As winter begins to flex its icy strength across much of the country – the Northeast in particular is going to feel the early onset of its wrath for the second time over the Thanksgiving holiday – truck calendars also begin to pop across the land as well.
[For example, you can get a glimpse of Kenworth Truck Co.’s annual calendar creation by clicking here.]
I’ve got several favorites I look for every season – Chrome & Elegance by Roger Snider ranks high on the list – but one of the best “home grown” truck calendars out there is crafted annually by Tom Schoening for the family-owned Midwest Peterbilt Group (MPG) of dealerships (also known as Sioux City Truck Sales Inc. or SCTS) spanning Iowa and Nebraska.
Schoening – a former journalist and now MPG’s marketing manager – takes many of the photos that grace the dealership’s yearly creation.
The 2015 edition of the group’s Peterbilt Working Trucks calendar includes trucks with some pretty interesting stories, including a 2005 Model 379 restoration and daycab conversion completed by the firm’s Sioux City Body Shop:
Schoening also put his shutterbug talents to work for a Midwest amateur photographic competition, crafting a neat slide show saluting trucks, truck drivers and truck shows you can view below:
While such calendars may look easy to make, they are anything but, especially when it comes to dealing with the weather, Schoening told me by phone – though he likes to say photographers often can find a silver lining despite what Mother Nature delivers.
“I remember for our first calendar several years ago I was heading for a photo shoot and it just poured rain the whole way,” he said. “It stopped just as I got to the location. I ended up getting the truck placed in a big puddle of water to create a ‘lake effect’ image. That’s still one of my favorite shots today.”
Schoening also noted that MPG – in business since 1954 – plans to expand again in 2015 with the construction of a “full store” in his words in Lincoln, NE; a facility that should be open by fall of next year.
That’ll also give him another choice venue for his calendar photo shoots, too. Thus I can’t wait to see what “iron opportunities” that allows him to chronicle for the 2016 iteration of MPG’s calendar.