Photos and details. That's what we look for, and bring to you, when an automaker reveals a new car. But Mazda, having already revealed the new Mazda3 at the 2018 LA Auto Show late last year, has taken its photography to another level.

To showcase its stylish new model – now entering its fourth generation – the Japanese automaker solicited the services of the world-renowned photographer John Rankin Waddell, better known simply as Rankin. And the images he captured of the new hatchback (pictured in red) and sedan (grey) are rather stunning to behold.

Each of the six photos was given its evocative name: Release, Liberation, Zeal, Serenity, Panache, and Verve (in the order in which they're presented above and below). And they weren't manipulated in Photoshop (or some other post-production retouching tool) either. Rankin gave the car in each photo a sense of motion by physically (and skillfully) moving the camera.

"Rankin has a wonderful way of capturing the car as art," said Mazda's European design director Jo Stenuit. "You can't work with an artist and then constrain their art, and this is about two brands coming together to create beautiful art."

Described as "one of the most influential photographers of our generation," Rankin has taken the portraits of such notables as Queen Elizabeth II, Daniel Craig, Kate Moss, David Bowie, and Monica Bellucci. He's also directed music videos for the likes of Miley Cyrus, Rita Ora and Kelis, and done advertising campaigns for Nike, L'Oreal, and Diageo (among countless others). He's edited magazines and published books, and been featured in many more. And this isn't the first time he's worked with cars, either, having previously been commissioned to capture the Ford Mustang and the Spirit of Ecstasy for Rolls-Royce.

Check out new Mazda car models.