The Art Of Putting Classic Cars to Sleep

Where do cars hibernate for the winter? Those glorious classics from Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Porsche…the list is incalculable. Most enter a period of inactivity every year, a period that photography student Michael Schaap sought to capture in his recent series called “Hibernation.”

By working with classic car owners, Schaap was able to set up and capture a number of classic cars being put away for the winter. The shots are, of course, staged, with enhancements made to each image in order to emphasize that the vehicles would, in effect, be put to bed for a long time.

We find the work suitably haunting and quite sad: after all, the worst day of the year for those in northern climates is the day the classic cars are put into hibernation.

Hibernation is the third major work by Schaap, with earlier works taking a more documentary-style approach to the subjects of both American-style lowriders and Europeans who own American cars. Select works are available for purchase, and we recommend following his work on Facebook.