With the 911 through the curves of California

The rugged Panamint Range beckons on the horizon. Nothing but curves frame the craggy cliffs. Stefan Bogner is sensing that special moment again. The yearning that overwhelmed him several years ago when he first created Curves magazine. “Only in a car do I really find peace,” he says. An uncompromisingly artistic photographer, he sees only two options whenever he flees the bustle of everyday life: standing behind a camera, or sitting behind the wheel. Preferably both, in rapid succession. When choosing his backdrops, Bogner is more willing to compromise. A native of Munich known for his work in the Alps, he has long had California in his sights.

But he didn’t have the right set of wheels. “You can’t take the mother of all road trips in any old car. It has to be a 911,” he says with what must be the same smile he had as a boy whenever he heard a Porsche motor running. So he and his dream road waited for the best 911 of all time—which is traditionally the newest—namely, the 911, Type 991 II. Preferably a Cabriolet, with the sense of freedom it offers. Just the thing for the American dream. Up against the edge of the West. No other place seems more appropriate for “generating impressions and evoking memories and desires in order to interpret them anew.” We start off in Los Angeles, the cultural center of California. Without a plan. With the goal of not having a goal. No obligations. No rush. Just being on the road.

Scores made of curves and dreams

With his finger on the shutter, Bogner begins his search for his melodies and his sound. The song of soulful driving, that feeling of freedom in the midst of curves, of being on the road with friends. Like the days of yore in his band. Today his fingers do not caress a keyboard, however, but rather a Nikon and a Leica. They compose scores made of curves and dreams, images of a nearly infinite emptiness, filled with desire. His song carries us up Highway 1 to San Francisco. The summer of love. No flowers in our hair, but sunlight all around. Silicon Valley is just a few kilometers away, and we can sense its winds of change.