CRASH

CHAMPIONS

A man works underneath a car in an autobody shop. He is out of focus while the under carriage of the car is in focus..

2 photos are side by side. On the left a man uses a screwdriver as he works on a car engine. On the right a man is seen using a red tool on the side of a car frame.

A closeup shot of a man's hands working on the inside of a car in a Crash Champions autobody shop, shot by photographer, Nathanael Filbert.

2 images are seen here. A mechanic is seen looking in a tool chest while holding an electric drill. On the right is a shot taken from within the engine, of a mechanic working. Both shots contain sun flares in the background.

Crash Champions is about a team of people working towards the single goal of making something broken, whole again. My assignment was to create imagery that would help Crash draw in fresh talent to dozens of new shop floors across the country.

They were looking for images that felt gritty, raw, and a touch dramatic and with this in mind, penumbra, texture, and splashes of light became the creative pillars of this project. I focused on faces and hands as much as tools and craft to help communicate the sense of pride that comes from working with your hands and alongside a dedicated team. It’s about not being afraid to get your hands dirty and challenging yourself as you develop your craft in creating wholeness from the mangled remnants of wreckage.

THE CREATIVE

I leaned into my love of connecting with people and developed quick relationships with each subject all of whom were actual Crash Champions employees. My aim was to help them find a degree of comfort in being observed and photographed while they worked. I encouraged each person to attempt to ignore me and to drop into their daily tasks as they normally would. If they struggled to feel natural, I found that providing a little direction could supply enough distraction to prevent them from overthinking their movements and with this approach we were able to create some really compelling images.

The shot list was extensive and required a light, fast, and highly mobile approach to our lighting and crew. I searched for pools of interesting, natural light that could be boosted with a quick kick of supplemental lighting allowing us to move fast while still crafting the desired look and feel. By leaning into shadows and allowing natural reflections, tool lights, and sparks to fly, I was able to create a really compelling library of images without intensive setups.

THE APPROACH

THE TIMELINE

7 days: 2 prep, 2 shoot, 3 post

THE DELIVERABLE

200 library images

2 men work side by side near the front left tire of a red car with a sun flare seen in the distance.

2 images are here. On the left a man is working with a machine next to several raised cars in a Crash Champions shop. On the right we see a mechanics hands in the sunlight as they hold onto a piece of equipment.

A Crash Champions mechanic is inspecting the engine of a car with a bright sun flare in the background.