Vacation? Looks nice and quiet!

Yes -- I shot these in Otter Tail County, MN last week. Some are from our property there. The highest temp I saw was 5 degrees F.

I swear to God I put mine next to the ones you did and I like yours more! The only thing that would make mine look better is if I could get the damn star trails to be one solid line of light. Stupid program won't work right, I have to play with it more.

That's one thing I liked about it as well, added some depth to the car. Thanks Boost!

Here's a couple shots I did recently for a buddy of mine and his sweet Yamaha R1 Fiat Edition. Sadly, in the middle of doing some rolling shots right after these were taken he hit a patch of sand that sent him off the road and into some soft grass, his front tire dug in and flipped the bike which came down directly on a 2'x4' boulder and basically totalled the whole thing. What made it even worse was that he'd had a cruiser and let a friend borrow it, his friend didn't even make it out of the parking lot before he wrapped it around a pole. The insurance money for that bike had paid for this one, and he'd had it just about a month. So sad...

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...psf8558bae.jpg


http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...psfa8f7a47.jpg


http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...psb70bdaa2.jpg

Ouch. :(

RIP (the bike) :(

Better late than never, I promised these a couple weeks ago, just took me forever to get to them with the holidays. This is an example of what I would do for a client for the most part. If anyone needs some help or advise I'd be more than glad to help! Here they are as promised:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7531/...36a85070_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7519/...08b18ba6_b.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8595/...8a6a4297_b.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8677/...a1433dca_b.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8681/...44c8acf0_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7580/...2c8ac842_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7497/...a192ef53_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7479/...8a486041_b.jpg

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Nice interior shots man! Question about that last one. Did you use different passes and put it together or was that all done in one? If done in one did you have multiple strobes or flashes or just one? If none at all that is some sweet natural light fill! haha

That was one shot one kill, literally! I used strobes for almost every shot in some form or fashion. Thank you!

So for interior shot how many strobes did you use if you dont mind me asking?

And wast his outside on a gloomy day? I ask because I am trying to transfer these concepts over to my cgi automotive work.

Here is one of my shots. But this was all studio lights with a black environment. I kinda like the fill you have.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3689/...4630fb1c_b.jpg

Without getting into too much detail, it was a slightly cloudy morning, and I shot from just before sunrise to just after, for about an hour and a half total, with the interior shots done last. I used 2 strobes, one left and one right, but also was sitting in the trunk and had that opened, which let in some light, but that doesn't really matter to the shot as all the light is from the strobes. I believe I was at 1/160 SS, f/16, ISO 100.

I like your shot a lot and it is a perfect low key shot IMO. If you shot the same thing the same way with a light environment, it'd likely naturally fill in your dark spots. Or is that shot CGI? If so, damn, thats impressive!

haha yeah that is all 3D. I do 3D for a living and now trying to transfer the concepts from that into real life. Except real life costs money and takes time to move lights around haha.

Here is a shot I did of the whole car. Again car is CGI. Background is from William Stern.

http://poltavskiy.com/wp-content/upl...s-1024x682.jpg

Wow thats awesome to know someone actually living the dream and doing what they love! I can tell this by the quality of your work, very well done! Maybe one day we will be big and successful and be able to collaborate on work together. I see the future of advertising and marketing photography incorporating more and more CGI. I tend to have an aesthetic to my work that can mimic the CGI look.

Thanks for the kind words!
I am actually trying to get into automotive photography because I want to actually do it hands on and not be behind a computer all the time.

What is kinda sad to see is we are taking shots at work that people took and upgrading the vehicles in 3D ourselves.

What I do know is environment photography will always be needed for backdrops.

Here is one shot I did for practice. Shot the backdrop/hdri downtown and then obviously rendered in the car.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5611/...f67876de_b.jpg

I like pictures of cars that are honest, that are believable and that are expressive, while at the same time shooting from perspectives and focal lengths that embody a surrealism that captures something we don't see everyday or in other's images. My best advise is to find what you are drawn to and learn as much as you can about those images, then try to make them yourself. With a background in CGI, you undoubtedly understand light and how to use it, so that puts you leaps and bounds ahead of most people!

I agree with the study. I have been looking at many photographers this last week and just breaking down their images. Sadly the photographers that are on the A list do a bunch of retouching which makes their work undoubtedly amazing, but very challenging to recreate because now its also another skillset that I need to develop haha.

Yes, retouching is huge in a lot of automotive photography, especially manufacturer publications. I specialize in retouching and I do use it extensively, but I also happen to not particularly like how autos that are overly retouched portray because they don't look real or honest anymore, so I limit myself in my post processing to accommodate this personal feeling. Everyone is different and has different appeals though. The way I learned was just to go shoot, even if its your own car over and over and over again, each time applying fundamentals you may have missed or applied poorly in previous attempts. It's the funnest part but also can be irritating as sh1t!

The Beard is my hommie :)

Jay, those shots look great man. #2 (the vertical), the background is a bit busy for my tastes but the rest look great man. Lighting is spot on for the interiors.

I don't know if I've shared this guy's stuff on here before, but I just had to. He takes some amazing sports shots. The first one on this "Best of NHRA 2014" is so cool.

Best of 2014: Best NHRA Photos on Mark J. Rebilas Blog

Thank Pat! I learned a lot of my interior lighting skills from studying your stuff actually:tiphat:

#2 is a bit busy, but I can't help but shoot there because that part of the building is very geometric and angular. I just wish I could rip that fence out.

Yup, the fence kills it. The rest would be fine. That's just too much going on in the background to really focus on the subject. Maybe if you had a 135 f/2 and shot wide open so it was more bokeh'd... That's what I do when the background is an issue :)

So... I'm going to be getting a mac for mostly photo editing. Wondering what some of you guys are using?

I was thinking of going with the Mac book air and adding the super drive and external HD. Wondering if you guys think the retina display in the Mac book pro is worth the extra scratch for this?

Very very true

I use a Lenovo Y510P and it absolutely kills. Retina display or anything Apple was not a consideration for me, but some people like it. I don't care for Apple, I use it when I have to, but I prefer PC. Photoshop doesn't care if you are on a MAC or PC, only that you throw a crap load of RAM and scratch disk space at it so it can handle multiple 6000px images without freezing. Oh and use 64 bit:tup:

I just went back in and cloned out the fence, much better looking now, thank you for the critique!

I use my built PC :happydance:

On a side note, my tripod arrived :tup:

What'd you get? I got one for Christmas.

Nice I got pretty much the identical one, except made by Oben. Nice choice! It's awesomely portable.

:tup: Yes its actually pretty light.

I was looking at the Vangaurd or Manfrotto 055Xprob, but in the end the vanguard offered almost identical features for half the cost. And based on reviews, the Vanguard is very good. I'll experiment with it in the spring.

I don't use tripods very often, but when I do I prefer a light and portable one. I liked this one because it could hold the weight of my 5D plus the 70-200 with the collar. Also having the wide angle legs makes car photography easier cuz I have neck issues that flare up sometimes trying to get down on the ground w/ the camera low.

This is the tripod I use:

Camerachums - The Accessory Outlet

I bought it used off a guy on a camera forum for $150 I think. It was a little beat up but not bad. One of the clamps is hard to work with but still functions.

"The most interesting photographer alive!" :icon17:

I may just add that to my sig!

:bowrofl::roflpuke2::bowrofl:

carbon fiber :tup:. Is it light?

Yeah it's pretty light. I need to get a better head for it though, the one that is on it is kinda flimsy. I'd like to get a squeeze grip ball head from manfroto or something. Depends on if it will fit in the carrying case I use or not.

http://www.the370z.com/members/jparr...ne-my-370z.jpg

A quick shot I took today, If anyone needs photoshop help they can message me!

Had a little fun this weekend with a friend.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7503/...b9491e79_b.jpg