I have been photographing MINIs in motion since July 2004. In the months since then, I have invested considerable time and effort into refining my methods and honing my automotive photography skills.

All of the photos below were taken on location in Southern California, utilizing either a Nikon D70 or a Nikon 4300.

The following are examples of my MINI motion photography. They range from the very first motion photographs I took, in the top left corner, to the most recent photos, in the lower right.

I hope you enjoy them.

Dave








All images appearing in this post and linked from this post are copyright © 2005 by David Bunting

 

OMG DiD,

Great job!!!! These are really fantastic!!!! I love em!

 

Very nice motion shots, i wish i could afford a D70, untill then, gotta live with my 200$ camera.


Quick question, do you drive w/o the center caps all the time, and if so, did you change the bolts to match the wheels? I also have the 16's and am just wondering how it looks....

-scott

 

Yeah, I didn't like the way the wheel caps looked, and the wheels look pretty good without them. Initially I also did it because I was autocrossing more and wheel bolt torque was check more frequently. The caps were a bit of a pain. I'm just using the standard black MINI wheel bolts.

 

Sounds good! Ill have to pop mine off tomorrow and clean them up then roll around w/o them, see what people think. Hopefully the 16's wont be on to much longer...

 

Here are a couple pics of it without the center caps.

 

How where the shots taken? Did you have someone drive by as you tracked the car and took the shot or is the camera somehow attached to the car?

I would go for attached but it seems like the camera is a few feet away from the car. Either way awesome pics.

 

Awesome and very interesting! Have you thought of getting a remote shutter release so you can actually drive the car while taking the pics instead of pushing? And where did you get the tripod and suction cups?

Great Job!

 

I'd like to get a remote shutter release, but it's not a top priority for me, considering I haven't had a need to get more time than the self timer permits.
There are some tips for suction cup suppliers in the camera mount thread.

 

I just saw this thread! Excellent how-to!! Great results!

 

Thanks hafid. :smile:

I'm going to make another attempt at this over the weekend.

 

hey guys this sounds cool - any idea where the pics in the first post have got to

scooby

 

I pulled those pictures down a while ago. I dig around and see if I can find the pics again.

 

DiD, what type of mount are you using. I want to play around with this, but want to get something that is secure enough to put the D70 on... Any suggestions??? I was trying to find something on the Bogen site, but getting a little side tracked looking at all the cool pods and mounts. Thanks in advance!

 

Ok, I have some pictures uploaded and the first post is modified.

That is my early setup to give you an jumping off point.

 

Where did you get the suction cups for the tridpod? Thanks DiD

 

The ones shown in the picture are from my local autoparts store. They didn't provide enough clamping force. Even with just the cheap tripod and no camera they would only hold on to the car for maybe 30 seconds.

 

Thanks DiD. I will contact my local camera store and see what they can recommend. I dont want to put my D70 just hanging out there without any security. Thanks again. If I get anything cool, I will post it up on the board.

Thanks for the great "how to" write up DiD

 

Nice write up. I've been thinking about a similar setup. Seems like quite a few of you guys have the D70. Its the best dSLR for that price point which is why I bought one as well a couple months ago finally

Being as this is my first post I guess I should introduce myself...I've always eyed the new mini as fun little car I probably never would have thought twice about picking up, however and after my first test drive in one yesterday (Cooper S of course!) I was thorougly impressed with its handling capabilities among other things. Looks like a great forum you have here. Here's a couple recent fav shots of mine from the d70:











...I dont own the porsche's btw, but the mini sure handles like one

 

Welcome to North American Motoring. The MINI bug is a hard to shake, especially after the test drive.

Regarding the use of the D70 for this type of photography, I'm adjusting my position on this one a bit. Initially, I started doing these with the D70. The results were acceptable, but (partially) due to the extra weight of a DSLR, there were stability issues, and the results were not crisp.

Recently I've been shooting with my trusty Nikon 4300 P&S. Even with the wide angle lens, it still weighs about half of what the D70 does.

To cut to the chase, just keep in mind that a DSLR isn't always the best tool for the job.

It's taken me a fair amount of experimentation to come to this conclusion.

 

Thanks DiD...You make some very valid points. By now I'm sure you've seen my trusty P&S rig

There are a few non SLR digi's that are very capable and many don't realise that they can be the appropriate tool for the job to some extent.

 

DiD how did you do the first pic in your sig

I have taken pics before but the end result freezes the movement of trees and the wheels

How do i keep the car pic crisp but the moving elements still moving

i have the Sony DSC F717 cam

 

scooby,

The camera and the car are moving together. That's why the car is crisp.

To comment on it much farther would violate Rule #1.

Dave

 

Good point!

 

So (not meaning to break Rule #1) how do you get the entire MINI in the shot if the camera mount it attached to it, do you photoshop the mount out after the picture? Sorry, I am a amateur point and click guy but these pics are so cool I might have to try and learn this tecnique.