I left school as an aspiring artist and was accepted by an art college in Sussex which, fortunately, had a photographic department; I was able to enrol on a course and thus my future career was decided. At that time my friend passed his driving test and suggested we visit Brands Hatch one weekend. It became my introduction to the world of motorsport and automobiles. Making use of a borrowed medium format Mamiya C3 camera, I managed to combine my new interests.
After college I found employment with a commercial photographic studio and became the chief photographer, eventually buying the business from my employer when he retired. By now I had purchased my first car, a well-used Frogeye Sprite which was my introduction to competition driving, competing in night rallies and autotests – I even won a few trophies!
As my business grew, I received commissions from clients in the automotive world such as Suzuki cars and bikes and SEAT, producing images for publicity and brochures. I also asked a book designer friend whether he knew of an author who could co-produce a book about my favourite car, the Shelby AC Cobra, as by now I had a large collection of photographs. Eventually it fell to me to write the words as well. Haynes published my book and I became an author. I expected it to be my first and last book but it was updated and reprinted which led to an offer to write a book about the Ford GT40.
Trevor Legate produced his own version of the Cobra book
After thirty years as a professional photographer, I sold my business and produced my own version of the Cobra book whilst also writing further automotive books on commission. With the help of friends, we founded a small publishing business that created a number of books on a varitey of topics before the market suffered a down-turn and we closed the company.
I continued to expand my interest in the Cobra which led to several invitiations to Cobra events in the USA and Europe. I now produce limited-edition books on individual Cobras, a private biography commissioned by a world-famous engineer, and produce books that make use of my photographic archive.
