Along with honing his truck driving skills over the past 12 years, Melbourne based truckie Filip Schubert has also become an avid truck photographer too.
And his skills behind the lens have seen several of his photos published in Big Rigs’ popular Reader Rigs pages in recent times – the most recent of which was named #PicOfTheMonth, scoring him a $500 Shell Coles Express gift card, courtesy of Shell Rimula.
Nick Lubransky, transport marketing manager for Shell Rimula said, “I’ve been involved with the transport industry at Shell for over 10 years, and I love the passion from drivers taking photos of their rigs right across the country. There are iconic photos taken every day and it’s great that Big Rigs can share them with readers. Our customers often send me photos of their rigs at Shell sites, which is pretty cool. We are proud to sponsor the #PicOfTheMonth with Shell Rimula, and the gift cards are a great way to say thanks for sharing the images.”
Schubert says he’s been taking truck photos since he first started driving. “I have thousands of truck photos on my phone. It’s so full of photos, I can’t take any more without deleting some,” said the 34-year-old.
“Once you take a few shots and people say they’re kind of cool, you try and get better and better, and start talking to other truck photographers. I’m trying to produce some good photography and show off what us truckies do.”
Schubert was thrilled when Big Rigs got in touch to tell him he had won the #PicOfTheMonth competition. “I was very surprised to hear one of my photos had won. When you’re doing something just for fun, it’s nice to see your work and effort get acknowledged.”
Schubert currently drives a 2009 Kenworth T608 for RobTrans, doing local pick-ups and deliveries of refrigerated freight, along with the occasional interstate run where required.
Truck driving wasn’t always on the cards for Schubert, in fact it was while he was at uni, studying to be a teacher, that he decided to go down the transport path.
“I always had a fascination with driving. Ever since I was little I remember playing with little cars and going in the school bus and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. While at uni, I saw an ad saying they needed bus drivers and would pay for your licence. I realised I was having a lot more fun driving than in class,” he said.
“My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, said you have to do what you’re passionate about. From then on, I actively tried to move up and find work. I came from a non-transport background so trying to break into the industry was hard.”
Schubert initially got his truck licence when he was 22 and upgraded to his MC at 24. Though he does a variety of single and B-double work, he says he prefers the bigger stuff.
“I drove the uni buses for less than a year before moving into trucks. I knew straight away that I wanted to get into trucks. I always had the mentality that bigger is better, so I’ve constantly tried to keep moving up,” Schubert added.
When asked what he enjoyed most about the job, Schubert was quick to respond. “I absolutely love the freedom. Everyday could be a little bit different. You’re never stuck in one place and, ultimately, you’re getting paid to do something that you love to do, which is all that you can really ask for. With my photos, I’m just trying to show a bit of that pride I have for trucking, and show that we truckies care about our equipment and how we present ourselves out on the road to other road users.”