Two new books celebrate the art of automotive photography from very different angles

There’ll always be a market for seductive images of cars, just as there’ll always be a market for cars that give off a seductive image. Macchina is a new monograph from Jon Nicholson, a photographer who has covered everything from top-tier motorsport to car shows and enthusiast meet-ups over the course of his 40-year career.

Macchina, by photographer Jon Nicholson

Macchina is an homage to racing, but rather than focus on the physical shapes of cars themselves, the photographer often sets these machines in a much larger context, whether as part of a cityscape or landscape, or seen through abstracted forms. The book is published by Christopher Nurse of Fyshe, a company set up to make bespoke racing apparel and accessories. Nurse met Nicholson at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the idea of the book took shape, inspired in part by Jesse Alexander’s cult photographic book At Speed, which was first published in 1972.

Nurse describes how he wanted a book that’d ‘provide an intimate perspective on the amphitheatre of racing; a timeless depiction not only of the cars, the drivers, the mechanics and the racing environment but also the spectators, capturing the intensity of focus and the raw emotion’. Macchina’s racing-yellow linen cover certainly evokes the bold colours of the track.

The book was launched at Connolly, the classic British brand best known for its automotive and architectural leather. Now owned by Isabel Ettedgui, and based out of a Georgian house in Mayfair, No.4 Clifford Street, Connolly has branched out into men’s and women’s fashion as well as accessories for the home, and the all-important luggage.

Macchina, Jon Nicholson, available from Fyshe.com, £750

JonNicholson.co.uk, ConnollyEngland.com

Automotive Type D, by INK

Our second specialist tome is Automotive Type D, the fourth in a series of volumes from the London-based creative studio INK celebrating its ongoing commercial work for publications and brands. These include the collaboration with Benedict Redgrove for Polestar 3, editorial shoots from Amos Fricke, and the agency’s ‘Plainbodies’ series.

‘As a digital studio, we maintain a strong belief in the power of print to bring our work to life,’ says INK’s executive creative director David Macey. Materials and presentation are top notch, matching the meticulous environments and machines presented within.

Automotive Type D, details at WeAreINK.co.uk