Bernhard Schmerl

Panorama automobiles

Every year in June, the spa town of Wiesbaden, Germany becomes an open air museum for car enthusiasts. Around 180 historical vehicles assemble to take part in a vintage car rally that passes through the Rheingau region and the Taunus mountain range. Artist Bernhard Schmerl has captured this event from a unique perspective.

From a bird’s-eye view, Schmerl photographed the rally participants driving at full speed. He then arranged the vehicles on a monochrome background like toy cars. The key element of his colour-coordinated columns is authenticity. “Nothing is edited,” Schmerl confirms.

What whizzes past onlookers in a fraction of a second can now be thoroughly examined down to the finest detail. For that brief moment, Schmerl removes time from the equation. The images from “Panorama automobiles“ don’t just tell stories, they also explore the similarities and differences between the drivers of these vintage cars; we see some participants wearing matching outfits, some stretched out on backseats, and others clutching clipboards showing the route. Schmerl also concisely captures the spectacular technical intricacy of the cars, continually finding new aspects of them for the viewer to appreciate.