Shooting the Glickenhaus Boot

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. This is not a BMW, and it couldn’t be further away from the sports cars I normally shoot. But the Glickenhaus Boot that Larry from AMMO NYC was working on presented such a different subject, I couldn’t help but get excited.

It’s Big, and Loud

I’ve been around all sorts of cars, but nothing that has the proportions of this. Those giant tires and upright exterior (and loud!) exhausts give this thing presence. A modern high-performance homage to Steve McQueen’s Baja Boot, this modern Boot feels special, and it’s evident when you’re out on the highway with it. Everyone stares. It’s difficult to believe it’s road legal. A stab of the gas produced big squat and some loss of traction. It’s a ton of fun!

Getting high

I’ve talked about the importance of getting low to shoot cars, but with this, it wasn’t going to work. Getting low only produced a giant tire in my lens. When shooting something like this, it’s best to raise the tripod up higher than the vehicle, so you capture all the body work. You still don’t want to go eye level here, because that’s the angle everyone sees. Your job as a photographer is to present a new way of looking at something.

Rolling with the Glickenhaus Boot

I always like shooting rollers from an SUV – the additional height gives a better view. But in this case, it was a requirement. Using Larry’s Porsche Macan, I was able to do a few shots from the passenger side window. Another cool part about the height if this truck is that the driver (in this case Larry), is clearly visible. That’s not always the case when shooting low-slung sports cars.

How I shot the light bar

One cool feature of the Glickenhaus Boot is its functional light bar on top. It’s bright, so there is no way capture both it and the car in one shot. Using multiple exposures, I brought them all into Photoshop and combined them into one image. Specifically for the light bar, you want that layer on top of all the others, and set the blend mode to screen.

Use this editing trick for headlights, or even lights like the purple ones on the wall here.

Special thanks to AMMO NYC for making the garage available, and Turn 7 Auto Care for prepping the vehicle.

Please contact HK Motorcars for more information on the Boot. This vehicle is a one-off test vehicle. 

Commissions may be received for product links on this site, so help out if you can. I only write about products I use and believe in.

I use Nikon camera bodies and lenses, a Westcott Ice Light 2, Manfrotto tripod, B + W filters and an iMac Pro to make the art you see here.

Email me at mike@machineswithsouls.com with any questions.

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