I Dream of Bokeh

I Dream of Bokeh, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Here's another image taken at the 2011 Uptown Whitier Car Show. I have posted images of these iconic Pontiac hood ornaments before. They always captivate me, especially if I can get a shot that is back lit by the sun which always shows off the internal structure of these amber colored jewels. I once again borrowed my wife Kathy's incredibly sharp and contrasty 100mm macro lens for this. In addition to being sharp it has the ability to create amazingly smooth bokeh (a Japanese term meaning "beautifully rendered out-of-focus areas") which contrasts so beautifully with the in-focus areas in a shot. To see more of what this lens can do check out Kathy's blog at www.tweakedpixels.com.

Big Woody

Big Woody, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

In September of 2011, my co-worker Michelle told me there was going to be a car show in South Pasadena. Kathy and I drove over and found it was a really big car show. I made a lot of images that day but this is the first one I have processed. I was taken with this 1939 Ford Deluxe Woody as soon as I saw it. It had killer wood work, completely restored. All that was missing was a surfboard sticking out the back.

Come Roaring Back - Flower Power

Come Roaring Back - Flower Power, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Been gone a while. Glad to be back.

I've had never seen a more impressive motorcycle than this particular one. I took several 10-shot HDR sequences of it before walking away for a while to look at other cars and motorcycles at this particular show. A bit later I was sitting on a curb packing away my camera when I remembered I had my Lens Baby with me, so I put it on the camera and returned to this bike for a few more shots.

Although I've had the Lens Baby Composer for a couple of years I still struggle with getting accurate focus. Three things have helped with this process. First was the purchase of an L type focusing screen. It more readily shows the difference between in and out-of-focus areas than my camera's normal screen, second I purchased an angle viewfinder/ 2X magnifier. This allows me to magnify my optical viewfinder by 200% to confirm focus is sharp, and finally I learned a simple technique from www.lensbaby.com about bracketing focus. Once I think I have obtained a sharp focus setting I will move the manual focus ring back and forth slightly while taking images. This gives me several shots to choose from with slightly different focus settings. One of these shots is almost always sharp.

Using the LCD display on the back of my camera isn't an option since it does not have a live view function. I am hoping to purchase the Sony A77 SLT Camera which features live view with 14x magnification as well as focus peaking. So soon I may be packing two cameras to car shows and trips just like my better half does now.

1951 Flamed Mercury

1951 Flamed Mercury, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This was from the 2011 Whittier Car Show held in August. As I mentioned on a earlier post, the organizers decided not to allow low riders at this show, and will instead hold a low rider - custom car show next year. So of course since Kathy and I love photographing low riders we were bummed. After we had walked around for a while she noticed several low rider owners had parked there awesome cars just outside the show limits so of course we spent a lot of time there.

This was probably the most spectacular of all the cars I saw this day, and I took quite a few HDR sequences of it. While I usually choose low angles when shooting cars, in this case given the spectacular flamed hood, I extended my tripod nearly to it's maximum height to better capture it. The only disadvantage was I was unable to look through the viewfinder. I'm 6'-5" tall but my camera was at least 7' above the ground. I took a couple of test shots to be sure I framed this up properly before capturing this sequence.

Pontiac Hood Ornament

Pontiac Hood Ornament, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I really have a strong attraction to vintage Pontiac hood ornaments. I've posted other examples here before and I'm sure I'll post more. When I saw this one, I called Kathy who was also at this car show, and asked if I could borrow her 100mm macro lens which is very fast and sharp. It produces beautiful bokeh as well. I really like how colorful the out of focus areas are.

Uninvited Guest

Uninvited Guest, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

What the hell are the organizers of the Uptown Whittier Car Show thinking? They very neatly have cut the annual car show in half. Segregating low riders and "custom" classic cars to their own show to be held next May. Because of this, this year's show attendance was much reduced. I spoke to a couple of shopkeepers who commented that business which is usually very good on car show day, was quite slow. Not good. The main reason to have the show is to promote the business in town. My favorite part of the show? About a dozen of the banned low riders and classic cars like this 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster, arrived early and located themselves in a parking lot which was officially outside of the show but very close to show center. Needless to say, I took most of my photos in this parking lot. Whittier car show organizers, get a clue and do it right next time.

10 shot HDR, 1ev bracket spacing, Merged and tonemapped in Photomatix Pro. Post processing in Photoshop.

Mercury 8

Mercury 8, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I recently purchased the Sweet 35 optic for my Lensbaby Composer. Rather than using aperture rings like other Lensbaby optics, it has a built-in f-stop adjustment. It's still manual focus as you would expect for a selective focus lens but it can render very sharp images if you accurately focus it on your subject. The depth of field changes depending on the setting used of course. I often will focus with the lens set for F2.6 and then stop it down to gain a larger focus sweet spot. The classic lines of this Mercury 8 seemed to work well with this new lens.

Sunny Side Up

Sunny Side Up, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This pristine 1957 flamed Chevy hard top graces the Enderle Plaza car show in Tustin, CA. I haven't posted since the beginning of June. I just don't seem to find the time these days. Work is very busy and family life has been taking center stage. It felt great to get out and shoot again.

Not Fade Away

Not Fade Away, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

The setting sun's golden light creates bokeh highlights and casts long shadows across these classic Chevy's at Bob's Big Boy Broiler in Downey.

One Clean 1954 Chevy Truck

One Clean 1954 Chevy Truck, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Via Flickr:
This is a really nice 1954 Chevy Truck. I saw it at Bob's Big Boy Broiler and since then I've seen it a few other times. Always spotless and a joy to shoot.