SoCal: 2007 STI & 2004 WRX Wagon on Prodrives (400D w/ 17-40mm f/4L)

[ghibli99]

Hi everyone,

While in Southern California for work, I spent some time hanging out w/ a couple buddies of mine from the Subaru scene for a quick photoshoot in Long Beach. These cars are among my favorites in the area, as I think they are tastefully modded, and the owners are very cool, too. For those who saw the movie, yes, the rolling shots were done on the same street where they filmed the final scenes in The Fast & The Furious.

Anyway, hope you all like these.

1.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc02.jpg

2.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc05.jpg

3.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc01.jpg

4.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc04.jpg

5.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc03.jpg

6.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc08.jpg

7.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc06.jpg

8.
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l131/mmotoda/20070804kevince/20070804lbc07.jpg

-Mike

[99allturbo]

Great pics. Numbers 4 and 7 are my favorites, but all were well done imo. These two colors can be easily blown out with too much sun. I have a silver car and found that out the hard way. Nice job.

[Cr4zYH3aD]

#2 is certainly nice
.what lens did you use ?

[blam]

read the title...lol

400D w/ 17-40mm f/4L

[Suicidenote]

nice shots like the last one best

[KTA]

great number 4 my best

[abrcrombe]

#4 is the best for sure! Nice work, and these subbies are pretty cool!

[v35skyline]

great looking car and fantastic pictures.

good composition as well. i'm glad you made sure no light poles were to be growing out of the car in #5 - that has always been a pet peeve of mine.

the only picture i don't like is #6, as the car seems to be existing the frame. this may have been done on purpose, but it's just a personal preference of mine that cars be entering.

[I Like It Sideways]

all of these are amazing.
I do agree with v35skyline about 6. I still like it, but i wish the car was driving into the frame. Its all about personal preference though. All shots are wonderful. And you're right. Both are very tastefully modded. I love the fogs on the wagon.

[Colombia]

Absolutely stunning as always! I aspire to take photos like you do!

[ghibli99]

Thanks for the nice comments and the constructive feedback, everyone!

As for the shot of the wagon exiting the frame, I have to admit that I used that one because it was one of the few of the wagon where I got a decently sharp shot of the car while moving... it was only my second attempt at rolling shots, and hanging out of my buddy's STI didn't exactly translate into a smooth ride... next time, I'm bringing the Camry! :D

-Mike

[Ospi]

Do you use a polarizer for these? i can never get that almost musky looking texture the cars in your shots seem to have, no harsh reflections etc.

Love these.

[ghibli99]

Do you use a polarizer for these? i can never get that almost musky looking texture the cars in your shots seem to have, no harsh reflections etc.

Love these.
Thanks! Yep, the polarizer is almost a permanent fixture on my lenses when shooting cars. I do some clean-up in post, but for the most part, I try to find angles that eliminate as much bad reflection as possible (with various rates of success/failure... 4, 6, and 7 are the worst offenders).

-Mike

[99allturbo]

Thanks! Yep, the polarizer is almost a permanent fixture on my lenses when shooting cars. I do some clean-up in post, but for the most part, I try to find angles that eliminate as much bad reflection as possible (with various rates of success/failure... 4, 6, and 7 are the worst offenders).

-Mike

Getting rid of the reflections on the hoods is good enough since the reflections on hoods are very distractign and large. I need to pick a CP since I tend to get blown out pics when shooting my silver car.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/99allturbo/My%20Evo%208/IMG_0988_2_small.jpg :cry:

[sm1rf]

Love these shots love to see the EXIF for the moving shots, and the cars as you say are tastefully modded. Well done!

[H.B.]

Love #7, So sharp and good angle.

HB.

[Jamie Holladay]

Nice series Mike.

[south_paw]

Wow, I really like this series. The angles are very good and unlike a lot of people I like #6 as well. Makes me want to go do a series with my WRX and/or my buddy's rally car. Especially a few rolling shots. How fast were you guys driving to get that and at what shutter speed/iso were you using??

[ghibli99]

Thanks, everyone!

I saw quite a few Subies in Bend when I was there earlier this year. Nice town!

As for the rolling shots, we were driving about 30 mph, and my shutter speed was 1/60 sec, ISO 400-800 (was getting dark quick!). No IS on the lens... WRX/STI suspension is pretty rough, so I don't know how much it would've assisted in these cases anyway.

-Mike

[Gamut]

These are all very professional! I work with a lot of car catalog photographers and these match up with the best of them. How did you get such a neutral pallet? It looks like sunset, but with all those shots, it looks like sunset lasted all night for you. Make a deal with the sun?

[kenwood33]

Good classic "poses", 1 4 7 are my favorite.

[ghibli99]

These are all very professional! I work with a lot of car catalog photographers and these match up with the best of them. How did you get such a neutral pallet? It looks like sunset, but with all those shots, it looks like sunset lasted all night for you. Make a deal with the sun?
Thanks a lot for the very kind compliments. I use a Lastolite 20" for my WB, and I took several sample images since I didn't have a lightmeter at the time. I really would have liked to have gotten started a little earlier, but the drive to this location took a little longer than we had anticipated. Overall, though, even though we only really had about an hour to shoot at 3 locations, the summer evening light was favorable (and merciful :)).

-Mike

[Gamut]

Do you do this professionally or just a hobby? If not, maybe you should...

[ghibli99]

Do you do this professionally or just a hobby? If not, maybe you should...
Thanks for the nice compliment. Right now, I do some contribution photography/writing for an online Subaru magazine (The Monkey's Trunk (http://www.themonkeystrunk.com/)), and am starting to do some paying jobs here and there (studio and automotive work). Nothing that would pay the bills regularly, but it's nice to get paid for what I love to do. With an upcoming house purchase and wedding to think about, dedicating myself full-time to this will have to wait until there is a bit more stability in my life, and until I really get to a point where I'm confident with my photography. I'm my harshest critic, and I see tons of flaws in these, but again, I really appreciate the kind and valuable C&C from everyone here. It's really helped me look at this hobby (and hopefully an eventual career) in a whole new light, and it pushes me to improve every time I pick up my camera.

-Mike

[Gamut]

Keep in mind that the pros are using a lot more equipment that I'm certain you don't have. Don't sell yourself short. This stuff is really good. Also, I think you'd be surprised just how much retouching is done on those professional shots as well. Hell, lately, most of the shots you're seeing in catalogs are completely CGI anyways. Sad but true. Just finished the Viper catalog for Dodge—all rendered. Most will never know the difference.

Thanks for the nice compliment. Right now, I do some contribution photography/writing for an online Subaru magazine (The Monkey's Trunk (http://www.themonkeystrunk.com/)), and am starting to do some paying jobs here and there (studio and automotive work). Nothing that would pay the bills regularly, but it's nice to get paid for what I love to do. With an upcoming house purchase and wedding to think about, dedicating myself full-time to this will have to wait until there is a bit more stability in my life, and until I really get to a point where I'm confident with my photography. I'm my harshest critic, and I see tons of flaws in these, but again, I really appreciate the kind and valuable C&C from everyone here. It's really helped me look at this hobby (and hopefully an eventual career) in a whole new light, and it pushes me to improve every time I pick up my camera.

-Mike