Syntax's Gallery - Updated 09/08/2011 some boring couples shots... no cars here :(

[boiltheocean]

I'm loving this set, depth of field on the third is excellent! I'm not too sure about the old effects you've added or the unsaturated colours but I know that is your style and it clearly works for you. I'd like to see a quick highly-saturated edit as well if you have the chance.

 

[Syntax error]

I'm loving this set, depth of field on the third is excellent! I'm not too sure about the old effects you've added or the unsaturated colours but I know that is your style and it clearly works for you. I'd like to see a quick highly-saturated edit as well if you have the chance.

Thanks dude. It's a bit of an experimental phase I'm going through as I got a bit bored with my standard shots, I'm sure I'll return to them shortly. I'll pop up an untouched shot later tonight as well for comparison.

 

[F1GTR]

Absolutely love the graphic simplicity of that second shot. The way you blew out the white on that really works. The third shot is a bit iffy with the textures but the shot itself is solid, quite like how it looks like a scale model there due to the DOF.

 

[Azuremen]

I dunno about that second... feels like you are trying to hard with the grunge-ish feeling.

 

[Syntax error]

Absolutely love the graphic simplicity of that second shot. The way you blew out the white on that really works. The third shot is a bit iffy with the textures but the shot itself is solid, quite like how it looks like a scale model there due to the DOF.

I dunno about that second... feels like you are trying to hard with the grunge-ish feeling.

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the feedback. General consensus seems to be that I have over done the grunge effect a little and the more I look at it, the more I am in agreement with this assessment. Thanks again guys

 

[Azuremen]

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the feedback. General consensus seems to be that I have over done the grunge effect a little and the more I look at it, the more I am in agreement with this assessment. Thanks again guys

Yeah. More so because the car itself is quite clean. The desaturation I think is fine, if a touch trendy at the moment, but since the car itself is white, it just adds prominence to the clean white look. But the brush effects remind me too much of early-mid 2000 anime GFX community stuff.

Now, of course, the grunge look could work with a Stanceworks style 80's car, with the rusted hood. Subject matter, in my mind, dictates how the post-processing should be handled.

 

[Speedster502]

Nice set, I can't really think of anything else to say other than what has been mentioned. My favourite is probably the 1st shot (I mean the very first shot of the car shown) I think I prefer the angle on No.3 but I'm not too keen on the effect going on, but it is good to experiment and you never known how well it's going to turn out until you've done it. It was the same with my selective colour set I did awhile back. But I do dig the desaturated look. 👍

 

[Syntax error]

Yeah. More so because the car itself is quite clean. The desaturation I think is fine, if a touch trendy at the moment, but since the car itself is white, it just adds prominence to the clean white look. But the brush effects remind me too much of early-mid 2000 anime GFX community stuff.

Now, of course, the grunge look could work with a Stanceworks style 80's car, with the rusted hood. Subject matter, in my mind, dictates how the post-processing should be handled.

I've post an unprocessed shot below as well, I think the desaturated look would be better with this shot, but I see were you are coming from with having a cleaner shot by removing the brushed look.

Nice set, I can't really think of anything else to say other than what has been mentioned. My favourite is probably the 1st shot (I mean the very first shot of the car shown) I think I prefer the angle on No.3 but I'm not too keen on the effect going on, but it is good to experiment and you never known how well it's going to turn out until you've done it. It was the same with my selective colour set I did awhile back. But I do dig the desaturated look. 👍

Thanks Adam.



SSU, here is an untouched version of the photo for comparison:

 

[Syntax error]

Still working on the S15 shots, but while I was doing the shoot, a friend rocked up on his R6 so I too a few snaps of it as well, I thought I'd share:

 

[boiltheocean]

Those look pretty good, I find the flash slightly strong on the last but that is major nit-picking.

 

[Syntax error]

Thanks SSU. The flash does feel a little overbearing in the second shot. I really struggled with that one as the natural light was starting to fail and when I dialled down the strength of the strobe I lost all definition in the black body of the bike. I'm a little unsure on how to combat this, I did use two off camera speedlights, both defused with covers, maybe a larger wall diffuser would have been more appropriate. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[Azuremen]

Umbrellas maybe? Only thing I can think of to reduce the shadows cast by the flashes, even then just maybe.

I'd have tried the cheating method in Photoshop of proper realistic HDR from 2 or 3 exposures, just to preserve the blacks and then prevent the flash over doing it on the lighter bits.

Have to say I quite like the first one though of the bike.

As for the S15, the unedited shot is a bit too... "happy," if that makes sense? Desat sans brushes should work great.

 

[Pebb]

I love the first shot.

 

[Syntax error]

Umbrellas maybe? Only thing I can think of to reduce the shadows cast by the flashes, even then just maybe.

I'd have tried the cheating method in Photoshop of proper realistic HDR from 2 or 3 exposures, just to preserve the blacks and then prevent the flash over doing it on the lighter bits.

Have to say I quite like the first one though of the bike.

As for the S15, the unedited shot is a bit too... "happy," if that makes sense? Desat sans brushes should work great.

Was thinking possible using a large panel diffuser maybe. I have in the past also used the PS technique you mentioned but I cheat a little and create multiple copies in lightroom with variable exposure adjustments, then layer to create as you said a more HDR type image that is not really recognizable as that mess most associate with HDR.

I actually did hit the bike with flash in the first shot as well, but the ambient light was better in that one so I got a more natural result than in the second shot. Also had less power being pumped through the flashes for that one.

I totally agree that the unedited S15 shot is a little strong on for colour, the Circular polarizer will do that to the sky unfortunately. SSU wanted to see how my unedited work looked so I thought I'd throw it up as an example.

Thanks for the feedback Azuremen.

I love the first shot.

Thanks TVR

 

[boiltheocean]

In regards to the flash, why not use a folding reflector instead of the flash? That way you can just direct what sunlight is left at the back of the bike onto the front of the bike instead of having to match exposures.

That is a wild guess however, I don't have loads of experience with reflectors. However I should pick one up as they are fairly cheap and useful.

 

[Syntax error]

In regards to the flash, why not use a folding reflector instead of the flash?

Good question. I did actually have one with me (in the boot of my car) but to tell you the truth, It never occurred to me at the time to use it. They are dirt cheap. I have a 5 in one type which if I recall set me back about $20 off ebay.

 

[Syntax error]

Yesterday I had a chance to shoot this good looking R34. I took a lot of advice away from the S15 shoot and applied it here for a test. First, I picked an industrial surrounding instead of the nature background which was a deal breaker for a lot of you guys in the photo comp. I also got out that folding reflector Tom suggested I make use of as it has in the past mostly gathered dust in the boot of my car.

I haven’t been through the entire set yet so there will heaps of shots to come, but in the interim, here is the first one I have so far processed, let me know what you all think of it as I'm interested to see if it's an improvement and if I am missing anything a fresh set of eyes might spot as an obvious issue.

 

[TB]

I does look more "at home" in the urban jungle and the reflector appears to have evened the shadows out a bit. 👍

Did you 'shop out something under the left hand (while you're in the car) headlight? I'm getting some odd lines showing up.

 

[Syntax error]

Thanks TB. Under the right headlight I took out a massive reflection from the folding reflector panel but the left remained untouched so I'm unsure what that line is. I totally missed that before and it's bugging me now. Can't wait to get home and examine the original file now and to touch it up. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[TB]

Just to clarify, these are the lines I'm seeing:

 

[boiltheocean]

That's looking good man! I'm sorry I really can't give much more criticism over basic photography stuff as I've not been exposed to much automotive photography outside of GTP, I'll educate myself and come back later

One thing I would say right off though is did you shoot any against a darker background?, the main problem I see with white cars is that they don't often pop against the sky. Although of course in your photo the DoF produces a good pop the subject isn't getting all the attention I feel it should.

 

[Syntax error]

Just to clarify, these are the lines I'm seeing:

Yep, we're on the same page. The reflections I removed where on the opposite side. I'm actually a little surprised I over looked whatever those odd lines are however it could have something to do with the bottle of wine I consumed while working on the image

That's looking good man! I'm sorry I really can't give much more criticism over basic photography stuff as I've not been exposed to much automotive photography outside of GTP, I'll educate myself and come back later

One thing I would say right off though is did you shoot any against a darker background?, the main problem I see with white cars is that they don't often pop against the sky. Although of course in your photo the DoF produces a good pop the subject isn't getting all the attention I feel it should.

Thanks Tom. Your input is always appreciated and personally I think that non automotive photographers can sometimes provide a refreshing insight as they view things differently to someone who does it a lot and might be stuck in their ways.
Most of the shots are at the same location so I think a majority will have a light background, although off the cuff I think there are a few shots in there with different angles that might have given the car a background of mostly fence and containers.
White is a pain in the rear to shoot though, especially since it seems to be really sunny every time I have to shoot a white car, so it’s a struggle to retain detail in the panels and some detail in the background as well.

 

[Syntax error]

Thought I'd show what I've been working on. It's not finished yet. Still some cleaning up to do but thought I'd share anyway. The one thing I took away from this shoot is that my rig is not long and sturdy enough. The full frame of the 5D saved me as far as getting all the car in the shot but just barely. Location I'm not happy with either, this was constrained by time and location. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

EDIT: rig photo was removed. The more I looked at it, the more unimpressed I was, so I don't really want to show it anymore.

Edit: thought I'd share some photos that are a tad better than that rig shot above.

 

[Syntax error]

Apologies guys, more double posting and the larger than normal volume of shots. Last weekend Eastern Creek held the Shannon's Nationals 6 hour. I was pretty well geared up for it but as usual with these types of things, nothing goes smoothly. One of my lenses decided that the aperture blades are now going to stick. This rendered one of my L lenses useless, at which point I cracked it, packed my bags and called it a day. Anyway I did manage to take a few shots that I did like, and I did cover about half the race before my little tantrum. Full set is visible on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21859683@N03/sets/72157624539197344/


Damn cold in the morning, fog on the track still:

and ice on the grass:

 

[LongbowX]

Whenever your work comes up, I begin to run short of adjectives. I mean like...c'mon, give us average joes a chance...

I mean like every one, EVERY ONE is as perfect as you could possibly make it.

*faints*

 

[Syntax error]

Whenever your work comes up, I begin to run short of adjectives. I mean like...c'mon, give us average joes a chance...

I mean like every one, EVERY ONE is as perfect as you could possibly make it.

*faints*

Thanks Chris. I''ll be giving "average joes" everywhere a chance now... I posted in the Infield a few days ago, I'm letting go of motorsport photography and the business. I won't be putting down the camera altogether, I just won't be doing it as a job anymore. A few reasons come into play, equipment wise, I'm on a constant repair cycle due to battering I put the cameras through. The other week I lost a lens to the aperture blade malfunction as well. The second issue is time. I have a 9-5 job and a family to look after. I found that lately if I was not in the office, I'd be working on shots trying to meet ridiculous deadlines for not enough money considering how hard I work and equipment maintenance costs. There are a few other little reasons but those are the two main ones at present.

I've got a few private car shoots still lined up and I'll still do them, I really do enjoy these, but I won't be pursuing it as a business further.

 

[Speedster502]

I love this set, it's really high quality. My favourite has to be the re-fuelling shot I love the drips coming off the pipe. It's really top stuff. 👍

I must admit, when I heard the news I was...disappointed I suppose. I love your work, there has always been something I’d admired about it, probably something to do with the fact the PP is superb and you have a real talent in finding interesting angles of cars, especially in the motorsport field. I can understand why you want to stop though, the comment you made in The Infield about every average-joe having a digital camera does mean that most people want the work for free, I mean I know I’m not anywhere near on the scale of where you got to in Australian Motorsports and other work but I’ve had my photographs featured in a couple of places now, no-one of them even considered paying to use my photographs. If I had turned round to them and said that they would have probably just found some other photos. It’s sad really, people can’t appreciate a good photograph in comparison to a ordinary one sometimes.

I was really surprised to hear about all your issues with the gear, I know you have a lot of gear but still it shouldn’t go wrong like that. Mine hasn’t. Yet. But I guess my gear is a little bit cheaper than yours. Concerning giving up motorsport photography, I’m unsure what you precisely mean (probably because I’m so horrified at the thought of you completely ditching motorsport that I’ve confused myself, Chris can confirm I manage to do that on a regular basis). Does it mean you’re going to give up completely? Or just for selling the work onto magazines or however it works?

If it’s the first, then I really, really think you should consider at least going to some events per year and photographing. I really love your motorsport stuff and it wouldn’t be the same to not see any. It has just such a distinct style. Of course, if you don’t enjoy motorsport anymore that’s a different matter.

Anyway, I shall look forward to seeing shots from this upcoming car shoots you’ve got planned.

 

[LongbowX]

Thanks Chris. I''ll be giving "average joes" everywhere a chance now... I posted in the Infield a few days ago, I'm letting go of motorsport photography and the business. I won't be putting down the camera altogether, I just won't be doing it as a job anymore. A few reasons come into play, equipment wise, I'm on a constant repair cycle due to battering I put the cameras through. The other week I lost a lens to the aperture blade malfunction as well. The second issue is time. I have a 9-5 job and a family to look after. I found that lately if I was not in the office, I'd be working on shots trying to meet ridiculous deadlines for not enough money considering how hard I work and equipment maintenance costs. There are a few other little reasons but those are the two main ones at present.

I've got a few private car shoots still lined up and I'll still do them, I really do enjoy these, but I won't be pursuing it as a business further.

You're welcome of course.

I actually heard from Adam yesterday, he told me since we talk quite a bit and I don't generally enter The Infield. Of course I find it disappointing, but I can understand why with the practical reasons you mentioned. And I won't entirely be losing you as an inspiration, someone to look up to: which I always have. Plus I get to see what you will do with the photoshoots. I'll get to see that creativity and know-how continue to flow. And you have a lovely family, too. I would probably give it up too, if I had what you had.

I wish you the best.

 

[Syntax error]

I love this set, it's really high quality. My favourite has to be the re-fuelling shot I love the drips coming off the pipe. It's really top stuff. 👍

Thanks dude.

I must admit, when I heard the news I was...disappointed I suppose. I love your work, there has always been something I’d admired about it, probably something to do with the fact the PP is superb and you have a real talent in finding interesting angles of cars, especially in the motorsport field. I can understand why you want to stop though, the comment you made in The Infield about every average-joe having a digital camera does mean that most people want the work for free, I mean I know I’m not anywhere near on the scale of where you got to in Australian Motorsports and other work but I’ve had my photographs featured in a couple of places now, no-one of them even considered paying to use my photographs. If I had turned round to them and said that they would have probably just found some other photos. It’s sad really, people can’t appreciate a good photograph in comparison to a ordinary one sometimes.

I think technology has had a dramatic affect on the general public’s attitude. I don’t have an issue at all with anyone being able to get into to photography nor do I have any issue with people giving shots away for free (I have on occasion done so in the past myself) after all, it’s up to the individual that owns the content to do what they want with it. I do have an issues with some people that I have dealt with in the past that seem to belittle what I do and assign no worth to my efforts. I generally just tell these people to get nicked but unfortunately they don’t go peacefully.

That being said, I think the industry as a whole is suffering. I have a friend that has been a high end fashion photographer for over 30 years with VOGUE magazine, and even though her niche in the photo industry has been in the past very well protected as the minimum expected output being in medium format (and I’m sure we have all seen the price those Hasselblads retail for :S) but with the comparably cheap 5DMKII & 1DMK4’s on the market, it has ever increasingly become easier for anyone to participate. Not that the gear will make you a better photographer, but I think it had opened up avenues for more and more talented people to get in to something they otherwise would have stayed away from due to overheads. From a creativity perspective it’s fantastic, but from an industry perspective it can be quite detrimental. At the end of the day, the industry is going therough some tough times, not too dissimilar to how the music industry went through a revolution of sorts with digital distribution a few years ago. I’m sure the photo industry will eventually stabilize and find ways of being more profitable or manageable, but personally, I’ll looking at other options to ensure my future.

I was really surprised to hear about all your issues with the gear, I know you have a lot of gear but still it shouldn’t go wrong like that. Mine hasn’t. Yet. But I guess my gear is a little bit cheaper than yours. Concerning giving up motorsport photography, I’m unsure what you precisely mean (probably because I’m so horrified at the thought of you completely ditching motorsport that I’ve confused myself, Chris can confirm I manage to do that on a regular basis). Does it mean you’re going to give up completely? Or just for selling the work onto magazines or however it works?

I’ve gone through multiple repairs with most of my gear with all sorts of issues like scratched sensors, mirrors falling out, multiple shutter replacements, broken speedlights , broken studio strobes, aperture blades stuck (that’s the latest one) and my favorite, exploding strobe. That last one looked pretty cool but cost me a bit There have been other fun things along the way like the constant cleaning of sensor dust and other stuff as well. I’ve always accepted that these things are part of it all but from a financial perspective, the return was barely enough to keep the gear running.

If it’s the first, then I really, really think you should consider at least going to some events per year and photographing. I really love your motorsport stuff and it wouldn’t be the same to not see any. It has just such a distinct style. Of course, if you don’t enjoy motorsport anymore that’s a different matter.

Anyway, I shall look forward to seeing shots from this upcoming car shoots you’ve got planned.

I won’t walk away completely. I’ll maybe head out to an occasional motorsport event and take the camera with me to take some snaps. After all, I love being out at the track. I’ll still probably cover one more Shannon’s National event in an official capacity in September as I did promise one of the editors I deal with I’d do it earlier in the year. But as a business, I’ll call it a day. That is unless Top Gear Magazine call

You're welcome of course.

I actually heard from Adam yesterday, he told me since we talk quite a bit and I don't generally enter The Infield. Of course I find it disappointing, but I can understand why with the practical reasons you mentioned. And I won't entirely be losing you as an inspiration, someone to look up to: which I always have. Plus I get to see what you will do with the photoshoots. I'll get to see that creativity and know-how continue to flow. And you have a lovely family, too. I would probably give it up too, if I had what you had.

I wish you the best.

Thanks mate. I’ll still frequent this sub-forum just as much as I have in the past, and I’ll contribute both to the comps and this thread in particular, but I guess there will be less motorsport content as I won’t be shooting on as much of a regular basis, mostly just for my own amusement.

 

[boiltheocean]

Sad news but at the end of the day it's a business. If the publics attitude doesn't change I could find myself in a similar boat to you after my college and potentially Uni courses. On the other hand I am excited to see what you'll do now it's just a hobby.

Also the images above are fantastic as usual, I'm a sucker for a landscape with fog.