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BMW M4 at Sunset
Photograhpy
Photography · Sustenpass · 2026
No brief, no plan, a stranger's car. On a September evening on the Sustenpass, the owners of this M4 were shooting it for a sale. I moved my car out of their frame, took a few photos of my own and asked if I could keep going. They said yes. Twenty minutes of golden hour later, I had nine images and the best car set I've shot so far.
Quick facts
Role
Tools
Year
Context
Runtime
Credits
Photography, retouching and colour grading
Sony A7 III · 24–70 mm · Lightroom
2026
Personal project, unplanned
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Key Decisions
Framing the ridge
At 70 mm the mountains compress behind the car, so the sun sets right on the ridge above it. The blurred grass in the foreground frames the car from below and puts the viewer at the roadside.
Getting the side profile
For the side view I left the road, crossed rough ground and climbed a large rock, then held the camera above my head to get back down to the car's level. The stones along the roadside still cut into the frame, so I removed them in post.
One look, fading light
Twenty minutes of golden hour isn't one kind of light. Every frame came out warmer and redder than the one before. I graded all nine images by hand in Lightroom, adjusting temperature, gradients and light for each, until the set reads as one evening. The licence plate is removed from every shot, for privacy and for a cleaner car.
Outcome
The owners got the full set and loved it. For me, it's the shoot that proved I can walk into something I didn't plan and come away with the images that open this portfolio.
