Five years, eight states, four countries, hundreds of guitars, thousands of frames and in the end Archtop Guitars: The Journey From Cremona To New York, a nine-pound, 432-page book that’s a stunning tribute to the art of three great guitar makers and the artistry of one dedicated photographer.

It began simply, as many all-consuming projects do.

Commercial and editorial photographer Vincent Ricardel, who is also an avid guitarist, would drop in from time to time at Rudy’s Music Stop on 48th Street in New York City and talk with musician, guitar maker, collector and store owner Rudy Pensa. They’d talk guitars, photography and, eventually, Rudy’s dream of publishing a book that would link the three great violin makers of Cremona, Italy—Antonio Stradivari, Andrea Guarneri and Nicolò Amati—to the three great guitar makers of New York City—John D’Angelico, Jimmy D’Aquisto and John Monteleone.

“Rudy talked about how the architecture and cultural times of Renaissance Italy spawned the development of the violins,” Vincent says, “and how the architecture and cultural times of 20th century New York, especially jazz and the art deco movement, influenced the design of the handmade, custom guitars crafted by these three masters.”

Rudy, the passionate authority, curated the project and told the story; Vincent captured the beauty of the guitars, photographing instruments in private collections, in museums and in the hands of musicians who owned them; for good measure he made portraits of several of the musicians.

He shot the project with a D2X and a D3 (today he shoots with D3X and D3S cameras). His lenses were a mix of old habits and new glass. “On the D3 I used my 50mm
[AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G] and a 55mm Micro-NIKKOR I bought in the ’80s that I can’t part with. On the D2X I had a 17-55mm
[AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED].

Almost every photo was made on location, which meant that Vincent carried his photo studio with him: Dynalite studio strobes, an SB-800 Speedlight, Morris Mini Slaves (small enough to flt in the sound holes of some of the guitars) and a range of light modifiers from foam core reflectors to softboxes.

Plus two other key elements: backdrops and standups. “At the start I realized the guitars would look best against a black background; it worked out that black velvet was perfect for instruments that had such saturated colors, and I used it for most of the portraits as well.” Vincent would often take front and back establishing shots while the guitar was supported by a custom-built stand or held upright by monofilament line. Then he’d move around the guitar, often shooting at extreme angles. “If there was an angle I couldn’t get, I’d have someone hold the guitar. Shooting at odd angles was an unorthodox approach, but I had to avoid the catalog look. I had to give the images variety and a feeling of motion.” He rarely used a tripod. “I needed to move, to explore all the angles. I wanted to react quickly, almost spontaneously, to the shape of the guitars.”

Before he photographed a guitar, he played it. “I wanted to know what it sounded like, and what it looked like in my hands. I’d study it, looking for details—a unique inlay or headstock design—so the viewer would be able to see and enjoy the distinctions. I’d think, what is it about this instrument that’s going to be different from the next one? Even though there may have been a number of the same models, each guitar was different because each was custom made for the person who ordered it. A musician would specify the thickness of the neck, the color of the wood, the binding, the inlay.”

There were only two instruments he was not permitted to play. One was The Rawlins, a ten-string guitar made by Antonio Stradivari in 1700 that Vincent photographed at the National Music Museum at the University of South Dakota; the other, Chet Atkins’s 1950 D’Angelico that he photographed at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Well, okay…Stradivari and Atkins. What are you going to do, complain?

You can learn more about Archtop Guitars: The Journey From Cremona To New York, and view a selection of Vincent’s portraits and commercial and editorial images at www.vincentricardel.com.