When walking around the medieval hilltop town of San Quirico d’Orcia, I came across a quiet back street with a high stone wall on one side and some houses and shops on the other. Bizarrely the top of the wall hosted a single cypress tree that towered rather majestically over the street. I saw potential in this location, particularly during a setting sun, when I could manage the composition to make the most of the golden light. There was a timeless aesthetic and sense of place on this stone road that was impossible to ignore.

The Val d’Orcia region of Tuscany offered stunning backdrops for the legendary Mille Miglia car race and San Quirico d’Orcia is its spiritual heart. It made sense that the town became our HQ for this series and we invested in the community and its charming people. I think we dined in one restaurant at least eight times and as each day passed, we made more friends and engaged with many willing participants to our homage.

The simplicity of community life in the village and the cafe society dating to the 50s informed and directed me and that was the inspiration for this photograph. The Mille Miglia was a coveted spectator event that passed through many rural communities, not an elite car race happening on a soulless circular racetrack. The race came to the villagers, as opposed to villagers going to the race. The tragedy of 1957, when 10 spectators died, makes that point.

The photograph features the 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza 0530 - one of the most celebrated Ferraris from that era and an attraction at the Monza Museum for over 10 years. Fully restored now it again races the Mille Miglia.

We had many people to place in this tableau, but the key participant was the model, Frida Aasen. I knew that in the cinematic composition she would be off-centre and not necessarily dominant, yet she had to own the frame and be where the eye went. It’s not an easy trick, but she has such a strong look and the fading sun allowed me to highlight her.