ANIME GEEK, PETROLHEAD, CINEPHILE, ANIMATOR - Arun M Nair

Arun M Nair is a professional automobile photographer working in the United Arab Emirates and India. He has a degree in animation and began his career in automobile photography when he was 20 years old. He was the photographer in charge of BBC TopGear Magazine and Evo magazine. He has also worked on print ad campaigns for well-known companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche, Chevrolet, Ford, Infiniti, and Ferrari. So in this month we interviewed Arun to know about his journey and how he works with the automotive.

- SANCHIT MISHRA

You work in an uncommon photographic genre. How did you get started photographing automobiles? What prompted you to pursue this unusual photographic genre?

Automotive photography isn't uncommon or unusual. Automotive photography as a genre is as old as the invention of automobiles itself. In fact, it is probably one of the hardest genres to master in my opinion. hence not many people will be able to pursue and make a career out of it and that might have made the genre lesser known within the photography circle.

I decided to use the skillset in one form of art and apply that to automotive photography. As a child, I became a "petrolhead" due to films and various magazines that revolve around cars and racing.

In a way, choosing this specific path is my way to ensure that the flywheel system of inspiration stays intact. And it's my time to give something back to the ecosystem that gave my life a purpose.

How would you define your photographic style, and how has it evolved over time?

What if an art lover who is an anime geek, a petrolhead, a cinephile and an animator decides to be a photographer? Whatever the result of that chaotic combination is how I describe my style. I take inspiration from all different genres.

Sometimes I really lean on hyper stylistic themes and other times I let the real ambience do the talking. Since I am able to produce different styles within the same genre, the evolution came in the form of quality and clarity. Everything else remains the same.

Capturing moving objects is significantly more difficult than photographing motionless ones. What do you think is the most difficult aspect about photographing cars?