In August of 2002 I drove my truck to the Barrington Truck Show in New Hampshire. Two days later I received a call from acclaimed photographer Ozzie Sweet. He saw my truck at the show but had been unable to locate me. After a check of the phone book, he called and asked me to drive to York, Maine the following day. Ozzie wanted to shoot my truck for possible inclusion in a future antique truck calendar.
As you can see from the photo above, Ozzie picked out a fantastic spot overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. No detail escaped his eye, the final photograph for the calendar was perfect.
Ozzie is not only a legendary photographer, but a true gentleman. It was fun to talk to him about famous subjects of his past photographs including Jimmy Durante, Albert Einstein, Bob Hope, Mickey Mantle, and his personal friend Ted Williams..
I was lucky enough to get another call from Ozzie Sweet in the summer of 2004. He wanted to photograph my truck once again for the NAPA Auto Parts Calendar. I met up with him in Francestown, NH and we rode a couple of miles to this picturesque spot.
Ozzie previously lived in Francestown for about 20 years. He had a friend in the area watch the foliage for him to make sure we arrived at just the right time. Ozzie was also hoping for an overcast day, and wanted to shoot about 11 am to take advantage of the best light. Nothing in Ozzie's work was left to chance, all his moves were well planned.
Ozzie used his Hasselblad camera that day. The images appear upside down in the viewfinder. Ozzie jokes about it telling me that he has been looking at the world upside down for over sixty years.
At the end of the session Ozzie was kind enough to pose for a picture. He is a nice guy and a pleasure to know. My truck appears in the NAPA Auto Parts Calendar on the October 2006 Page.
