Pinellas Park

Yellow McLaren 650S Spider Clearwater St Petersburg Car Photography

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Yellow McLaren 650S Spider at Dimmit Automotive Florida Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseFeatured prominently in the front window of the Dimmitt Automotive showroom in Pinellas Park Florida, this yellow McLaren 650S Spider certainly is an eye catcher.  The contrast of the bright yellow paint and black trim on the newly stylized supercar from McLaren looks striking.  I was barely able to squeeze in between the car and the window with my Nikon and tripod to be able to make the above shot.

Carbon fiber trim on a yellow McLaren 650S Spider Florida Car Photographer - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/15th tripod mounted with cable releaseThere was plenty of carbon fiber trim on the body of the McLaren 650S Spider, including all along the rocker panel as seen in the above image.  

Yellow McLaren 650S Spider for sale at Dimmitt Automotive Florida Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseFollow that green exit sign in the window to swing into Dimmitt and part ways with a not unsubstantial amount of cash and you can leave in this yellow McLaren 650S Spider.  I think the color and spider body style work well with the Florida gulf coast lifestyle, well, at least once the sun goes down a little bit.  

The stylish new front headlights on the McLaren 650S Spider St. Petersburg Car Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/30th tripod mounted with cable release

The 650S follows the McLaren 12C which some said was a little boring for an exotic car (I didn't think so).  The 650S borrows design elements, like the above McLaren logo shaped headlights, from the P1 hypercar giving it more than enough flash for a midengined supercar to look the part.

Rear quarter panel view of yellow McLaren 650S Spider Florida Car Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 200 1/40th tripod mounted with cable release

It is always nice to spend time photographing a supercar.  I imagine it as far, far nicer to actually drive one!

Cars & Couture 2014 Car Owners Gathering Event at Dimmitt Automotive Group Pinellas Park Florida

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McLaren 650S in black at Dimmitt Automotive Florida during Cars & Couture Car Owners Gathering event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI was invited to an event at Dimmitt Automotive in Pinellas Park, Florida for a special Car Owners Gathering thanks to Dona who organizes many great car events under her Cars & Couture brand.  I brought along eldest friend Terry to help out with some of the photography.  As you can see from the above photograph, Dimmitt is a MacLaren dealership.  There were several Mclaren 650S supercars in the showroom.  It was my first time to see this update to the McLaren MP4-12C in person.  The 650S is a much more striking looking sports car in person than the 12C, mostly thanks to a new front fascia inspired by the McLaren P1 hypercar.

Guests at Cars & Couture Dimmitt Automotive stand next to a MacLaren 650S in black Clearwater Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in shoot-through-umbrella to frame rightOften there is not much space to photograph cars at such events, but there was a black McLaren 650S kind of off by itself in a separate area of the showroom.  This allowed me to setup two speedlights and shoot through umbrellas and not only photograph the car itself in great detail (subject of an upcoming blog post), but also to invite guests over to be properly photographed next to the supercar.

The new MacLaren 650S supercar in yellow at Dimmitt Automotive during Cars & Couture event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRIf you happen to prefer yellow, there was also a McLaren 650S in that color looking right out the front windows inviting you to come in and put a deposit down on her!  We got there early to be able to photograph the cars before there were too many people mingling about..

Yours truly with my friend Terry who assisted with the shots at Cars & Couture Car Owners Gathering 2014 Dimmitt Automotive - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 400 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 in shoot through umbrellasFor the last shot of the evening, Terry and I stepped out from behind the camera and the lights for a self-portrait with the black McLaren 650S.  It took a little configuring using the self-timer to position myself symmetrically after pressing the shutter, but I am glad we made the effort to get ourselves both in the shot and add another photo to our scrapbook that now spans almost three decades.

Guests wanted to pose with the MacLaren 650S at Cars & Couture Dimmitt Automotive Clearwater Event Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in shoot through umbrella to frame rightOne last shot to show how well the McLaren 650S photographs, especially when bookended by willing volunteer models!  Thank you Dona for another great car event and to Terry for assisting in the making of these photographs.

Business Headshot CEO in Pinellas Park - Barbara

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CEO Business Headshot in Pinellas Park Florida - glasses on - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in brolly to frame left SB-600 @ 1/8th power with diffuser cap to frame rightEarly this morning I braved U.S. 19 to go and make an on location headshot for Barbara in Pinellas Park.  With making headshots on location I never really know what kind of space, light and background I am going to have to work with.  In Barbara's office the light and background (clean white) were good but the space was a little awkward.  I had to setup my brolly kind of around a corner at the end of a hallway.  Everything thankfully just fit!

CEO Business Headshot in Pinellas Park Florida - no glasses - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power in brolly to frame left SB-600 @ 1/8th power with diffuser cap to frame rightFor clients that wear glasses I usually make one headshot with glasses on and another with glasses off.  I also provide a vertical headshot like the one above and a more tightly framed headshot like the first image that can be cropped into a perfect square since many sites, including Linkedin, display profile photos in squares.  

Barbara was a natural in front of the camera and I believe her headshot was finished in the quickest time ever!  Thanks Barbara!