rolls royce phantom iii_royalty of a car

。Out of all the vintage / collectable cars I've had the privilege to photograph, I love the Phantom III the most

。If you're unfamiliar, it looks quite similar to the Phantom II. Almost the same profile, the shape of the cab, the suicide doors, the especially beautiful protruding headlight. But what sets the III apart is the special rendition of the iconic hood ornament, called the "Spirit of Ecstasy"

。From 1925, when the first Phantom (called "new Phantom" at the time), to this day, this special kneeling version of the muse only appeared on the Phantom III and IV. Only eighteen (18) Phantom IVs were ever built and only sold to the British royalty and other heads of state (sixteen (16) of those currently reside in museums and similar places)

。All this to say that to be able to photograph the IV would be next to impossible, which makes the Phantom III photoshoot that much more special, at least to me

。Therefore, I paid extra attention to the kneeling muse, making sure I capture the designer's name (C. Sykes, for Charles Robinson Sykes) engraved right on there

The final bonus was the fact that part of the photoshoot went into golden hour. To have this car bathed in flare and afterglow was something else entirely. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the session, but also felt a sense of duty to portray this piece of automobile history. To complete the nostalgic journey, I even did some old photo edits to go with the vintage nature of this royal automobile that it is, and I "signed" it as if I was there in 1937.

Hope you like these images as much as I do. 😍😍

Cedric.