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Part 21
BkS
BkS
1, How about an introduction?
Hello, I'm Baljit (Bal-jeet), I am 18, second oldest in my family. I live in the central belt of Bonny Scotland, about 40 minutes from Edinburgh. I am a BMW enthusiast to the bone, I love my tech, particularly Android devices (that comes from my love of Linux), and I love my video games. I am quintessentially a geek (and yes I do wear glasses! )
I'm an easy going guy, I try to stay relaxed as much as possible, so keeping myself stress free by ignoring things like stupid arguments people have on Facebook, and avoiding what the media have to say. (Although at times, some of the stuff they say is absolutely hilarious from a contradicting point of view.) Being Scottish I have a quick-fire temper and can jump the gun a little when things get heated, so best to stay relaxed and enjoy what I make of life.
2, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?
I haven't been taking photos that long in Gran Turismo, around 2/3 years. I consider myself a "baby" photographer when compared to people such as Ariesps, FishyJuice, etc.
3, What was the first picture you took in GT5?
I don't actually have the first photo I took, because I instantly deleted it because it was crap. I do however have one of the first photos I took from that photoshoot.
This was the one of the first I took, I remember that night I was really happy when I took this shot. As it was the first time I made the cross-process filter look good, and because I had finally worked out what the different types of panning modes do. I was only ever used to the focal, exposure & aperture settings which I had learned from my real-life photography.
4, And your first edit?
As basic as it was, this was my first edit. My aim was to simply draw the viewers attention to the reflection in the puddle rather than the actual car itself. I did some slight levels/curves adjustment I believe here, but I didn't even watermark it, or even remove the GT5 watermark!
This photo was part of the first set for my gallery almost 2 years ago now. It's quite amazing to think it was that long ago.
5, How would you describe your photography style?
I'd probably say my style is creative and moody. I love to experiment with angles, aperture settings, lighting, shadow play. I'm really passionate about cars, about photography and cinematography, and so I try to make the most of my knowledge and try to convey some sort of emotion from what I visualize. The irony in all of that though is that I can really only take good pictures when I'm half asleep. Don't ask me why, but I can never have a great idea or plan for something during the day, which is why most of my sets are released at early hours in the morning. I find it rather humorous at best.
6, In your opinion what makes a great photo?
Having a rad beard, and an awesome mustache like myself. Na, I'm kidding.
Everyone here has basically covered everything there is to really convey what makes a "great" photo, however since I'm passionate about photography I want to touch on black & white photos and lighting.
I know lots of people love colour photos, and there have been some seriously god-like photos in colour from here, but for me personally it's a well done black and white photo that really gets me ticking. I'm known in the real-world of being, "an oldie" and it's because I am all very much for learning from the past.
In my eyes, black and white photography is the most simplistic form of photography one can tackle and I think it's crucial that we all try to learn how to convey emotion from what was the first forms of photography.
Black and white photography can have such powerful emotions when the person holding the camera can put what they truly visualize into picture. I believe it starts with learning how to understand what composition is, and how you can use lighting effectively.
This is one of the reasons most of my photography is dark, with low saturation or black and white. I love to play with lighting, I love showing off the curves of a car through effective lighting techniques such as shadow play or silhouetting.
I guess having that feeling of nostalgia is what I really try to convey to my viewers. Where they can connect and instantly know "hey he's trying to show off why this car handles so well" or "wow, I can totally relate to loving that particular part of the [car]."
7, What is your favourite car to shoot?
My favourite car to shoot definitely has to be either, the BMW E60 M5, the Nissan R35 GTR or the Ferrari F40. The lines on all of these cars have such periodic lines, [classic/retro/boxy & modern/curvy.] I'd personally love to have the BMW E30 M3, because that is my favourite car of all time and I would honest take photos of that car all-day and not get tired, haha.
8, What is your favourite location to shoot?
I'm not sure I have a favourite location as such, I'm mostly drawn to places like the Nordschleife for realism, but Mt. Aso & Monza are up their too.
I'm not really for Route X, I don't particularly like the blandness of it. I love somewhere with scenery, and somewhere I can convey things like speed or curves. Places with dynamic lighting but have a nice balance of scenery.
9, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?
This is my favourite picture for a number of reasons. In my opinion it really defines my style, and the way I have been trying to convey my take on GT photography, as well as automotive photography. It has the drama, the passion, but it also has the sexiness I look for in cars.
The lighting really helped show the important lines of the car, and what really gives it's character, but I think above all of that, there are some obvious mistakes in it, which show that I'm human, I'm not perfect and neither is my photography. What you see is what you get, and this photo was well recieved by the frequent viewers of my gallery, but also some newer faces.
10, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?
I do edit my pictures, and quite heavily too using Photoshop CS5. I usually start out with duplicating my background layer twice, then apply a high pass filter to the second duplicated layer.
After that I switch it to soft light blending mode, and if need be duplicate that layer. I play around with the opacity of those layers then I "flatten" the layers leaving the original background layer intacted.
I then disable my original background layer and then desaturate the duplicate layer then flatten that layer and duplicate it. I then invert the duplicated layer, switch it to soft light, and mess around with the opacity again. Once I've done that, I whip out my trusty steed, "le curves." Press Ctrl+M to bring up the curves tool, I start playing with the RGB channel, making my shadows "lighter" but also balancing the mid-range too. This then gives the impression of an older looking photo, and then if I have to add anything like "film noise" or adjust brightness/contrast I continue to do so.
11, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?
I wouldn't remove any features if I'm honest, more the merrier. I think a welcomed addition to photomode however would be proper filters.
Things like ND Filters, where you can adjust the over exposed skies when trying to get that perfect exposure for focusing on the car.
I totally agree with Moglet, that we need studio lighting when in photomode/phototravel. It makes sense to be able to set a nice exposure for the sky, and be able to light up the shadows of the car with studio lighting to give off a really cool looking photo.
I've tried this with many different exposures where I would take an over-exposed photo, to make the shadowy parts of the car seem like they are in light and then replace the over-exposed parts with better exposed ones from the same photo at different exposures.
You could call it a HDR mash-up.
12, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?
Yes, I do. Take your time like Moglet said. There isn't any rush. Make your photo the best it can be, and scrutinize your work! The best photos are done with due care and attention to detail.
Try new techniques like shadow play or one of my favourites, infrared (IR) photography.
There is so much talent around here, it's EASY to get inspiration from anyone, or anyone's idea.
As Mr Thomas Stearn Eliot once wrote: "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different."
Basically what he's saying is; good photographers copy, great photographers steal and make something better, or completely different.
If you don't try, you never learn, but I think what I really want to resonate with people is this.
When you take a photograph, that photo is sending a message. Be prepared for a response whether it is good or bad. Take from the responses and learn what you could've done better. Learn from your(s) and other people's mistakes.
13, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?
There are a lot of people who inspire, but when I first joined the GT photography scene here on GTP, it was people like TVR&Ferrari Fan, FishyJuice, 20830, ShoalinMasta & Zambucca who really inspired my works for their different and unique styles.
Particularly Mr Pebb (TVR&Ferrari Fan).
He inspired me to start my own gallery on GT5 because I knew him from FM.net and I just loved his style of shooting.
This then followed on to people like Taiga, GTuned & Moglet.
People like DarkR and AdrianF1 inspire me with their realistic / minimal editing styles.
Like I said, there is so many people who inspire me and if I haven't mentioned you, I'm sorry, but know that you inspire me!
14, Outside of GTPlanet, Do you have a special photo, piece of art or anything else you've created that you would like to share to showcase your other interests and talents?
I don't really have a special photo or piece of art, but you guys can always follow my real-life photography and happenings on Twitter/Instagram. My handle is @rawrimbally for both.
I would also say, take a look at my website, but that's currently down at the moment. Trying to resolve a technical issue.
15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?
I'd like to nominate TVR&Ferrari Fan. He's got such a unique style, and doesn't get much exposure.
I'd like to see what makes him tick.
Thanks BkS 👍
Be it FM4/FH or GT5.
