End of the year and the car shows were fabulous.
We didn't get to attend all the shows that we wanted to check out this year but it was a fun time photographing all the rides this 2017 car show season. Weekend car shows/ Motor 4 Toys and Pomona Swap Meet. Thanks to all the classic cars that took the time to bring out their rides and a shout out to everyone that has taken the time to check out our car show pics.
Checking out Pomona this weekend but Motor 4 Toys is a great venue especially for the kids.
End of the year Car Show review 2017
It all started with the Falcon
This year was filled with surprised. The Classic Auto LA was awesome, good to see new shows coming into the So Cal scence. The Orange Plaza Car Show banning dogs was a wake up call even tho the show was fabulous. Pomona Swap Meet is always worth the trip and the Road Kings are back at Johnny Carson Park. Trying something a little different this year for end of the year review. Going through photos from car show seasons for a overview of the shows. Giving Wistia a try for content, there will be a link to their site at the end of the video. Looking for more car show notes sign up.
Catch a car show and enjoy the ride.
Shooting Digital: The close up classic.
Shoot the ride in a close up position.
Follow the car show from the back and get the movement of the ride.
Look at different angles of the cars and take the photo to the left or right leaving open spaces.
Mix it up with close-up layers of different classics where the color, finish and lines tell the story
Don't forget the inside of the ride. History, custom design, the little details are often just as beautiful as the outside of the classic car. Catch the paint, panel, dash, steering wheel when photographing the interior. Double check the shot, sometimes adjustments need to be made with the change of light. Always remember to respect the ride when getting close to the car for interior shots.
Catch a car show and enjoy the ride.
Finding the Q in Bakersfield
Not just a trailer.
A lot of people at car shows ask the same questions about the origins of the blue q.
Found in Bakersfield and taken to a friends shop, who happens to be awesome when it comes to creating something from nothing knew exactly how to take the first steps. Thanks Jon.
Looking for the full story-line on the Ranchero & the Blue Q click above pic.
Will showcase more of Finding the Q soon.
Shooting Digital : Sunlight
Shooting car shows outside is always great when the sky is overcast but some of our best shots happen at sunrise. If you are looking to shoot car show details or hood ornaments then the sun can be your best friend. Catching that spark of light just as it hits the metal components of a car is magical. So get to the car show early and catch the sun.
The Ranchero Steer Emblem is an great piece of art.
Collecting photographs of every emblem we come across is one of the the best parts of a car show. Finding a Ford Ranchero at a car show is also an art unless it is at the Fabulous Fords Forever Car Show. Check out our Ranchero and find a little bit of bull. Thinking of producing a Ranchero emblem poster give-a-way. Look for more info on the poster in our Car Show Notes sending out the first of the month.
Shooting Digital: Reflections from a car show
Background Noise at car shows can be a nice surprise.
Background noise happens with both inside and outside venues.This noise comes in a lot of different ways and sometimes you will not even notice it until you view it on the screen. Background noise is anything that distracts from the car. This can be the crowd around the car, owners sitting beside their cars, reflection of other cars, the crowd, buildings, lawn chairs, food containers, car cloths and cleaners or trash cans that project their image on the high gloss paint finish. Dark cars are the worst so pay extra attention when shooting black and navy finishes. When taking the shot look at the car, can you see anything in the paint? Most car shows have the cars sitting at an angle close to another car. If you can see a car distracting from the shot, try moving from side to side, step back or move close to the ground all the while keeping your eye on the shot. Sometimes tiny changes can change the reflection. If you see someone in the paint, wait until they move. If someone is looking in the window wait until they move, if the owners are sitting in their lawn chairs, go low and hide them from the shot. Sometimes just starting a conversation about their perfect ride will give you the opportunity to get them to move away from the shot. Car show owners are here to show off their cars and with a simple conversation you may find some interesting facts about the cars history and get a great photo of the car with the conversation.
Car Show: Shooting Digital Notes
First: Get there early
This is not about aperture, speed or settings, this is just little things we have learned when shooting car shows. Every photographer should know the basics surrounding their camera and really we are not qualified to say anything more than what works for the bbq and the final photos we post on the site but we do have a certain criteria.
1. Does the car look good?
2. Is the photo clear?
3. Is the background noise too noisy?
There are 3 types of car shows
1. Inside/Outside
2. Inside
3. Outside
Car shows come in all kind of venues. Professional, street shows, park shows, car runs, poker runs, exotic, pre '70, mopars, fabulous fords, roadsters, lowriders, trucks, vans, kustom, drags....
First thing to remember is get there early, the earlier the better, now some will say to get there early or late but late is not an option due to the background crowd noise. Getting to a car show early means you can beat the heat, catch the car show arrival, enjoy the festive atmosphere of the car show line-up and also get the best shots of the car before the crowd noise arrives. Never shoot a car show in the middle of the day unless you are doing it for fun and it is overcast. Getting to a car show early gives the opportunity to play with the light. We like to shoot hood ornaments and car details so a 50mm lens works great. Changing the lens also is not an option. It is not healthy for the camera to have a lot of lens changes because of dust so if you want to shoot with different lenses shoot with different cameras. A 50mm works very well for our car show needs. Shooting with a Canon 6D, Rebel T3i and our old faithful can’t give it up yet 40D with an 18-200mm lens that swaps out with a micro lens from time to time works best for us. We always shoot with a polarize filter to reduce reflections and always shoot with the camera hood up, it protects the lens. Trust us on this one.
Photographing Car Shows
There are a few things we have learned taking car show pics.
Canon 6D, Rebel T3i and our old faithful can’t give it up yet 40D with an 18-200mm lens
Shooting a car show is an adventure. When we first started The Ranchero and the Blue Q it was just about taking photos of cars for the fun of it. There was no reasoning and there still isn’t, in a way we are just striving for better photos to represent the cars with the least amount of noise surrounding it. Taking photographs at car shows is not easy especially because car shows come with a lot of challenges, so we are putting out a few things we have learned about car shows and the art of catching the ride with a digital camera. We make no claim to being professionals, this is truly from an amateur point of view but in taking a look at the photos we send out, in the hope that you and the owners of the ride will like the final results, we thought passing along a few notes would be fun. This will give an opportunity to reflect on past car show and the journey. At the end of the series we will post the full breakdown but for now, catch a car show and enjoy the ride.
Check out Steve Kimmel's Love Machine
LA Roadster Car Show & Swap Meet
www.cartografi.com
its all about the parts.