Cars

Ferrari F430 Spider Tampa Florida Car Photography black white or yellow??

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Ferrari F430 Spider with black & white filter from Silver Efex Pro 2 entirely changing the look of the car - Tampa Car PhotographyConverting a color photograph into a black & white photograph is not a one result affair.  There are many, many possible results of black & white conversion.  A program like Silver Efex Pro makes this conversion process easy in addition to producing the best results.  Starting with a yellow Ferrari F430 Spider, applying a pinhole black & white filter makes the Ferrari appear white while darkening the entire background and foreground.  The supercar appears to now glow in its setting.

Using a different filter in Silver Efex Pro 2 makes the Ferrari F430 Spider look black - Tampa Car PhotographyStarting with the same yellow Ferrari image, choosing the full spectrum inverse filter in Silver Efex Pro flips everything, so that darks appear light and vice versa resulting in the yellow Ferrari looking like a sleek black exotic car.  The neutral colored existing background is little changed with this filter, especially since no vignetting is applied either.

The actual yellow color of this Ferrari F430 Spider - Tampa Car PhotographySo starting with the yellow HDR image of a Ferrari F430 Spider seen above, it is possible to make radically different looking black & white versions of the car photograph.  Which is your favorite look--white, black or yellow?

Audi R8 Clearwater Car Photography on digital orange background

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Audi R8 supercar at Crown Audi in Clearwater - Nikon D300 f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR - orange background added digitallyWhile photographing an Audi A3 premiere event at Crown Audi in Clearwater, I took a moment to make a photograph of an Audi R8 supercar that was also on site.  It was parked just outside the greenhouse like showroom, which made for a pretty good background, but when I was shooting it I already had in mind I would remove it from the existing background and put it on a digital one.  

Below is the existing background HDR image.  Despite the complexity of the background, it was not too complicated to use the Quick Select tool in Photoshop and cut out the Audi R8 onto an empty layer.  I chose an orange gradient digital background as recently I am starting to really like that color (also used for a headshot).

The same Audi R8 as above in its original setting at Crown Audi in Clearwater Florida - 5-exposure HDR

One day it would be nice to be able to just shoot a car in a large studio with an existing white background for an even easier and more efficient editing process.  

Ferrari 458 Spider Nero in St. Petersburg Florida Supercar Exotic Photography HDR

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Ferrari 458 Spider in Nero edited in a stylized HDR way processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRI have actually seen this Ferrari 458 Spider many times.  I first saw it at the Cars & Couture event at the Tampa Jet Center in November 2013.  Then the next week I saw it driving in my own neighborhood in St. Petersburg!  I regulary saw it after that, especially on Friday afternoons.  So I recognized it right away when I saw it at the 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala.  

A nero Ferrari 458 Spider fills the frame in St. Petersburg Florida supercar photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRThere was only one car next to the Ferrari, a Maserati Ghibli, so from some angles I had a clean shot at the car, although I chose to make a tight composition for the above shot and fill the frame edge to edge with the supercar.

Profile view of a nero Ferrari 458 Spider in St. Petersburg Florida Professional Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRThe profile view was the cleanest angle I had to photograph the Ferrari 458 Spider.  A downtown skyscraper provides the background.

St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala 2014 featuring Maserati Ghibli & Ferrari

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The 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala featuring a Ferrari F430 and a Ferrari 458 Italia - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRLast Friday evening was my second year in a row receiving a media pass to the 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala.  I got to see a number of interesting cars last year, including Lexus LFA #406.  This year, there was only one car I had not seen before, the Maserati Ghibli.  

Mingling among supercars at the 2014 St. Pete Grand Prix Gala - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRMaybe it was because I got there just as the event started at 7pm, but it seemed to be a bit of a low key affair this time.  Then again I only go to be able to see supercars, so having not that many people around when I was shooting is a plus.  

Guests of the 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala with a racecar - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRWhen photographing the same event as years past, I try to find shots I did not before.  This year I went up to the open second floor to make photographs from a bird's eye view of the gala.  I am not sure why this never occurred to me last year.  

I have seen this Ferrari 458 Spider many times before - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRContributing to the smaller feel to the gala this year also was that there were only three cars outside.  Last year I got to make one of my favorite images of the year, framing a row of cars with the open scissor door of a Ford GT supercar.  At least the lack of cars let me photograph the above Ferrari 458 Spider from a couple of angles, which I will feature in a future post.  However, I already saw this particular Ferrari last year and actually see it regularly driving around my neighborhood.  Is it possible for a Ferrari to become commonplace in my mind??

The stunning Maserati Ghibli at the 2014 St. Pete Grand Prix - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRThe best part of this year's gala for me, by far, was getting to see the Maserati Ghibli in person.  Immediately I thought this is a stunning car and the best looking sedan I have ever seen.  The Ghiblie previous to this was not a car I thought about much or daydreamed about.  That all changed after seeing this beautiful metallic gray Ghibli seemingly waiting for me to just come and photograph it, if not drive home with it!

Aston Martin Vanquish in Cobalt Blue in St. Petersburg Florida duPont Concours d'Elegance Car Photography

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Aston Martin Vanquish in Cobalt Blue a stunning supercar St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRThe highlight of going to the duPont Concours d'Elegance in St. Petersburg Florida last month was getting to see this Aston Martin Vanquish in person.  To me, it is the most beautiful car in existence, as seen here in a special Cobalt Blue color, although I think it looks its absolute best in Skyfall Silver.  I just stood next to this supercar and appreciated all the lines and details in the carbon fiber bodywork.  It was parked in the far back corner of the event space, but I would have put it right by the entrance!

The original image used to make the finished edit of the Aston Martin Vanquish above.As is often the case with photographing cars at car shows, the background was less than ideal.  There was also a Mercedes S550 right next to it limiting the angles the Aston Martin could even be photographed from.  To minimize distraction I cut just the car itself out and dropped it onto a digital black background in Photoshop (top photo).  This particular Vanquish as of this moment is still for sale at Dimmit Aston Martin!

Lamborghini Gallardo on a lonely street in Ybor City Tampa Florida Car Photography

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Stylized image of a Lamborghini Gallardo in Ybor City Tampa Florida Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseGoing through my unused archives from a Lamborghini Gallardo shoot from December I spent a little time experimenting with the filters in Color Efex Pro 4.  It took me awhile to get used to the UI changes in this new version, but after not liking 4 I now prefer how you can add multiple filters at once.  In this Lamborghini shot I used no less than four filters, starting with the usual Pro Contract and Polarization filters, then the Glamour Glow filter before finishing with the Cross Color filter.  The image started out as a 9-exposure HDR.  The biggest impact of the filters was a contrast improvement, a softening of details and an overall warm tint to the tone of the image.  What do you think . .  too much or looks cool?

A trio of Ferrari Supercars at duPont Concours d'Elegance St. Petersburg Florida Car Photography

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Ferrari California 30 the updated version on display in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRFerrari of Tampa Bay brought a trio of Ferrari to the duPont Concours d'Elegance 2014 in St. Petersburg, Florida.  These three supercars show the great diversity currently in the Ferrari range from a hardtop convertible like the above Ferrari California 30 to the ultimate GT supercar in the Ferrari F12berlinetta below.  

Ferrari F12berlinetta the most powerful Ferrari to date in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRI was very surprised and very glad to get to see the F12berlinetta in person.  It is still a very rare car, though one Ferrari staff person said three clients had taken delivery in the Tampa Bay area.  Resting in the shade on green grass it is hard to imagine the capabilities of the F12berlinetta with its over 700hp V12 mounted up front.  Basically the car is unstoppable on the road!

Ferrari FF an amazing 4-seat supercar in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR

Actually, maybe the most unstoppable Ferrari is actually the Ferrari FF above.  It is the first Ferrari with an AWD system and it can also comfortably seat four people.  It has a hatchback design allowing for good road trip gear storage too.  This makes the FF to me very unique.  If I could only have one car, it would be the FF.  It is a supercar that can be driven in all weather (even snow!) and you can bring your friends and backpacks along too.