Roger Snider’s Powerful Elegance

For the second iteration of his Chrome and Elegance calendar, photographer Roger Snider knew that he had to step up his game.  His 2013 calendar was very well received, and Roger wanted to make sure he put the time and monetary investment into creating something truly special for his 2014 calendar — The results clearly show that Roger made the right decision.

Although shooting beautiful women juxtaposed with powerful machines is nothing new, Roger took this idea to the next level.  To prep for the shoot, he managed to track down and pick the brain of Pierre Jacot, the creative director from one of the original “beauties and big rigs” ad campaigns.  Inspired, and with a clear direction in mind, Roger assembled a crack team and began prepping for the production of the shoot.

Roger and his team knew that they were going to be doing the shoot in Yakima, Washington because they needed to use the trucks from an annual travelling classic truck show as the subjects.  From shooting his calendar for 2013, Roger knew that the truckers would be more than happy (and even proud) to have their trucks be included in the photo shoot, so securing the machinery was not a big obstacle.  Roger even managed to get legal permission from Peterbilt to feature their trucks in the calendar! 

One of the biggest ‘wins’ of the whole photo shoot was landing the perfect location to do the indoor shots.  They were able to rent out a 60,000 square foot RV manufacturing plant, an ideal location for shooting these monster machines.  There were several huge doors which proved very convenient because the team was able to simply drive the trucks in and right onto the set.

For the backdrop of the photos, Roger wanted something rustic, something that reflected their shooting location in central Washington.  After some searching, the crew was able to get a husband and wife team to drive in three trailers worth of wooden apple boxes to stack in the background – the perfect representation of Washington State.

After several days of prep, it was time for the shoot.  Roger had already picked out the dresses, and models in advance, and paired them with the trucks that he would be photographing.  Creating the final composite shot, though, was a painstaking process involving 18-20 different lighting moves for each truck  His goal was to layer the differently lighted shots together to create one perfect, final exposure.  Despite the highly detailed process, the well-prepared team was able to shoot about 2-3 trucks per day. 

The beautiful final product truly reflects Roger’s eye for elegance paired with power.  He plans on continuing this annual calendar, hoping to get them introduced in various retail outlets such as corporate truck stops and gift shops on the road.  In fact, he already has his eyes set on Springfield, MO where this year’s annual ATHS truck show is being held in May.

The printed calendars need to be seen in person to really get an impression of the beautiful finish and hefty card stock that make them so spectacular.  To learn more or pick up your own 2014 calendar, visit the site here.

To see more images from this year’s Chrome and Elegance photo shoot, visit his FoundFolios portfolio.