Great pics!! Love the Bugatti

 

I was really amazed at how small the car actually is. My Volvo absolutely dwarfed it in all dimensions but width.

 

 

A couple of shots from a recent holiday:





Both are towns near the south-east "corner" of Australia, around 100 miles apart. The first one is at Lakes Entrance and the second one is at Merimbula, over the state border.

 

Hey Scot11184 - nice pics! Congratulations on the new arrival

 

These may not be everyone's cup of tea but it beats shootin' my, currently, filthy MINI.

Up close with a street rod:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iguana_azul/3616184450/ISO: 640
Exposure: 1/80
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35mm
Exposure Bias: +4/3EV


A bit chopped . . .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iguana_azul/3615369141ISO: 640
Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35mm
Exposure Bias: -2/3EV

 

What kind of car is that fist one, has almost a classic MINI vibe.


I hear you on not shooting the dirt y daily driver

 

I was shooting at the wrong time of day to get a MINI. I recently moved to a D300 and I am starting to get use to the camera - I think. You guys be the judge. Very light post production in Capture NX2 in some cases (cropping and minor color adjustment). These were shot using JPG not raw. I am still not confident enough of my work flow to take all RAW shots given the number of shots I need to take for this kind of event. Still life photos would be in RAW.
All shots using a Nikon D300 with a Sigma 120-300 f 2.8 zoom lens. White balance set to in camera bright sunlight. ISO is at 200. From the gallery link you can see the full size photo.


shutter priority, zoom to 300mm, 1/160 sec, f14,
gallery link: http://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/8416767_jjHx8#555262581_a2JhX




manual priority, zoom to 270mm, 1/320sec, f 13
gallery link: http://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/8414047_Cf598#552768372_Gs7u2-A-LB

 

Classic American hot rod.

 

@Juan: Always love seeing the vintage SoCal hotrods & lowriders you seem to find! Really dig seeing the original wide license plate, shows off the car's vintage even better. Thanks!

@DaCrema: One of the first things Jimz68 taught me at the track was to set the camera up in manual mode. Dial in the shutter speed you want, then tweak the aperture until the exposure looks right (chimp & histograms). Do this without a car in the photo where you expect the car to be. This way, it doesn't matter if it is a white/unpainted car or a black car, your exposure will always be correct. (assuming it's not a cloudy day with sun frequently disappearing behind the clouds). Shutter priority mode will always try and adjust the exposure on every car to the 18% gray value.

Jimz68 still shoots jpg only and he gets amazing results. I've found some deals on 16GB CF cards and use several of them so I can shoot RAW. I can expose for the highlights and recover shadow detail this way, especially as I don't get as many options for shooting locations as Jim does (he is credentialed, I'm shooting with the spectators).

Are you using a monopod? You did a great job getting in close to the cars, but some sharpness is missing, especially with the kart driver.
I'd imagine Jim would tell you to find a spot on the track which really shows the cars doing something interesting (rear wheel lifts on FWD cars, RWD cars oversteering, bump causing suspensions to bottom out, etc). I frequently see that in his autocross photos.

 

 

Old building on the grounds of a nearby state mental hospital.

 

Here are some from the MOTD '09, had a great time and looking forward to the next one.

 

From last week.....


Puppy want's an onion ring....

 

link to the other photos below. C and C always welcome.
http://dac.smugmug.com/gallery/86133...68218061_ihrDY

 

Lovely crisp close-ups. May I ask what lens were you using?

 

Thanks for the kind words. Sigma 120-300 f 2.8 on a d-300. I cropped all the pictures some. The duck was cropped a bunch.

 

(I was amused by the edit Sort of thing I'd do!)

I use a Sigma 17/70 - clearly their zoom lenses are every bit as good - especially to give clarity after serious cropping. If I add a zoom lens to my bag I can see it being a Sigma too...

 

This is an interesting bit of glass. It was in the used lens bin at a Penn Camera store here in DC. I had wanted to rent a Nikkor 70-200vr to picture my daughter's crew races, but they had none left in the rentals. The guy in charge of rentals cleared it with the store and told me that I could rent a used lens (this Sigma). He cautioned me that the Sigma would not be available next time as the price was good and it would not be around long. My wife saw the pictures and told me to buy the lens. The extra 100 mm make a lot of difference shooting sports. I was out the door in a flash.

I was saving for a new Nikkor 70-200, but got the used Sigma instead. I like the extra reach and the constant f 2.8, but it is to big for parties, weddings and the like so I am gathering pennies for the Nikkor again.

 

FA18 Breaking the sound barrier in NY, and 2 F 16 falcons crossing each other

 

Couple shots from a recent trip to the local gardens.

 

Something MINIs and photography have in common - there's always more money to spend!

 

That's a wicked cool panning shot Drew!

 

Crash, side air bags deployed !

After 2 months waiting for parts from Germany.

Random Ho!

My two sense.

 

I couldnt resist posting my babies

Theres nothing like a MINI full of Bulldogs. Next time I pile them all in, I'll take some pics.

Machi


Momo


Rex (their daddy)




Coco (Mommy. She doesnt like her picture taken so I dont have any good ones of her)