What to photograph and what to ask when I meet an F1 and/or his Owner?"

[MAC876]

In a previous Thread i read about the way to photograph an F1 and i have Pelotons Thread about the misbehaviour of some "F1-Stalkers" in Mind.
And i remember the biggest Thread around here, the "F1 Owner on Board".

I thought maybe it could be a good Idea to consoldiate them to a:
"What to photograph and what to ask when I meet an F1 and/or his Owner?" Thread.

I start with:
Always be polite and tell the truth. Respect the privacy.

What to photograph:
All Angles, Interior, Chassis Nr., VIN...

What to ask:
- Previous Owners
- Changes the actual Owner made like Colour or HDF...
- Changes he wants to do
- The Watch (maybe with a Pic too)
- The luggage Set
- The actual Distance
- The Distance when he bought the Car
- Maybe where he bought
- About other Owners
- Which Car did BP crash ;-)

Im pretty sure i missed quite a lot, so youre all invited to help me...

MAC876

[hurstg01]

1. Start with - sincerity, politeness, respect and knowledge. Understand the boundaries and try to gauge the owners reaction to what you are asking.

2. Photograph - 'til your picture-taking finger bleeds or you run out of battery / memorycard space . Any angle, the more obscure the better, and not just from the 'normal' height; try the up high / ground shots, arty shots ie get some background in if it looks right or an angle you have never seen before. Always try for the chassis plate shot, the VIN plate too if the engine lid is open, a pedalbox shot is always a good one and any other shots of any distinguishing features of the car but I always ask before I shoot these sort of things, as some owners may be a bit touchy about showing these areas off.

3. What to ask - depends on the reaction to 1 and 2. Some owners might be wary of Mclaren F1-officiandos and therefore a bit blunt / unaccomodating. Others may open up if you catch them at the right time and be helpful. Some owners may even take you for a ride ( Erik). ALWAYS ask if they don't mind you hosting pictures on the internet for others to see. If they do mind, respect that. If they don't, title the thread with a decent description and post away .

When we [Al and I] saw #013 in Exeter, the salesman was welcoming and polite, but stated certain things we couldn't / shouldn't do (IE leave the doors open too long so as to drain the battery). We were pretty much given carte blanche to go over, in and around the car snapping away to our hearts content, opening all doors / luggage compartments and getting out the luggage / tool roll as long as our eagerness didn't get in the way of a sale / prospective sale of any other car in the showroom. The salesman was eager to learn all we knew about the car too, it's history and even show them how to open up the front trunk to show off the Kenwood CD player and tool roll.

On the flip side, I was gruffly asked 'hope those pictures aren't going on the internet' by an owner, despite the car being in his showroom and his car being all over the internet [this was just before an exhibition at his showroom so he was understandably apprehensive]. I was allowed in the car to take pics but respected the owners request not to share the pics over the internet. I have since seen the owner at a car festival and he was welcoming and approachable. Just goes to show that on the day, you have to be aware of the owners mood and respect their wishes.

[countachal]

Greg is right, when we saw the F1 the salesman could'nt have been nicer but we didn't just charge in and start snapping one has to lay the groundwork and get their trust!
Conversly i have been shouted at and demanded that my picture (one) was deleted by a Countach owner in Monterey whose car was parked on the street! Though as Greg says it depends on the moment, i have since seen that Countach owner on Fchat and everyone there says hes a good guy, his wife even apologised for his behaviour stating that some pushy creepy photographers had been hassling them shortly before i took my pic.
So one never knows. Although i think if you asked all the questions you want to an owner might get rather bothered by the intrusive nature of some of them. depends on his mood.