Showing posts with label Learning. Show all posts

Lotus Photography Comps and Fiddles

I've been working more on my automotive photography, studying the masters like Ryan Jouhari, and Retutpro on Youtube.

I would say "it's complicated," and it is, but it's also fun. I don't know what it is about car photos that are more fulfilling to me than fashion - maybe it's the ability to pump the clarity up to stupid levels and still have it look amazing. Just like fashion, though, you can easily over-do the editing, so I have to find that balance.

Here are a couple recent edits. I went back through my Lightroom archive for photos I thought I could do better on. Most of my previous photos need to come up in the shadows *so* much, and are way too yellow (not purposefully, though, like the "vintage" one below).


Before is on the left (after Lightroom edits). After is on the right. Here's the out-of-camera:


Yikes.

For this one I cleaned up the background a lot, enlarged and straightened the car, picked out the highlights and darkened the glass with a Soft Light layer, and did some colorwork for that vintagy feel (along with some knicks, scratches, and splotches for an old-photo look). Here's the final:


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Second experiment, using many of the same techniques. Starting off with this photo after Lightroom edits:


Then cleaning up the background to remove the power poles, fence, red curb, road dirt, and all those construction stakes. I also used the Soft Light layer to darken the glass and pick out the highlights on the body and wheel. This makes a surprisingly big difference:


Last bit - colorwork with a Color Dodge layer in brown, and the tiniest bit of cross processing with a Curves adjustment layer. I had some hotspots from my Lightroom edit I went back to fix. Here's the final:


Getting there...
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Finding Experience

One of the things I bemoaned some months ago was that there weren't any adult/post-education "shop" classes for basic automobile maintenance and repair available in my area. The only thing I could find was a full 2 year certification course at the local community college, designed specifically for training professionals to go into auto repair shops and dealer facilities...not quite my aim.

So my second thought was, "wouldn't it be great if I could help out at a shop, or maybe find somebody who would let me observe?" But I didn't know anybody...

Radiator, beautiful rusty headlights, and drum brakes.
...then suddenly I did. Several somebodies.

What's nice about the car culture is that people really want to tell you about their cars. There are myriad knowledgeable people, and lots of very generous people who like to get greasy and be social about it. Thank goodness!

Last weekend I met an inspiring fellow who is an entrepreneur (like me, but way more successful) and also a petrolhead. He has a private workshop where he stores all kinds of tasty meatballs - a 1952 Chevy pickup, a 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo, and a god damn DeLorean...among other things. He invited me to check it out and wrench on his project cars, one of which is a gorgeous Ford Model A which apparently has hill climb and, uh, rally history.

Carburetors sticking out the side of the *straight four. Radiator standing tall at the front. And check out those headlights. Those headers shoot right out the side of the frame, too, with no twists, turns, or muffling. This thing must sound insane.
The body's off and everything is on display. This is the first time I've been able to have a clean view of the gubbins in their elegant, stripped-back states since learning all the basic bits and pieces. It's one thing to study diagrams and another to see it all put together and filthy.

Jim says I can come hang out and crawl under cars whenever. Yes please! I have so much to learn, and I am thankful that somebody is generous enough to let me sponge up some of his knowledge.
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Christmas Books for Car Noobs

I'll be the first to admit I'm a complete and utter car noob. I know...some things...but when it comes to how cars actually, y'know, work, I'm lost.

Or I was lost, anyway, until my Dad got me a couple beginner books for Christmas, which I've been devouring.


Suddenly I feel very enlightened, but there's a huge difference between a diagram in a book and being able to work with an actual engine, with all its bits and pieces all together. It's nice to have the sterile environment of theory to learn, but I can see I'm going to have to lay hands on some real engines to get a better idea what's going on.
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