ABOUT – APRIL MAY PHOTOGRAPHY

ABOUT


"At the age of 14, April May got her first SLR and her first car; "ever since then my life has revolved around photography and hot rods. After 10 years, a few cars and cameras later, my passion and drive turned my hobby into my career." Describing her work to others as "taking hot rod glamour shots", her biggest influence has been Steve Coonan, who she describes as "hands down the king of automotive photography, you can't flip through a copy of The Rodder's Journal and not be inspired." April only uses a wide angle lens and a Nikon camera, either digital or 35mm. Her goal, she says, is "to maintain cohesiveness and continuity in my work; I don't need fancy equipment or props to create the images I want. I shoot in the moment and work best in uncontrolled situations, where the only thing I can really arrange in the shot is my camera." The results are amazing, but this is the result of total focus and an understanding of the hot-rodders art. "I am inspired by hot rod and custom car builders. When I photograph a car, I am trying to show how the builder's creativity, focus, and dedication came together to produce something meaningful. Every hot rod and custom car has unique details that set it apart from any other car, so I tend to focus on those features." She is modest when describing her own talents: "I'm not creative enough to be called an artist or technical enough to be called a photographer. I fall into that gray space - you know, that no-frills, no-attitude, no-ego, self-taught, self-motivated, nothing-but-passion space." Yet she has mastered both digital and film and certainly speaks like an artist: "I make images from my heart, the camera is just a tool. Books and manuals won't tell you how to find your unique style, that comes from digging deep in your soul. I set out on a mission, to prove that hot rodding and custom car building is an art form, one of the only true American art forms around." -Korero Books