CalArk had just hired a new marketing director in 2018. One of her first projects was redesigning the website. She had contacted me and asked if I would help her with showcasing their new Peterbilt trucks for their new website. Usually, CD’s or MD’s have a vision for a redesign but good MD’s understand that relying and putting faith in their creative partners can result in better than expected results. So, when she asked me to take lead on the creative direction for the visuals, I was excited about the possibilities. I had researched what other companies were doing. By my surprise, there weren’t many trucking companies that had good visuals. Stock agencies had better options but not many.
So, I was left to think about my approach without much inspiration. As an avid road tripper, I wanted to create the romance of the drive from clean air country roads to urban exploration. To create this feel I wanted to shoot at dawn and shoot through mid-morning. I wanted to get the cool night shots that showed these trucks driving into the morning light on a country road. After getting an idea of the direction, I had to scout the locations. Thanks to google maps, I was able to view many roads from a bird eye perspective and on the ground. After planning my routes, I picked a few days that would fit in my schedule.
When the day before the shoot came it looked as if the weather wasn’t going to be in our favor. It was the second time we had to reschedule. However, my client needed the photos that week. So she made the call to continue. Although I was reluctant about the shoot, I’m glad we stuck with it. The clouds in the morning gave a dramatic feel and the sun peaked from behind the clouds on occasion. This helped romanticize the images even more. Sometimes you have to roll with it even when your “perfect” idea of conditions aren’t met.
The client loved the images and they just launched the website this week. Check out www.calark.com to view the new website.
