Q&A with Waiting for the Sun to Come Down author Kevin McCauley

From its very first photograph, the new coffee table book Waiting for the Sun to Come Down by Kevin McCauley presents striking and visually arresting images, one after another. The vehicles presented across these pages are some of the most beloved and coveted sports cars in the world — but it’s the preparation and patience involved that puts them in a light like never before. In the Q&A below, McCauley explains his approach and his process, as well as the driving motivation that keeps him clicking away.

HOW DID YOU HONE THIS TECHNIQUE?

Kevin McCauley: I spent so much time early on trying to emulate other photographers — using lighting, doing compositing, and trying to make things overly complicated. I tried to run before I could walk. I was missing so much and not even knowing what I didn’t know. At some point I stripped everything back, and it clicked for me that natural light is just magic and unpredictable and limitless. When you aren’t setting up elaborate equipment, you have more time to see angles, explore, and pay attention to shadows and sun direction. Instead of editing to increase the dynamic range and brighten the shadows, I went the other way, and embraced the mystery. I just sort of kept chasing that.

HOW IMPORTANT IS EQUIPMENT TO YOUR STYLE?

Equipment is not super important. I like the cameras I use, and having a familiarity with your tools allows you to be efficient and effective in more situations. So you can be excited about the tools, and be knowledgable about using them, but I don’t think one particular camera is going to make or break the photo. In fact, I usually want less dynamic range than what any of the newest cameras can offer. I just need natural light and my camera and a polarizer. It is nice having enough image resolution to crop, or, of course, to print. I shot tons of roadside travel photos on an iPhone for years, and lately I’ve been going through them, and wishing I had those with a bit higher image quality and resolution.

WHAT WERE YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCES OUTSIDE OF CARS?

Some of the 20th-century color film photographers that captured American life, such as Lee Friedlander and William Eggleston, were a big influence. They could capture everyday scenes and ordinary subjects, and make them look dramatic and special. Also Fan Ho, a Chinese street photographer, who worked in black and white and utilized shadows as part of his compositions really spectacularly. A lot of the influence came from that and not from cars. I think a lot of car photography is advertising-looking, which is just not what I’m after.

WHAT MAKES THIS THE RIGHT TIME FOR A BOOK?

I thought I was ready for this two years ago, and I just needed to get ‘one more thing,’ or one more car. I didn’t realize what I was missing, or how much work would ultimately go into making this, but now it feels complete. It falls in a weird space between car book and art book, and I think a lot of people will like it. I shoot a lot of cars for hire, but these are the images I shoot for me. I make them because shooting these images is what thrills me, and I like sharing them. As a collection, I think these photos reward longer viewing in a more substantial format than on a phone screen.

DID YOU EVER IMAGINE YOUR LOVE FOR CARS WOULD LEAD YOU HERE?

I definitely didn’t set out to create a book. I just love photographing cars, and I feel lucky every day that I get to do this. Over time you learn new techniques and try new things, and if you’re lucky, you eventually find a niche or style that feels right, that feels worth exploring more. When I shoot in high-contrast shadows and expose for highlights, the image doesn’t turn out exactly like what my eye sees. The shadows are darker, the paint is brighter and crisper. That feeling of seeing something an image on the camera that’s just a little bit more exciting and dramatic than it looks to the naked eye — that’s what’s so fulfilling, and what I’m always chasing. If you do that long enough, then maybe you’ve got a collection that you can be excited about.

Waiting for the Sun to Come Down is available to order now as a hardcover.