Topic: A great photography technique

[joe74ta]

Here are some more pics from the shoot





Sorry about all the dirt under the hood I had no idea he was going to take engine bay shots in the dark lol

[RainMan]

Sorry for the late reply guys but Grand73Am is spot on the cars are in the dark he used a mag light on the car to set the focus on the camera.
The technique is simple all you have to practice is evenly lighting the car without the light pointing on your self or the camera.

Ok a mag lite to focus . And the same light to illuminate the car for the photo? I thought it would have been something a little more broader and less focused

[Gudfinnur]

NICE

[joe74ta]

Ok a mag lite to focus . And the same light to illuminate the car for the photo? I thought it would have been something a little more broader and less focused

The mag light is just used to set the camera up for the shot. Nick has made a light box for the shot  the box is  approximately 2 foot x 1 foot  with the back blacked out so no light can escape. The face of the box is a white parachute type of material that defuses the light  to a broad and even white light.

[hada76]

hard to believe he can walk around and not be seen

[RainMan]

Ok a mag lite to focus . And the same light to illuminate the car for the photo? I thought it would have been something a little more broader and less focused

The mag light is just used to set the camera up for the shot. Nick has made a light box for the shot  the box is  approximately 2 foot x 1 foot  with the back blacked out so no light can escape. The face of the box is a white parachute type of material that defuses the light  to a broad and even white light.

Ok that helps tons!  Sorry but I'm a slow learner lol , hence my forum name 

[joe74ta]

You  may be a slow learner Rick lol but you do take some of the best TA pics I've seen cant wait to see the results of your efforts with this technique.

[White Bandit]

I rember using this technique back in the days of film I was going to look for some shots I did back then but decided I would give it a quick try the garage tonight.  These shots are no where near as good as the original post but they give you an insight on how the technique works.

The shots were done with my Canon D60 set at 100 ISO speed on the manual setting f16 and 20 sec exposure. 
The camera was set up with the lights on and the focus was set on manual. 
I set the camera on the work bench in garage and turned off the lights. Then I pressed the shutter and tried different lighting methods.

First try was with my flash unit.  I pressed the shutter and then walked over to the car and fired the flash a couple of times



Then I got a work light out and waved it over the hood of the TA.



Next I added a black screen in front of the light and again walked the light over the hood.



In each of the shots you can see me as a shadow. 
If I had a brighter light and played with the exposure you would not see me moving around. 
In the garage there is no outside light so the only the lights you use light the shot. When you are outside there will be some ambient light to set the scene and you can set the camera for a very long exposure to use that light and then highlight the car or any other subject. You wont see a black hooded light operator because you don't stand still long enough to show up in the shot.

As the shots in joe74ta's post show with some work you can get some very interesting shots!

[hada76]

this shot reminds me of the trick of rolling the car through an open shutter in the dark w/ the running lights on. always liked that technique
can you leave the shutter open on the newer digital cams?

[White Bandit]

Yes you can set the shutter to be hold open on a digital camera.   You can either use the B setting on a 35mm digital and as long as the shutter is pressed in the B (Bulb) mode the shutter will stay open.  You can also use a remote shutter release to this which is what joe74ta indicated.  For the shots I posted because I was alone and did not have a remote shutter release (looks like it is E Bay time) I used a long exposure time - 20 seconds.

 Any camera that lets you set the exposure time to long exposures 10+ seconds can use the technique although you are limited to the quality of the camera but you can create the effect.

[hada76]

kinda like this

[joe74ta]

Thanks for helping explain the how to White Bandit  your  shots are great for just playing around in the garage .

hada76  the shot you posted was  obviously taken in the pitch black  and the camera just picked up on the tail lights of the car that past threw the shot on a very long exposure possibly as long as one minute it is a fantastic shot.

[TurdPolisher]

As a photographer myself, I say well done!  Painting with light ROCKS! The bulb feature on some high end cameras really make for the chance of some creativity so create not only mood, but motion of light and best off STARS as you point your lens at the north star THEN paint you car with light for about 2 hours = BAD @$$

[skywalker]

Cool pics, nice work,
Gotta Luv that Dodge

[joe74ta]

Still playing with this having some cool results How cool does my Duster look