1976 – A driver poses for the camera in his white BMW 1602 near Kiel, Germany. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Since they got married in 1965, my parents always had a car. In the beginnings it would be a Volkswagen Beetle, later on a VW 1600 Squareback, and a Fiat 124. That Fiat was simple, reliable and robust – a pragmatic car. But my father had always yearned for a ‘real’ car, a BMW.
Then, in spring 1976, he discovered a four-year old BMW 1602 at a BMW dealer in Kiel, Germany, and he (as well as my mother) fell in love with that car right away. It was expensive, yes, but they could somehow afford it. It would also show to the neighbors that they ‘had made it’. And so the Zanzig’s now owned a snow-white 1602.
The very first action my mother asked for was a test drive and a photoshooting. After all, the new family member had to be documented! And so we drove across the countryside between Kiel and Eckernförde and stopped the car on a small road. The car was looking good in the warmish light of the late afternoon sun. Yes, the trees were still not yet blossoming, but that was all OK. The car was the hero. And my father. Who proudly smiled behind the wheel of the new car.
The negatives of this shooting have long been lost, and the prints have terribly faded over time. This restored version is as good as it gets.
Anyway, fond memories of my father and that new (used) BMW 1602.
By the way, the boy sitting behind the driver is me. 🙂
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | Spring 1976 |
| Location | Near Kiel, Germany |
| Camera | unknown |
| Image Source | 9 x 13 cm color print |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 6115 x 4134 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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