Taking photos at B'ville

[Crosley.In.AZ]

With all of the white around the place,  how do the auto settings on digital and film type cameras work?

I can adjust the settings on my camera, I am wondering if I need to?


On my first visit to the salt I do not want to end up with garbage photos... KWIM?

[DRD57]

My Olympus digital cameras seem to work pretty well with the auto settings. I do a little "tuning" of most digital pictures to get the sharpness, color and contrast just right after resizing them but this is true of all pictures that I take and not just those from Bonneville.

For regular film I'd definitely use 100 speed film.

One of the most difficult car pictures to take is a dark car on a bright sunny day. This is especially true on the salt. The brightness of the sun with the stark white of the salt contrasted by the darkness of the car makes it nearly impossible to get the details of the car to show up without the brightness of the background washing out the color.  

The absolute best time to shoot car pictures at Bonneville is right after the evening sun dips behind the mountain. Position the car so that you can stand directly between it and that mountain to get the perfect shot.

[Cword]

If your camera has a "preset" feature, it'll come in handy.  Usually the way presets work is you move close to your subject, slightly depress the shutter release to set the exposure and then move back to finish the shot.

The bright salt often makes the subject of your photos come out under exposed.  

You could prepare for the salt by moving north and taking lots of winter pictures

or just plan to "stop down" one or two F stops to let the camera take in a bit more light.  

Check your manual for ways to tweak the auto setting.  Also if you have a Laptop or a cable for displaying your pictures on a motel TV bring it along, that way you can measure your success on something other than that tiny LCD screen.

mike

[purplepickup]

Good advise from both Don and Mike.  I use an Olympus digital and have it set on automatic but like Mike said pictures on the salt are just like pictures on a bright snowy day so I've had some experience and tweaked the default settings just a little.  I think Mike's suggestion of taking a few pics then viewing them on someone's laptop is a good idea.  I'll have a card reader for smart media but your camera probably uses something else.  There will be plenty of amateur photographers there to "advise/confuse" you...hehehe.  

These pictures below are copies of copies so the clarity isn't  top notch but in the first picture you can tell the difference in the detail you see between a light and a dark car in the bright sun.

The second picture is about the right exposure and the shadows don't block the details.

The third picture could have been better because of the noon overhead shadows block out the details that you would otherwise see if the sun was shining from a different angle....but how many times can you catch Carl and Ceridono cruisin' for chicks


Mark Morton's coupe

[GPster]

[quote= pictures on the salt are just like pictures on a bright snowy day            I would be surprised if Crosley has taken any pictures on a bright snowy day All you have to do is park next to Sumner and they'll take a picture of your ride and put it on TV. GPster

[purplepickup]

All you have to do is park next to Sumner and they'll take a picture of your ride and put it on TV. GPster

Thanks for the reminder Joe.  I gotta take that tape out to Sumner's so he can see hisself on TV.

[av8]

Peter Vincent recommends the use of a polarizing filter at Bonneville -- useful for any outdoor photography, essential on the Salt.

Most auto cameras allow you to concentrate your meter reading in a small area of the frame, much like a spot meter. If your camera has this ability it's handy to preset it that way so you can control the exposure even when the camera is on automatic. Simply locate that point in the viewer on a dark area you want to brighten up and shoot. Bright background and adjacent areas will tend to wash out, but you'll have th detail you seek.

Another tool most auto cameras have is a built-in flash that can be used to fill dark areas in closeups. With the overall high ambient light at Bonneville you will have to do a manual selection of flash. The down side is that it will quickly drain your camera battery.

BTW, have at last two rechargeable batteries with you at all times, and remember to take your charger with you so you can recharge the batteries in the evening.

If you're shooting with a digital camera, have a couple of large storage devices with you, even if you can download into a laptop. A 128mb flashcard will fill up quickly if you're enthused, and you'll want at least that much space for a backup.

Finally, between now and Speed Week get completely familiar with your camera -- RTFM! Chances are the answers you seek are right there in print. I carry mine with all the time in case I get into trouble, and it's bailed me out with directions or tips I missed the first time I read it.

[Carps]

RTFM?   Whaddayatalkinabout Mile?  We're hot rodders we don't need to read no effin manual!

Man, that's the best advice I ever heard, RTFM, it'll rarely not have the answers you need to operate the machine correctly.  

Don't foget when using the polarizing filter it'll need to be 'tuned' (by rotating it) for each shot if you want the best result.

Early morning and late afternoon when the sun is low, get it behind you and use a long lense to avoid your own shaow showing in the shot.  Don't be afraid to overexpose, the salt is going to be white anyhow so use it to your advantage in refelecting light on to your subject, the distant hissl os stuff in the background will also be overexposed but that's fine since they are not likely to be the subject of your picture.  Fill the frame with the subject and the background exposure becomes secondary anyhow.

Of course I'm only talking about real camera and real film here.  

[1FATGMC]

Hey are you coming?  Am I bringing a tent for you?

c ya, Sum

[Carps]

Hey are you coming?  Am I bringing a tent for you?

c ya, Sum

Sadly nope, too much has changed in the past couple of weeks, you didn't get my email?

[1FATGMC]

Sadly nope, too much has changed in the past couple of weeks, you didn't get my email?

Nope didn't get an e-mail that I know of.

Well I'm really sorry to hear you won't be able to make it.  I was really looking forward to seeing you again.  I sure hope to be over there in 4 or 5 years if things work out, but surely you will be here before then.

c ya, Sum

[Carps]

Nope didn't get an e-mail that I know of.

Hmmm, I'll hafta check and maybe update my addy list.

Well I'm really sorry to hear you won't be able to make it.

I sort of am too, but sort of not really, coz my new job challenge is pretty exciting, even if it's not hot rod based.

I was really looking forward to seeing you again.

I have been looking forward to catching up with everybody again, for about two years now.

I sure hope to be over there in 4 or 5 years if things work out, but surely you will be here before then.

You know you're welcome any time, even before then.  Just make sure to give me enough notice that I can plan a bit better than I did when Don Jr visited and make sure we get to see a bit more of the country.  Of course, Don's gotta return sometime so I can show him the stuff we missed, maybe even do the drive thru the 'jungle' in daylight and sunshine instead of fog, rain and darkness.    :oops:

[av8]

. . . coz my new job challenge is pretty exciting, even if it's not hot rod based.

So, I guess that rules out you being involved with the F1 program . . .

[Carps]

So, I guess that rules out you being involved with the F1 program . . .

Yup, but I think life is pretty exciting for those guys too.  Sure they don't seem to be getting anywhere near the front of the pack, but don't foget, the only other team building their entire car in house like our guys are the guys with the horse on the side of their red cars and they have more than fifty years head start.

Remember what everybody said when we launched LEXUS?

Who's now outselling BMW and Mercedes to be the number one Luxury brand in the US?

Only took ten years, despite the others having almost a hundred years head start.

The red and white racers have a few years to go before they have their day, but it wil come!

[Bruce Dorsi]

... my new job challenge is pretty exciting, even if it's not hot rod based.

So, may we ask what that new job is, or is that classified info?