IT ALL STARTED WHEN...

IF you’ve been around the world of classic cars, chances are you’ve come across Courtney Cutchen-frisk’s photography. Courtney has forged a name for herself with honest and sharp imagery. To stand out from the crowd and create meaningful work, you can’t just be a mere tourist, you must have a passion for the subject you shoot. For Courtney, that passion comes in many forms but most notably in the form of a car close to her heart (and to mine), the Datsun 240z.

It all started when Courtney took an auto shop class in high school. If it wasn’t for this class, her life would probably look vastly different now. It wasn't a burning desire or interest in cars that made her take the class, rather a request from a best friend who didn’t want to take it by herself. To begin with, Courtney was happy sitting in the corner drawing but her teacher Mr Woodworth, like all great teachers, was able to encourage her to participate and engage with the class.

At the time, Courtney was driving a 1992 Cadillac Deville handed down to her by her grandmother. One day in class, while trying to remove a stubborn brake drum, she yelled out to another student for help and that help came from her now husband, Dustin. This class and connection undoubtedly fostered a common interest in automotive culture that has continued to be instrumental in their lives and relationship. At the behest of her family, the next few cars Courtney owned were larger and more modern. Safety was such a significant concern for them that when Courtney finally purchased a classic car, she hid it from her grandma until many years later! In around 2012, Courtney began taking an interest in the modern Nissan 350z. Her husband suggested that she check out the original Z, the Datsun 240z. After a Google image search, Courtney immediately fell hard for the 240z and admits the initial attraction was purely aesthetic. “The one thing that struck me about the Z is the lovely balance of its profile. Its top line is this sweeping, romantic flow that just cannot disappoint you. There’s truly not a single bad angle of the car.” Courtney found a 240z for sale on Craigslist in Medford Oregon. Dustin, knowing the longing his wife had for the car, sold his beloved second-generation Toyota pickup to help her purchase the Z. “If you knew how much he loved that truck, you’d understand the guilt that I still carry to this day,” Courtney remarks.

What was expected to be an easy drive home, quickly became a much more expensive, multi-day ordeal involving numerous tow trucks. Despite the dramas and expense, Courtney now has the car of her dreams in the original 918 orange paint that she so desired.

"The cab smells like fuel. The doors need to be shut with decent force. You sink in just a bit when you sit in the seat. The stock steering wheel is big, but not cumbersome. The throttle is feather-light and the shifting is direct. When you put your foot in it, the L24 lets out the most beautiful sound. There is not a single thing I don’t enjoy about this car. I had a gut feeling the first time I saw one, and that gut feeling ended up being right: this is the car I need to have in my life, forever."

“There’s something that’s very honest about a Datsun. These cars weren’t meant to be the flashiest, most expensive sports cars on the market. You left that title to Porsche, BMW, and Jaguar. Datsuns’ represent one of the true purposes of Japanese engineering: be simple yet effective.”

While this love and appreciation for classic cars was developing, so too was Courtney’s interest and aptitude for photography which began with photographing Dustin’s NB Miata as a hobby. “As I learned more about cars, I felt compelled to document them in newer and better ways than I had before.” Today, Courtney’s photographic style is perfectly suited to the classic cars she shoots. There is an authenticity to the images where the details and imperfections are celebrated rather than ignored or concealed. What Courtney does best is capture a car at its very finest, as it exists in the real world. Panels with rust don’t need to be photoshopped out or stone chips removed. All these little details help tell the story, the history, the personality of the cars and their owners. They are a time capsule of experiences, of what once was.

People often mistakenly focus on the gear used to create the images but it’s Courtney’s eye, her vision, the emotional connection to her subject and attention to detail that all combine to tell a visual story. Something that can only come from a true classic car enthusiast. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------