car show

1963 Chevrolet Corvette split-window St. Petersburg Florida Car Photography

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A racing 1963 Chevrolet Corvette split-window in Straub Park St. Petersburg Florida Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseAt a Corvette car show in South Straub Park in downtown St. Petersburg Florida I had the chance to photograph this rare 1963 split-window Corvette.  The owner was not around at the time so I could not learn much about the car or what it is like to drive it.  The only clean angle to photograph it was from this rear three-quarter panel view due to surrounding cars.  In my mind this split-window Corvette is thinking get me the heck off this grass and onto that road in front of me!

Festivals of Speed 2013 St. Petersburg Florida Vinoy Park Concours d'Elegance

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The car that greeted visitors at the Concours d'Elegance Festivals of Speed 2013 in Vinoy Park St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 7-exposure HDROn a very sunny day in Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg Florida I strolled into the Concours d'Elegance Festivals of Speed 2013 with a media pass and my Nikon.  I spent as much time talking to people there about cars and their car related products and services as I did making photographs.  I already posted images of an orange Lamborghini and a chrome Nissan GT-R.  The photos below are a few car details that caught my eye.

1930 Cadillac hood ornament emblem at Festivals of Speed 2013 Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thI first thought this was a Rolls Royce hood emblem and had to do some research to identify it since I never made any other photos of the car.  I found out it was actually a 1930 Cadillac.  

Porsche Cayman bokeh look at Festivals of Speed - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thI like the lines of the Porsche Cayman very much.  I used a large aperture to show only the front fender in focus letting everything toward the back of the car start to disappear.

The Maserati logo on a Gran Turismo at Festivals of Speed Vinoy Park Florida 2013 - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250The distinctive Maserati logo found on the side of a silver Gran Turismo at the Festivals of Speed.  Using a 105mm prime lens forced me to look for details as getting an entire car into the frame in a crowded car show was impossible.  

Orange Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera HDR St. Petersburg Florida car photography

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An orange Lamborghini Superleggera on digital black background photographed in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRMy favorite Lamborghini is the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera because of why and how it was made (super lightweight to be the best driver's car possible).  At the Festivals of Speed Concours d'Elegance 2013 in St. Petersburg Florida I had the opportunity to photograph this orange Superleggera.  As is often the case with shooting at car shows, the background was less than ideal.

Original HDR image of this Lamborghini Superleggera at the Festivals of Speed St. Petersburg Florida 2013I had this in mind when looking for the best angle to photograph the Lamborghini.  I knew the background did not matter, I would edit it out.  What I looked for was minimal reflections in the car body.  To my surprise there were almost none the entire length of the driver's side, hence I setup my tripod to shoot it from this angle.  Choosing a black background also hid any imperfections in carrying over the shadow under the car.

Custom Classic Van HDR at Madeira Beach Car Show St. Petersburg Florida 2013

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Classic Custom Van Photography at Madeira Beach Car Show 2013 - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR digital background

I went to the Maderia Beach Classic Car Show this past Sunday on a cold and blustery afternoon.  Apparently custom car owners do not much like that type of weather as there were only 8 cars there total!  Of those only one really caught my eye, a custom van that with the hood open, looked like the roaring mouth of a dragon or vulture or similar creature.  I wanted to make a shot to accentuate that feature of the car.  As is often the case at car shows, the background was not great and there was only a tight space to shoot in.  So even as I was making the shot that cold afternoon I was already thinking I about how I wanted to edit the shot and I knew I would just remove the background.

The graphic below shows what a single exposure would have looked like, a 9-exposure HDR, then the final image with all edits and digital background added.

McLaren MP4-12C stylized HDR profile view Tampa Car Photography

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McLaren MP4-12C photographed in Tampa Florida on digital background - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR

Back in October I received a media pass to the Cars & Couture event in Tampa where I had the opportunity to photograph the event as a whole, and some supercars in particular like the above McLaren MP4-12C.  As is usually the case at car shows, all of them were parked pretty close to each other and there were people and other objects around in the background.  To focus just on the car I try to compose a view minimizing the background, and in this case, just remove the background altogether.  

The actual background of the McLaren MP4-12C shot from Cars & Couture event in TampaCoincidentally, I think I saw this McLaren parked in a neighbor's driveway just this past weekend!

Cars & Couture 2012 Tampa International Jet Center

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Ferrari 458 Italia & Ferrari FF at Cars & Couture 2012 event in Tampa - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable release

  • If I took your photograph at this event, CONTACT ME for your portrait!

I was given a media pass to the Cars & Couture 2012 event at the Tampa International Jet Center that was held to benefit the charity Autism Speaks.  Being an avid supercar fan, I was very excited to have the opportunity to photograph some of my favorite cars in a cool setting.  In the above photo, you can see my absolute current favorite car, the Ferrari 458 Italia on the left.  This was also my first chance to get to see the new Ferrari FF (on the right) in person.  I thought the FF looked smaller than I thought it would being a 4-seater with ample cargo space.  

An Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione looks out over the Tampa International Jet Center airfield - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable release

I arrived at 6pm as the sun was getting low in the sky allowing me to catch some of the sunset mixed with the hangar location of the event as seen in the above shot of a very rare Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.  I like the design of this Alpha quite a lot.  It was given the best spot, perhaps because it arrived late!

Cars & Couture 2012 in Tampa featured private jets too! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI must say that an airplane hangar makes a great venue for showcasing cars and allowing guests to have both an indoor and outdoor experience, especially when there is a big view of the Florida sky at dusk as a backdrop.  It was a little hot inside the hangar though as even this late into October Florida refuses to acknowledge that it is in fact autumn.

NASCAR was even represented at Cars & Couture 2012 in Tampa! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI had a great time at this event and am very thankful I was given a press pass.  My supercar itch, is for the moment, somewhat scratched!

19th Annual Suncoast Corvette Show at The Pier St. Petersburg Florida car photographer 2012

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Custom Corvette with scissor doors at 19th Annual Suncoast Corvette Show in St. Petersburg - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 9-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseAt high noon I ventured out to downtown St. Petersburg, Florida to the 19th Annual Suncoast Corvette Show at The Pier.  The Florida sun was beating down mercilessly paying no regard that today was September 1st.  If I am honest, Corvettes are not my favorite cars, except for the 1959 vintage, but it was still an opportunity to be around sports cars and further motivation to own a proper sports car of my own in the future.  The very customized Corvette seen above with scissor doors among other modifications was tricky to frame how I wanted as is usually the case when shooting at a car show where any number of obstacles are in the way and in the background.  Finally by tilting my camera was I able to get the doors fully in the shot.  I removed a few things digitally front the background leaving only a clean blue sky to frame this Corvette.

Lots of color at the 19th Annual Corvette Show at The Pier 2012 in St. Petersburg FloridaThough there was a significant lack of shade, I was suprised by how well The Pier location was for displaying a large number of cars.  The square ring surrounding The Pier allowed for plenty of space to line up Corvette after Corvette, most with their hoods up proudly showing off their engines.

The most powerful Corvette ever made, the ZR1 - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/8 ISO 200 5-exposure HDR whit background added digitallyWhen shooting at a car show my approach is usually to first look for wide shots using my 17-50mm lens, then switch to my trusty Nikkor 105mm VR micro lens (how Nikon naming refers to macro, not a typo) for detail shots like the one above just showing a Corvette ZR1 front fender and wheel.  Since the cars at these events are always parked so closely together, opting for detail shots intstead of whole car images I believe is a good strategy for increasing your chances of getting usable shots, but that I mean shots that actually look like they are of the car, not of a car at a car show.