to smile for the camera. Sometimes it's appropriate, but often it's not. I like a bit of 'attitude', to be honest. The shot below, of Keith, would have had some real atmosphere if the battery in my radio transmitter hadn't conked. I'd got as far as setting the exposure for the main light (just to camera right) and was about to drop the ambient for a 'twilight' feel, before the thing died on me. So I'm afraid I've had to post the test shot, but you get the feel for what I was about to do.

This picture made me smile - it's the quality check list for that section of the factory. It's reassuringly brief (depending on how you look at it):

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