Art & Inspiration Car Photography

The purpose of this thread is to capture useful tricks to get good car photographs; it is not intended as a thread to post pictures just because they are good (unless it is possible to explain what was done to make them good, “got lucky” doesn’t count as an explanation). There are already threads to post good pictures, https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/cool-photos-for-photographers.1054623/ a**** others. Most cameras have the same or similar controls and this thread will help to know what to look for.


Most good shots are taken by accident with the camera set on automatic (where most people set theirs and leave them). This thread is to increase the odds of getting good photographs by explaining what the various dials on cameras control. To increase the odds further of a good photo take a lot of pictures and delete the bad ones later. Today’s digital cameras beat the “good old days” when film and prints were expensive. Some of these techniques are not available on inexpensive cameras but it is surprising what can be done with today’s relatively inexpensive cameras. The instructions for most cameras are usually available free on line from the camera manufacture, Google their name. Other nice things about on line camera instructions that it is possible to use the search feature of the computer to find things that cannot be located in the index or enlarge the print to make it easier to read. Printed copies are available from companies that specialize in making copies (again, Google is a good friend). Unfortunately these copies are usually on 8 ½ X 11 paper and are not the neat smaller copies that came with the camera when it was new. There are videos for some cameras on how to use them. In general inexpensive cameras and iPhones may lack flexibility but they are good because they are small and light enough that it is easy to carry them so they are available when needed. My camera and the accessories that I carry with it weigh as much as a brake drum and I should be carrying a brake drum at a swap meet.


The place to start is with the correct exposure. There are three things that come into play, how long the shutter is left open (shutter speed), how big the opening is for the light to come into the camera (aperture), and how sensitive the camera is to light (ISO setting). This seems simple enough but changing any of these settings impacts other things, sometimes good and sometimes bad depending on what is wanted in the picture. As the limits of the settings are approached the image quality will suffer. Although going to the absolute limits of the settings will result in a slightly degraded image it may be the only way to get the desired photo. Depending upon how much the photo is enlarged and how much of a perfectionist the viewer is the degradation might not be important.


SHUTTER SPEED

The obvious main function of changing the shutter speed is to control the amount of time the light strikes the sensor but there are other effects, some good and some bad. The camera has a setting that will allow the shutter speed to be set to whatever is required (shutter priority) and it will automatically adjust the other parameters to give the correct exposure. If the correct exposure cannot accommodate the shutter speed that is set the camera will indicate it with blinking numbers. Fast shutter speeds (over 1/500 of a second) will freeze motion. Anything above 1/60 will get a good picture if the camera is held still. With a normal lens anything under about 1/60 of a second shutter speed should be shot using a tripod or the image may be blurred when enlarged. The motion of a flywheel on a stationary engine is frozen at 1/8000 of a second but at 1/30 the spokes and rim becomes a blur giving the sensation of motion.





Remember that a telephoto lens will require faster shutter speeds as the telephoto magnifies the movement of the camera. With a normal lens as the shutter speed becomes 1/30 of a second or less a cable release for the shutter or a remote shutter control is a good idea to avoid blurred photos. For real long shutter speeds most SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras have a setting that flips up the mirror in the camera and locks it in that position prior to opening the shutter. This avoids the small movement of the camera resulting from the mirror being flipped out of the way. Most SLR’s also have a setting called “bulb” that will allow the lens to remain open as long as the cable release is ****on is held down. I think the term “bulb” goes back to the time when shutters were controlled with a rubber “bulb” that forced air into the camera to operate the lens. For an interesting effect on a moving car set the shutter speed to about 1/30 and follow the moving car with the camera as the picture is being taken. This is best done with a tripod. This technique is called panning. The result is that the background will be blurred while the car is frozen giving the sensation of speed. This technique is not as easy as it sounds, it will require practice. To use slower shutter speeds and still get the correct amount of light on the sensor it is necessary to reduce the aperture and set the sensitivity (ISO setting) of the camera. If the camera is set to shutter priority this will be done automatically. Focus the camera ahead of time. Most cameras allow pressing the shutter ****on half way down to set the focus and exposure and holding it there will keep that setting. Set the camera to take a burst of several photos so the one that is centered best can be used. Changing the aperture and ISO will have their own side effects that will be covered later. There are two other ways to get the blur that gives the sensation of speed. The first one is to photograph a car that is traveling in the next lane on the highway. Point the camera out an open window (the imperfections in the window gl*** will show up on the photograph if the photo is taken through the window gl***) and do not rest the camera on the window sill (unwanted vibrations will be transferred from the vehicle to the camera). The car will be frozen and the background will speed by as a blur. The second way is to point the camera out of the front of a moving car and take the picture. The effect will be like a “Star Wars” spaceship jumping to light speed (well maybe not quite that spectacular). If the camera has a feature such as "live view" on a Canon or Nikon it is possible to see what the camera is seeing projected on the view screen and that might make it easier to hold the camera above the windshield for taking a picture. Again don’t shoot through the gl*** (do I hear roadster with the top down or maybe a sun roof) or lean the camera on the car. Be sure to bring a friend along as a driver while attempting these last two techniques.


APERTURE

The obvious main function of changing the aperture is to control the amount of light striking the sensor. Many cameras have a setting called “aperture priority” that allows the aperture to be set and the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed and ISO for the proper exposure. There is an additional effect of changing the aperture called “bokeh”, which is the out of focus background while the foreground is in focus. The aperture determines the depth of field of the focus. It is a property of the optics in the camera lens that the smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field will be. The depth of field is a measurement of how much distance the image is in an acceptable focus. An example with a large aperture everything from 2 feet to 3 feet will be in good focus but things closer or further away will be out of focus. If the background on the photograph is out of focus the viewer’s eyes will go to the object in focus. A small aperture will have a large depth of field and allows the subject of interest to be in focus as well as the background. It all depends on the story that is being told with the picture. With a large aperture the hood ornament is in focus and the background is out of focus. With a small aperture the background begins to come into focus. With a little juggling of the factors that affect the depth of field it is possible to get more of the background into focus. Some cameras have a ****on to push that will show the depth of field in the viewfinder. There are additional factors that affect the depth of field and these will be discussed in the “magnification of lens” section below.





SENSITIVITY OF FOCAL PLANE (ISO, International Organization for Standardization, used to be, ASA, or film speed)


Many cameras allow the sensitivity of the focal plane to light to be changed. This is similar to using a faster or slower film in the old film cameras. Setting the ISO high will allow taking photos where flash is not permitted. Also the high ISO will make a greater depth properly illuminated when using flash. This is something that is handy when photographing indoor car shows or outdoor events at night. The down side is that the quality will suffer slightly when a high ISO (probably over 3200 depending upon the camera) setting is used.


Once the exposure is correct there are other things that go into a good picture.


FOCUS

It is important to pay close attention to the little spots on the screen that indicate with most cameras where the camera is focusing. It is important to pay attention or the camera may be focusing on something in the background when the picture is intended to show something in the foreground. If the light spots don’t indicate the focus is on the subject sometimes by pointing the camera in a slightly different direction (with the same amount of light and distance to the subject) the focus (as indicated by the small spots of light) will be correct. On many cameras the focus and exposure settings are set when the shutter ****on is pressed half way down. Keeping the ****on half way down will keep these settings. After the focus is set the camera can be pointed towards the subject and the shutter ****on pressed the rest of the way down. Most cameras also have a way to focus them manually (frequently the switch will be on the side of the lens) if the automatic focus doesn’t want to work properly.


MAGNIFICATION OF LENS


Technically the magnification is called the “focal length” of the lens but in plain English, wide-angle, normal and telephoto settings (24mm, 55mm, and 300mm). The folllowing photographs show these three lenses.







As a note when I refer to the focal length of a lens I am talking about an old 35MM film camera or a full frame digital camera. There is not a one to one comparison with the focal lengths of other cameras using different sizes of sensors. Wide-angle lenses are great for car shows. Try to step back 50 feet from a car at a show to get a picture and there will be fifty people between the camera and the car. But there is a down side. With a wide-angle lens a picture from the front of the car showing the side of the car the front tire might be 2 feet from the camera and the rear tire 20 feet from the camera. The front tire as captured by the camera will be much larger than the rear tire and the car will look distorted.



If it is possible to stand back and use a normal lens the tires and fenders will look closer to the same size. A slight telephoto will make them look even closer to being the same size.



To make the background out of focus in addition to using the maximum aperture it helps to use maximum magnification of the lens. In addition it is best to have the camera as close as possible to the subject and the background as far away as possible. To get a large depth of field so everything in the picture is in focus just follow these suggestions in reverse.

BACKGROUND LIGHTING
If there is a bright background behind the subject the light meter in the camera will read the light background and the subject will be dark. This includes bright skies as well as shafts of light coming through windows. Most cameras have a way to turn on the flash (see the instruction manual) even when the automatic feature of the camera doesn’t call for it. Flash units can frequently be turned “off”, “on slaved to the camera” or “on all the time”. Turning on the flash will fill in the light (called a fill flash) on the subject. As an alternative point the camera towards something at the same distance without the backlighting and press the shutter ****on half way down and hold it to lock the setting and then point the camera towards the subject being photographed and press the shutter ****on the rest of the way down. Compensating for back lighting can also be accomplished by changing the exposure compensation setting on the camera (just be sure to change it back). The last two methods will result in the area with the bright light being washed out.





SELECTING BACKGROUNDS
Some backgrounds are neutral such as trees and landscapes as shown in Malibob’s photo of his blue Model A or Chris Casny’s photo of his black Model A on a country road. Excellent backgrounds also include era correct building such as used by Tiny for his Model A, or event oriented backgrounds such as a car shows. Pay attention and get the background that will compliment the car and not distract the person looking at the photograph. A nice car parked in front of a cement block wall probably isn’t going make a picture that will end up hanging on the wall. Using the large aperture and telephoto lens mentioned earlier makes for a soft, out of focus, less distracting background.







CLEAN UP FOREGROUNDS
Start with a beautiful traditional hot rod, put something in the picture that doesn’t belong there and that is where the eyes of the person looking at the photograph will go first. This includes trash, shadows, lines in the parking lot and anything else that shouldn’t be in the picture. A nice thing about using a tripod is that it allows studying the picture for things that shouldn’t be there. Start with a beautiful traditional hot rod, put something in the picture that doesn’t belong there and that is where the eyes of the person looking at the photograph will go first. This includes trash, shadows, lines in the parking lot and anything else that shouldn’t be in the picture. A nice thing about using a tripod is that it allows studying the picture for things that shouldn’t be there.



WHITE BALANCE

When a picture and the background have a hue or tint there is a problem. Sunlight is by definition “white”. Flash units produce a light that is white. Some, but not all, light bulbs produce “white” light. Try going to a store with a large selection of light bulbs and they will have many different “colors” of light bulbs. The place that the problem is most frequently encountered is inside a building like a museum that has artificial light. The lights may be a different color to make the exhibits appear better when viewed in person but they create a problem for the camera. White balance may be needed very early or very late in the day when the sunlight has changed colors due to it filtering through the atmosphere. It may be needed when the sky is full of smoke from a large nearby fire. It may be needed when photographing a car at night under parking lot lights. It is best to prepare for these situations in advance. Read the camera manual under “white balance”. A “white” or “gray” card will be needed to calibrate the camera. For most cameras a photograph is taken of the card under the light source where the picture is taken and the camera is then adjusted according to the instruction manual. The camera will now adjust future photographs to compensate for the “color” of the light. In most cases when the camera is turned off the “white balance” will return to automatic.

POLARIZING FILTER
They are nice to have when they are needed but that is probably not going to justify the cost of buying it. When light is reflected off of a non-metallic object it tends to be polarized (most of the light rays vibrate in the same plane). A polarizing filter has the capability of removing/reducing the part of the light that is reflected thus it is possible to see through windows without reflection and reduce the reflection coming from shinny paint.

THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE AT HOME (PHOTOSHOP, PHOTOS [WAS I-PHOTO], ETC.)


In addition to the basic editing where 90% of the photos are thrown away there a lot of other useful tricks. With “Photos” from Apple it is possible to enhance the image, rotate the image (in case the camera was tilted when the picture was taken), crop the image, add filters, adjust the amount of light, retouch (maybe get rid of some of that junk left in the foreground), remove red eye (from people), plus other extensions that can be purchased from other suppliers. One of the most important things is reducing the size of the photos when posting to save space on the server. To export in Photos highlight a photo (or several by holding the shift ****on down) go to “File”, “Export 1 (or more if they were selected) Photo” to select what is wanted, click “Export” and it will ask how large file should to be and where to place it (the desktop is a good place). From the desktop it is possible to add them to a HAMB post. This will keep the original on file in “Photos” but for other software it is important to check to be sure that the original high-resolution copy is retained in the file. Some software may require making a copy and working with the copy. Photos (and probably many others) allows changing the photo while it keeps the original in the background. In Photos it is always always possible to undo the changes. A good trick to remember is to reduce the size of the photo it can be done by cropping the photo down to only the subject.





Both Photos (comes with a MAC computer) and Photoshop Elements will do all the average person needs. If more capability is needed it is possible to buy Aperture for a MAC or the full version of Photoshop for a PC or MAC.


A lot of people use photo hosting sites to post on the HAMB but I don’t like them because there are too many posts in the archives where pictures have disappeared.

DIG OUT THE OLD FILM CAMERAS

If it is desired to play with some of these suggestions it might be time to dig out an old high-end film camera if there is one available. Most cameras prior to about 1970 were totally manual which is good because it is possible to control everything, but bad because it is necessary to control everything. The quality of the images from the old film cameras when compared to digitals is usually actually better in most cases. Digitals didn’t take over the market because of image quality. If a person wants to get serious about photography they need a digital camera. To just play around a bit then an old film camera may be the low cost answer. The cost of getting an image from a film camera to a digital file is about one dollar each plus the time spent getting them developed. This does not allow for the fact that many images will not be used. By comparison the cost off getting an additional digital image with a digital camera is basically zero. The cost of using a film camera adds up fast. A couple of interesting things might be found when digging into the old film cameras. Today when a high end DSLR is purchased it will probably come with a “kit” put together by the camera store. The lens will probably be a variable going from wide angle to telephoto. Sometimes there will be two lenses, one from wide angle to normal and one from normal to telephoto. Film cameras when packaged as a “kit” usually had a fixed focal length lens (55 mm) that had a much larger aperture than today’s variable lenses. After that it was necessary to buy the variable lenses if they were needed. Today’s variable lenses have a lot more optics because they are variable as well as provisions for automatic focusing and shutter control. The trade off with the smaller aperture variable focal length lenses available today is good but if it is desired to make the background out of focus or take photos in low light a large aperture is necessary. The wide aperture lenses are still available today but they are expensive (usually referred to as “portrait lenses” since their main use is portrait shots by professional photographers). Their limited production makes them expensive. Another thing frequently found along with the film camera is a lot of accessories, special lenses, filters, bellows, etc.

GENERAL COMMENTS
These comments are a little off topic but handy.


If the camera is new set it back to the “factory default” settings and then go into the menus and fine-tune the settings. Be sure the date and time is set on the camera. Most photo storage programs sort first by the date and next time and if they are not correct the photos will not be sorted properly. If a digital copy of the photo is given to a friend with the wrong date and time they will need to correct the information for it to sort properly in their storage system.


Register the camera with the manufacturer and write down the serial number of the camera and lenses in case they are ever stolen.


Turn on the GPS location feature. If the picture is taken on father’s day in Pomona it was probably shot at LARS.


Set the file format to the highest resolution JPEG, it is always possible to reduce it later but it is not possible to increase it. The file format is the way images are stored. The JPEG format looks for adjacent pixels (the “dots” that make up the picture) and if they are similar it combines them to reduce the amount of storage space required. Note that once the software in the camera combines pixels they cannot be separated. The definition of similar is established when the amount of “JPEG compression” is set in the camera. The camera should be set at maximum resolution and minimum compression to retain as much information as possible for the picture. A 21-megapixel camera set at the maximum resolution and minimum JPEG compression will produce an image between 5-13 megapixels depending on what is being photographed. Why is resolution important? If pictures are just for posting on the Internet or emailing them to someone then maximum resolution is not important. If the intended use is to make standard size prints maximum resolution is not important. Resolution is important for that perfect picture of something and it is desired to blow it up to 16X20 to hang on the wall. Resolution is important when some editor wants to use the picture on a cover on his magazine. Resolution is important when cropping down to one small area to show something. Once the picture is taken the resolution cannot be increased. The second most common format is “RAW”. I don’t use this format but if I needed extremely high resolution I probably would use it. This format stores each pixel of the image. Thus a 21-mega-pixel camera would generate a 21-mega-pixel file. These large size pictures take more time to load, more time to process and more space to store but they will result in a better image for enlargements or editing. Some post processing software will not process RAW format images.


Frequently back up the camera card to the computer at home.


Take pictures of signs (like at the entrance of LARS). Later it might be decided to make a book or presentation and it would be good to have a ***le page.



When taking a picture of a car for sale get a close up of the “for sale” sign showing the phone number in case it is needed later. Information written down on a piece of paper will probably get separated from the picture later.

Another thing to remember is that if the photo has the potential to be a magazine cover shoot at least a couple vertical and with enough unimportant stuff at the top that it could be covered with a magazine ***le.





When traveling don’t rest the camera on the window of a moving car or the railing of a moving ship. The vibration will be transmitted to the camera and blur the image.

Don’t shoot pictures through windows or windshields unless absolutely necessary. There are flaws in the gl*** that will show up as out of focus/blurred areas when the photos are enlarged.

A bit of trivia for a rainy day is that Ziplock bags in a 2-gallon size and are great for protecting the camera from water on a rainy day. Most stores don't carry them, use GOOGLE.

Final thought, the first picture on your disc should have in large bold letters “REWARD” and your name and a way to contact you.



If the camera is left somewhere and a HAMBER finds it he will return it and refuse any reward (what a nice group of guys).

Best of luck and if anyone has other tips, please post them. As time p***es and I have the opportunity to get additional photographs to illustrate some of my comments I will post them.

Charlie Stephens

 

This is going to be good! I'll be back after all the photos are posted. Bob

 

Photography is an art for sure.

 

Thanks Charlie for explaining some of the do dads on the picture taking thingy. I like you bringing it down to a level I (a simple man) can comprehend. Got to have a look at some of my settings.

 

Well done. I'm sure it took a while to organize and compose, thanks.

 

very interesting

 

Lots......and I mean LOTS of great information.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do that, it's very generous

 

I need to know which side my phone takes the picture. As 1/2 of them are just of me. lol Seriously , THANKS for all the cool info! One of the best things on the HAMB, are all the Cool Photos. RON...

 

Great overview tutorial Charlie! At one time I was pretty big into film. As a hobby first, then got a little deeper. When it got to be work, I lost the p***ion eventually. Never made the transition to digi.
One thing I always remembered my teacher (who had work published in Nat.Geo.) told me, "The biggest difference between an amateur and a pro is the pro has a bigger trash can!" I guess that would be translated to 'bigger delete ****on' now-a-days.
Great thread idea, I'll watch this one.

 

I have been a professional photographer for over 30 years. Your information is great, however, most people don't understand depth of field, aperture and speed. Besides, they cannot change them on most "cell phones". My mentor explained to me the difference between an amateur and a professional was that the pro knows what is wrong with an image and can critique his work while an amateur thinks everything they shoot is great.

"Shooting you would be a pleasure"

 

Great write-up Charlie, thanks for taking the time to write and post all that.

 

More than interesting, thanks for posting.

 

True, but some may now be on their way to understanding lens apertures, shutter speeds, depth of field, after reading the tutorial, so it's worthwhile. "I'd rather be a musician than a rock star" (George Harrison)

 

I've got to save/follow this thread and go back and actually study it. Lots of great info. Thanks for posting. Maybe it'll rejuvinate my past interest in Photography.
I was into photography as a hobby at one time...even did a months long study on reciprocity failure. Now I probably didn't even spell it correctly, lol. any more I've just kept my Power Shot Cannon on auto.

 

Kinda like how karaoke made everybody a star.
Digital made everybody a photographer.
(not saying that's necessarily a bad thing)

 

I know, it's true. I still use my Miranda with focabell to take pictures of ants, but even when I was in art school I was moved by a lecture by this hippy that took overhead shots of people's back yards, to demonstrate how they arranged their lawn chairs etc. , to show how we are all natural "designers" and "artists", every one of us. Since that day I never looked at a slide in art history cl***, anything in a museum or any other piece of art or design the same. Seriously.

 

Thanks for the info on this. A few years ago I got a digital SLR mostly to get better pics of the kids in action playing sports. In doing that and doing related research you find out what you can and cannot take good pictures of and what is necessary to get good pics. Sometimes this means more $$ invested in equipment but again you need to know how to use it to get what you want and info like this thread helps us all. I will note that even tho the new phones seem to improve picture quality there's a bunch to say about picture composition. Thanks again!


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Great post! Lots of great info! Thanks so much! It's been about 15 years since my last photography cl***, so a refresher is most welcome.

About my only nit-pick is I find those backgrounds you posted to be extremely distracting and take away from the focus on the car. I must admit that this is a personal opinion and no where near fact and just how a prefer things. I actually find solid color walls to be an excellent background. Maybe that's just me....haha.





Sent from my SM-G900T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Great read, thank you for taking the time to present this information. Written so even a total neophyte pic taker like me can conceptualize the whole scope of it. Love the line about how a pro picks his work apart, striving to improve.

 

Lots of helpful info, thanks!

 

I have no idea weather or not you professional photographers would consider these good but I like them. Here are some shots of a couple of bikes I put together recently for the Muscle Bike Build Off over on the RRB. Let me know what I could do to improve...............

 

PANNING I went to the AACA Holiday Tour and took a few photos. The first photo illustrates “panning” that I referenced in the initial post. I positioned myself where I could view the cars leaving on the tour. I used manual focus to focus the camera on the center of the roadway. I set the shutter speed to 1/30 of a second so the background would blur as I followed the moving car with the camera. I set the camera on “burst” to get several shots. I used a tripod to help control the motion of the camera. The result is shown below:



HIGH RESOLUTION The next three are to show why I recommended in my first post that the camera be set on the highest resolution (and left there). Once the picture is taken there is nothing you can do to increase the resolution. If you decide to want to crop the picture drastically of enlarge it you are out of luck. I mounted the camera on a tripod about 10 feet in front of the car and focused on the license plate. I increased the accuracy of the focus by turning the camera onto “live view” and then enlarging the screen 10 times to help me get the best focus. This feature is called “live view” on both Canon and Nikon cameras and probably several others. When focusing it is important to move through the best focus point and then return back and forth over it a couple of times to be sure you are you are in the center of the focus. I was careful not to shake the camera when I pressed the shutter release. If I had remembered to bring my shutter release I would have used it. The first photo shows the basic scene and the next two photos show the center enlarged using high, and low resolution images. For my camera the difference is small, I guess they don’t want to low of resolution photos out there to spoil their reputation. I ***ume the difference between high and low resolution might be greater on other cameras.





A final bit of trivia for this rainy day is that Ziplock bags in a 2 gallon size and are great for protecting the camera from water. Most stores don't carry them, use GOOGLE. I turns out my local Target has them.

Charlie Stephens

 

Hello, (Charlie Stephens has some great photo points…)

Photography must have been in my blood. From an early age, I was fascinated with the mechanical doings of my dad’s big 4x5 Graflex Crown Camera. I had no idea what it was, but the removable back cartridge was interesting, the shutter lever made a cool noise clicking it down, and the lens bellows creaked when I wound it out to the end and back, like an accordion. When we were little, most of our family photos came from this camera. I remember my dad lugging this huge brown suitcase around our family picnics, beach outings and vacations. This was his big “brownie” camera. Boy, when I looked at some of the photos and early negatives, they were crystal clear. Size did make a difference, but as everyone has said, it is how you use it that makes a difference.

Family photos were posed, as it took time to set up the big camera and those pop out flash bulbs were fun after the photo was taken. It was my job to hit the ****on and make the hot, burnt out bulb shoot out onto the floor. Those quick shots of today were absent because of the time it took to wait for a candid shot. Since it did take time, somehow he did not get too many oddball objects in the background in his photos.

After lugging around this huge brown suitcase and camera everywhere, he never got into our era of 35 mm SLR cameras, or even those early small format pocket 35mm film cameras. I guess he thought his photography time was over. (It could have been that two teenagers did not like to have their photos taken…shy) But, he was a super dad that asked his brother to bring a set of 35 mm SLR cameras/lenses for my brother and me on his next overseas visit. (Nikon for my brother and Asahi Pentax for me)

He did explain a little photography to me as far as light and composition. But at the time, it was like talking to a cloud for explaining those details. Later on, after my point and shoot movie camera days, those details came in handy on the photo shoots for the hot rod and bike magazines. (Even though, I got another schooling from Tex Smith about photography from his point of view)

Every photographer has his or her own way to see the world and things. Composition is obviously very important, but making sure you are seeing things your way is the best thing in photography. When I showed Tex Smith a shot I took out of the driver’s window into the rear view mirror of the El Camino, he was amazed that a reversed image could come out so clear. The composition was perfect as it showed the door jam, the moving street, and in the distance, a hot rod/chopper in perfect focus moving behind my car in the rear view mirror. (Yes, we were going down an empty street. My wife was watching the road ahead while I was getting set up behind the wheel and shooting the photos.)

But, as we all know, Tex Smith’s idiosyncrasies could not let that excellent series of photographs go without a comment or two. From that point on in the magazines, those types of shots were becoming popular in the features. But, shooting different points of view just changes the composition, keeps the main subject front and center. So, those blurs and light effects make the photographs better.

After I took this movie of the Speed Sport Roadster, Bobby Langley and others in a late afternoon at Riverside Raceway in 1959, I thought I ruined the shots with those sun reflections. But, later on in the real world, big screen, Hollywood movies, those sun spots and blurs are considered… "artistic” and were prevalent in a lot of movie productions. Some of those artistic shots were rejected by the magazine as mistakes, which to an “artist” was a slap in the face…booo…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7qiALC8VuM&feature=youtu.be
Shoot what you see as a photograph, compose what you think is good, then when you get back to your computer, delete or edit out all of the errors to make a good shot with all of “the good things in and bad things out” philosophy.

Jnaki

It is a lot easier today to digitally edit any photograph, but composition is still necessary. Back in the early 35mm film camera days, film was expensive and composition was the utmost. It was hard to edit out a tree or stick. Photography is really in the “eye of the beholder.”
This was a great composition and theme, but bad for the tree coming out of the rear of the delivery. There were other shots as I moved a little to the left to remove the tree, but this is the only slide I could find. These two builds (below) show different backgrounds as the color of the builds dictated a need or not.


Sometimes, it just happens in front of your eyes.

 

I referenced circular polarizing filters in the initial post but I wanted to revisit the topic with photos this time to illustrate what I was talking about. A circular polarizing filter ($195, B&H Photo) has the capability of removing/reducing light that is reflected from non metallic surfaces, thus it is possible to see through windows (gl*** and Plexiglas) with reduced reflection, reduce the reflection coming from shinny paint or reduce the reflection from the surface of water. The filter will do nothing to reflections from polished chrome, stainless or aluminum. The first two photos show a ’57 Chevy fender while looking through a closed window into a ’46 Ford Woodie, first without and then with a filter. The second two photos are of a reflection of a ’55 Thunderbird in the paint of a Model A Ford, first without and then with a filter. The final two photos are of trash sitting at the bottom of a pond, first without and then with a filter. The reflection is coming from the sky showing through the canopy of trees. I should add that the filter is sensitive to both the angle the reflection is being viewed at and from and the orientation of the polarizing filter. Once the filter has been added to the front of the lens it is designed so it can be rotated to maximize the effect. Also the light on the side of a window gl*** should be less the light on the other side. Think of looking out a window from a lighted room at night into the dark outside. It is definitely not a matter of just adding the filter and all of the problems are solved.

 

Your polarizing filter is better than mine..... yours gets rid of people where mine does not....

 

Hello,
Wow, where do I get one of those? HA! That could have saved me tons of hours editing my photos, but as we all know, composition is the key... Good photo array, Charlie...

Jnaki
I like the one with the darkened body and no reflections. The filter worked its magic and made a better photo. I have spent many hours outside in the bright sun, and no, I have not melted away after all of these years... Polarizing filters are just as good in sungl***es as they are on camera lenses.

 

Hello,

In the era of point and shoot digital cameras, composition is just about the only thing left for good shots. Today, it is not shoot a million and check them out later for editing, but get a few good composition angles, much like we used to do with the f-stops and speed on those old 35mm film cameras. Move them one way or the other for a different prospective on the shot. Most of what we learned in those old film camera days with little money made creative photographers with what we had on hand.

Jnaki

Patience, Gr***hopper, patience…and a good filter helps. In digital editing, programs like Photoshop can save a ****py photo with a few exclusions. But, it helps to compose the photo they way you like it to be shown.

 

Required: standard 3/4 rear angle shot
Choices: as low as possible without any distortion... nothing reflected in the side/rear panels to distract from the photograph. No background people or a "model release" was necessary.

Hello,

The look of the California Rake in most cars is emphasized in the rear quarter photograph angle. Steve Pennington’s old Ford Sedan Delivery had the big/little tire look already in place. The stance was low and road hugging. So, the rear shot gave the enthusiasts a great view of the independent rear end and the rest of the suspension. When the shafts moved in certain sunlight angles, it looked like a twirling glow coming from underneath the sedan delivery.

Add that shiny look to the Rootbeer brown paint made this sedan delivery stand out from all of the rest during this time period. A hot rod, cruiser, surf vehicle, all rolled into one cool, sedan delivery.

Jnaki

It was hard to make a dark brown painted car stand out, so a distant blue background had to be found. The Los Angeles Harbor made for a great, bluish background. Sometimes, it was hard sell to those finicky editors for magazine articles. Even if the photographer loved the set up, the color, the hot rod, etc, it still had to p*** the eye of those "supreme editors" like Tex Smith. If there was any chance to get a photo array into a magazine article. He had lots of great information for budding photographers, (much appreciated) but sometimes it was disheartening when your photos did not get selected for the next issue.

These modern times make it a little easier, with lots of skills/practice, to alter a photograph for a specific audience.

 

Cool....
Now I need to figure out how to set my cheesy Android cell phone to take better shots..
Here's a few I took at "the cruise" a couple of years back...
I thought these turned out pretty good compared to others I've taken....
I always keep the camera lens clean and focus on the subject before and after I snap the picture (for a second er 2) to keep from getting blured shots... It seems to work I guess...