Photomode Photographers Q&A #35 - nanabu

  • Thread starter leeislee
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I put on GT4 the other day and as much as i loved it, i gotta be honest and say that it is poor now. Terrible graphics and the cars handle so different compared to GT5.

I love the content of GT4 though, i really miss El Capitan and Seattle :(
 
But, and it's a very big but, the wet weather looks better in GT4: the spray is more realistic and "watery" (in GT5 it looks like smoke) and the cars actually had reflections!
 
:) Always welcome guys. Thinking to turn on my PS2 to take some shots on GT 4. Just for fun :)
 
Nice interview. I'm not from that time (at least in GTPlanet...because I play since GT1) but I can see you are a good photographer :)

And portuguese too :D
 
Part 24
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Nicknamealguem​

1, How about an introduction?
Hey everyone. My name is Luís and I live near Lisbon, Portugal. I am 21 years old and joined GTPlanet in April 2007. I’m a student, taking a degree in Biochemistry, by the Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias – Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Some of my hobbies include: Music – Guitar, Bass, some Vocals and Home Studio Recording; Image/Design: Photography, Lomography, Image Edition/Design; Some minor games: RTT, RTS, RPG, Racing, etc.; Geocaching; Riding Bicycle. Since I seem to be known for my panels and presentations, I decided to do the same with this interview. ;)

2, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?
I have been taking photos in Gran Turismo since GT4. At first, I didn’t know about Photomode until a friend told me that one could take photos in Gran Turismo and save them onto a USB stick, but, in spite of that, I didn’t take too many pictures at first.

Almost a year later, I was looking for some sort on “online” competition for GT4 and discovered GTPlantet and its racing leads. I think I didn’t take part in any of it, but I stuck around in the Tuning Garages. After almost 2 months, I discovered the Photomode area and start being regular. Here I have, probably some of my best GT4 work:




-Click in each thumbnail to bring it's full size-​

3, What was the first picture you took in GT5?
My first picture in GT5, if files time/date is correct, is actually the main image from my first gallery update, codename: a New Beginning. It’s actually a pretty dark image, but it was done on purpose, with a black GT by Citroen coming out of the dark, symbolizing the new beginning, from GT4 to GT5. It was also inspired by the music video a New Beginning by Threat Signal.




-Click in the thumbnail to bring it's full size-​

4, And your first edit?
My first edit in GT5 was actually the same image as my first image taken in GT5. I gave it a greenish look because I though it suited the image pretty good.




-Click in the thumbnail to bring it's full size-​

5, How would you describe your photography style?
I wouldn’t. :P I always try to compose a picture to the best of my abilities, both in GT5 and in post-production. The same with real life photography, I always try my best to take a great shot and try to enhance it later. I’m not like some “purists” who say you shouldn’t edit photos, but I agree that you shouldn’t relay on post-production alone, at least, I try not to. As I usually say, if you have the tools and know how to use them, why not?

6, In your opinion what makes a great photo?
Mainly it’s overall composition, how the different elements like tones, subject position, light, blur, angle and others play and balance with one another to make an harmonious and eye catching picture. It's all about balance and to me, this is true in everything, not just photography. ;)

7, What is your favourite car to shoot?
I don’t think I have a favourite car to shoot. There are many great cars I really like, like Dodge Vipers, specially the most recent ones, but for photography, there are really no favourites, it all depends what I want to capture. Of course, there are cars I like most and others I like least, but it really goes with the mood.

8, What is your favourite location to shoot?
Like cars, I don’t really have a favourite, it all goes with what I want to capture, but I have to say, I really like the different possibilities one can have with Toscana. It’s probably one of my favourite, specially the tarmac layout, but I can't say it's the favourite one.

9, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?
These questions of picking just one favorite are tricky, but this time I can point out a favourite and it's this one:




-Click in the thumbnail to bring it's full size-​

I think it was one of the few driver pictures I took (I know, it’s not a car), but I really liked the end result. Probably a bit of “cliché” - a driver, looking down with some leaves falling and the red/blue gradient toning representing opposites (i.e. Good and Evil) - but I really like it.

10, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?
Yes, I always edit my pictures; except if I am entering a competition that states not to.
Although in GT4 I did a lot of car clean-up, with a lot of usage of the pen tool, blurs and dodge; in GT5 I only play with colour/tones. I normally open images using camera raw and play a little with the different parameters until I get something that pleases my eyes. Then I open the result in Photoshop, apply little High Pass and from there on I play with different adjustments like Colour Balance, Match Colour, Selective Colour, Gradients, etc, always making new layers and adjusting layer opacity and bending modes.

11, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?
I don’t think I would remove any feature, but there are many features that could be added. I won’t go with an extensive list of things, many of them were already mentioned by past interviewers, but at the top of my head, I would say, the ability to use other cameras and not just the free roam camera, like GT4, where you had many cameras placed in different places. In other words, combining both free roam camera of GT5 plus the static ones from GT4, including the replay camera. Also, the ability to fast forward and fast rewind replay would be a really good addition to me.

12, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?
Don’t be afraid to experiment and learn new techniques. Don’t be afraid to advise and critique ones work if you think you have something to teach/advise or that there is something that that person could learn from you, or even do it better next time.

13, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?
Well, I have to say that everyone and every gallery inspire me in some way or another...I can’t run away from that.

As for my biggest inspirations, they all come from GT4 and they really made me (at the time) want to improve as much and as fast, so I could reach their level. They all produced truly works of art with GT4. :drool: Names like alexwrc - Top of the class in editing, he was the one who thought me how to do panels previews and his car cleanings were superb; Beerz, franz, sejtur and jacoja – Great edits, cleaning, blur usage and great eye to capture details; Bram Turismo – Probably my biggest inspirations in car cleaning plus crazy road blur; atlop – he could do amazing things with almost unedited photos; Tangled Web – the usage of noise and the tones were brutal;

Other inspirations include TVR&Ferrari_Fan, NTX, Swiss Legend, jgda9rs, Speedster502; ceiling_fan; [empty space], Retro Giant and many others.

Since most are not very active in GT5, I decided to share some of their work:




-Click in each thumbnail to bring it's full size-​

As for GT5, I have to say my biggest inspirations are: Moglet – although I was already a fan of his GT4 work, I have to say I am a big BIG fan of his GT5 work and his real life photos as well, to me, one of the best; SlipZtrEm – I also loved his GT4 work, but I think GT5 gave him a big pull up, also his panels are the best; Revolution. – Not too familiar with his GT4 work, but his GT5 is amongst the best.

I tried with GT5 to apply what I've learnt with GT4 and form an identity of my own, which is probably why I don’t have as many inspirations as I had in GT4, but I really have to underline those three. Not that others don't have an influence on my GT5, but not as big as these three and the others from GT4 that helped me try to form my own identity.

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 have real life photography gallery in GTplanet, which I stopped updating for some unknown reason, but I keep updating my deviantART with both my Photographs and some Lomography.




-Click in each thumbnail to bring it's full size-​

Also and art related, I have a project/band with a friend of mine, called Late for the Concert. I don’t know for certain what our style of music is, but I know it is pretty “commercial” as in it’s easily listenable by everyone. The link to our facebook page, where there are some listenable demos, photos and videos it's on my signature. For the ones who don't have facebook, here is the LINK to our soundcloud page and to our Youtube page. :D

15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?
There are so many people I would love to nominate, especially the ones that really inspire and inspired me, but I would probably pick Revolution., with Bram Turismo as a replacement.

Thanks Luis 👍
 
Last edited:
Great thoughts Luis! Any word on whether Revolution or Bram are participating? I'm looking forward to hearing from them too!
 
Thanks for that great interview Luis! I especially loved how you linked some images of everyone that inspired you, that was a very nice touch 👍

I am honored to be part of this, and so I will take my time to answer all questions thoroughly so that everyone gets a good profile of me :cheers:
 
Part #25
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Bram Turismo
​

1, How about an introduction?
Hello, my name is Bram and I am 23 years of age. Born and raised in Belgium, I've spent the last 7 years of my life in Norway studying. I have a big passion for the automotive world as well as cycling. In my sparetime I play the guitar, as well as the bass guitar. I also collect diecast models,
and I love swimming and sports in general. In the summer I ride my bike myself when the Northern lands aren't frozen.

2, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?
Being honest I cannot even remember the exact time. But I think it must've been the year 2006 in which I started off with the photomode feature in GT4.

3, What was the first picture you took in GT5?
The first images I actually saved onto my flash drive where the images I took of a white Nissan R32 GT-R which won me many events when I started off my journey in GT5.

4, And your first edit?
The same set of images as mentioned in question #3, although these were some very small touches.

5, How would you describe your photography style?
Very randomly, although I prefer realism now that GT5's graphics allow a very big range of creativity and possibilities. In my GT4 days I was on the other end, using cleaning tools very heavily to fix textures and generally improve car models.
But now with GT5's excellent car models there is no need for these steps and one can create a lot, from very little.

6, In your opinion what makes a great photo?
A photo that is you, your style. I don't really like images that follow a certain latest trend just because it's popular. I like people who go a different direction with their experimentation and their images. Very often unedited images can easily outshine heavily edited images just by following some general photography guidelines.

7, What is your favourite car to shoot?
Italian cars have such beautiful lines to capture. That said, I think the Lexus LFA is an incredible beauty from an engineering-perfection point of view, and currently by far my favorite car.

8, What is your favourite location to shoot?
Tracks in general. I seem to struggle with photomode locations. Perhaps because I don't really like any of them, but I like capturing a vehicle in motion.

9, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?
By far one of my Mazda 787b images. I am an incredible fan of 90s Le Mans racers, and endurance racing in general. I tried to capture the atmosphere of 24-hour racing, and I really thought I pulled it off great in this image:
mazda12qa.jpg


10, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?
There is no technique in particular I use. I use multiple layers that I each assign for levels, curves and color balance. I use some layers for some slight noise, desaturation, and a slight blur if I'm going for a vintage vibe.

11, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?
I only want one more thing out of GT5: A premium Toyota Supra MKIV. I was very dissappointed when I found out there were premium Lancers, Skylines, NSX, RX-7's but not my favorite Supra.

12, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?
It's OK to copy someone's technique, or try to immitade them. It's the biggest compliment you could give your photomode inspirations. Just stick true to your own taste and style, and you will produce great work. And remember: Putting work into your images always pays off.

13, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?
Too many to name, and probably a lot of them that I cannot remember since the GT4 days. My biggest inspiration during my GT4 days was 440 Charger. Otherwise I've always been a huge fan of members like franz, Revolution, SlipZtrEm, alexwrc, Moglet and many more!

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 have a photography thread on GTPlanet, and you'll find a link to it in my signature. But I'm not really a photography hobbyist, just images I took on the fly whenever I was visiting a place.

15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?
I would like the GTPlanet community to decide this. I am very thankful people want to know more about me, and I think the members of GTPlanet should decide in my stead which of their inspirations they would like to know better.

Thanks Bram 👍
 
That was an interesting read, Bram. Staying true to one's own style is indeed important.

Oh and... The only thing missing is an image of that white R32 you mentioned. ;)
 
Yeah this should get going again, I don't think the vote system on the last one worked well. Probably better to keep to the previous system.
 
I can't tell you how excited I am to see this back up. :D

Looking forward to it, Lee and mystery-person!
 
Part #26

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1, How about an introduction?

Hi everyone, my name is George and I hail from the land down under 'Australia' but more specifically Sydney. I sometimes am also referred to as 'Pandi' a Nickname that stems from my last name and you'll notice I use as my signature on my photomode shots. I'm 32 (getting old) and I suppose the shortest way to sum me up is a creative geek. I've been a proud GT Planet member since January 2005 (which seems crazy it's been that long), so I've been around here for a while now but in the early days I guess I was more or viewer than a poster.

I love design and graphics and always have since I was very young, but loving all things creative I also like to dabble in photography, video/film, music and more. I currently work as a creative director and am a co-founder of a Branding, Marketing & Design firm called 'The Sponge' which started back in 2002 and I enjoy what I do. I love music and film of many different kinds but in music I particularly enjoy Progressive House more often than any other genre and like to have that going while editing the hours away.

I'm pretty easy to get along with and a fairly quiet guy I suppose. I also like techy stuff and enjoy gaming when time permits.


2, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?

Well I actually started in the GT4 days but at the time I didn't feel confident in trying to post any of my stuff on the forum. I've always loved the graphical quality of the GT series and this was one of the main reasons I wanted GT above all other auto games since its birth. For the longest time though I could not afford a PS, that was until GT3 came around and I finally got one specifically for GT3 at first.

Anyway back on track, I often visited the GT4 photomode forum and admired many of the works people were coming up with at the time. I didn't feel comfortable with my efforts back then but once GT5 (finally) came out it wasn't long before I found myself enjoying the newer photo system and with premiums looking pretty darn good I decided to start sharing my stuff.

For a quite a while I wasn't keen on entering the Photomode comps and a few years ago I only entered the Photoshop comp a handful of times, but now I feel different and enjoy the challenge of the themes and seeing what I can do. Although this now eats up a fair bit of my time I've had less opportunity to do any dedicated sets so things have unfortunately slowed down on that front. :indiff:


3, What was the first picture you took in GT5?

This...

​


I don't think this shot was the very first shot I ever took in GT5, but it's very likely I didn't like the first few shots I took in game so they wouldn't have been saved. This shot however is the first shot I liked enough to keep and edit.


4, And your first edit?

Same as above, as I've never posted an unedited picture just feels wrong to me. I always want to make sure what I put up is of a standard I'm happy with.


5, How would you describe your photography style?

Hmm, I'm not sure to be honest. I guess I sort of have a clean quality style. But I do like to try and mix things up and try new editing techniques and processes too. Most of the time though I just do what I think looks and feels good. I'm sure other people would probably notice a definite style to my work but I don't really think I have one.


6, In your opinion what makes a great photo?

Like many before have said composition is a big factor and sometimes even a plain and simple composition can work well if it seems relative and appropriate. But further to this, use of light and contrast, colour and tone can really make a big difference and can dramatically affect the feel and look of a photograph helping create a certain feel or mood or age to a shot. Essentially a good photo should captivate you, draw you in, create atmosphere and tell a story.


7, What is your favourite car to shoot?

Tough to choose, there are so many nice cars to shoot, but I do definitely lean towards the premiums for obvious quality reasons (and the fact that I don't think I'm very good at clean ups). I suppose one of a my absolute favourites would be the McLaren MP4 -12C. It's a real beauty and to me photographs well from almost every angle.


8, What is your favourite location to shoot?

Again this is a tough one, but I think my favourite location is SSRX, yes it's a dull test track but to me it's one of the best in regards to light and shadow plus you can get some clean looking sheens there which is something I like personally. But Toscana Tarmac is definitely up there in my top few also. I do wish though there were more tracks if not all had day/night options as I'm sure most tracks would look pretty nice at different times with different light.


9, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?

Now I think this one is the toughest question of all, there so many I like quite equally and looking back it is hard to decide but I do have a soft spot for this shot...


​


It's one of my personal favourites for many reasons. Created for a 3.0 competition it did pretty well (2nd). Even though it didn't score a win I still like so many things about it, firstly it was the first major livery edit I attempted and also had a minor body tweak with the side skirt. But most of all I really like the warmth and energy I got out of the shot, the tones and colours are inviting and give a certain life and rawness the race feel. I just think everything came together really well in it from composition to the editing and I was very happy with the result.


10, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?

Yes, I always edit my photos, I use Photoshop pretty much exclusively (Currently CS5). I like to use a lot of different things but I pretty much always start with curves (brightness and contrast) as a base. From there is depends on what look I'm after, I often use a lot of layers and play around with colour balance, tints, layer overlays and blend modes to see what I can get out of a shot. Quite often I get indecisive about what changes I want to make once I start and try things only to end up keeping that edit on a separate layer then turning it off and going back to try another edit style to see what works or looks better in the end. Sound time consuming? Yes it can be.

Once I have certain look I generally like to try and keep the style consistent throughout a set. I use the pen tool a lot for selections and I experiment with layers of gradients and brushes for lens filter looks and the like. Plus the Lens Correction feature in PS for vignettes and other minor tweaks. One major issue I have with shots from GT though is colour banding and the more I play with an image the more evident this problem often gets. :grumpy: In most cases I like to use selections and filters such as Gaussian Blur, Surface Blur or Smart Blur to smooth skies and body panels to clean up the banding mess.

For more intense edits like some 3.0 style shots, HDR merges, light leaks, lens flares, skies and other stock materials like dirt grit and water effects are things I look to include if it seems relative and appropriate to the shot. Sometimes adding these elements can really add to the realism or grandeur of the whole photo.


11, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?


The current Photomode controls and options are pretty good and cover most bases but there are things that could be improved. As many have already stated previously the camera needs to be more free and less limiting. Height in particular is a big one and while fixed cameras do provide angles and distances you normally can't reach they are far too constrictive in movement as they stand. Personally I'd like to be able to completely free roam anywhere even out of the track or scenery for that matter just to be able to get whatever shot I wanted.

Other than that big point I'd like to see more options for slower shutter speeds in replay shooting and more accurate filters. Also a big thing for me would be being able to setup what cars you'd like in a race line-up, hand pick them for multicar shoots and make multiple cars an option in Photo Travel too.


12, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?

Don't be afraid to try new things, experimentation is great for honing and adding to ones skills. Sure not everything will be a success but the knowledge you'll gain is invaluable. Don't feel intimidated by others, there are many talented people on the Photomode forums and everyone has to start somewhere, take a look way back into people's early work and you'll often see a big difference over time, don't expect to be an expert from the get go. Most importantly have FUN! Enjoy the experience, otherwise what's the point? Asking others questions is always good way to get some insight and usable feedback too.

And lastly find a creative process that YOU find comfortable, you don't have to do exactly what someone else does, define your own ways that you're comfortable with and work from there, it'll make things easier and more pleasant on the whole. Plus you may discover you end up forming a sense of your own style which helps define you as an individual and makes you stand out. ;)


13, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?

There's so many here I count as inspiration in many different ways and I admire their different strengths and styles they have often thinking to myself I'd like to be able to do that. I guess from the early days some of the few that I always found amazement and inspiration from were (In no particular order) Revolution, Moglet, TVR&Ferrari_Fan, Sejtur, Retro Giant, and from more recent times would be the likes of leeislee, ShaolinMasta, DarkR, Gtuned, NBDESIGNZ, zambuca, Taiga, jBhIpS but it must be said there's works I've seen from any many many more people that I've thought were amazing and were inspirational so to list them all would be a really long list! :crazy:


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 do enjoy photography IRL, but I've been pretty slack with that too lately. Also graphic deisgn. I used to have a bunch of design pieces on my coms a few years back until I had a major HDD failure and sadly I was stupid enough to not have backups so I lost a number of works I would have like to have shown. All I do have is what Is on my Flickr account. So here's a small sample of some of my favourite photos from there.




​


You'll find more on my Flickr page>>


15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?

Hmm, another tough question as there is a number of people I'd like to nominate. I really would love to hear from Revolution as he has been a long time inspiration, but it seems he's no longer around here. So with that said I think I'll go with Fyshokid, I think he's improved a lot over time with his editing skills and his trademark use of strong colour, I'm interested in hearing about his process. :)

Thanks George, I love the banner! 👍

 

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