(Olympus E3, 14-54mm at 37mm (2x crop factor), ISO 100, Exposure 1/200 sec @ f/7.1)

I’ve been posting so many black and white images of late I decided I wanted something more colorful. I was perusing my Lightroom catalog today and ran across this shot I took a couple years ago at a show at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan. I called this post ‘Little Red Corvette’, but actually the car was white, with a red interior. The car was built in 1954, the first year the Corvette was manufactured.

I did some experimentation when I processed this shot. First, I cropped the image just a bit to remove some parts of the image which weren’t really needed. I then used the Photoshop Cutout filter to create the choppy color effect. I selectively applied the filter, masking the effect from the center of the steering wheel and a bit of the dashboard, place that I wanted the lettering and numbering to appear normal.

Copyright © 2011 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.

(Nikon D700, 28-80mm at 68mm, ISO 200, Exposure 1/125 sec @f/8.0)

One of my favorite subjects to shoot are classic automobiles. In the past I’ve focused on exterior details, but after a while you need a break from taking another fender shot. As a result, I’ve started spending some more time trying to get some interior shots to go along with the exterior shots. Interiors are harder because the lighting is generally bad, particularly for coupes and sedans. Also, most owners don’t let you climb in the car so you have to find a way to get your camera in a position which will take a nicely composed shot.

The image above is of a 1958 Corvette which was on display at the first ever “Cars R Stars” car show held at the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township, Michigan. I like this shot because of all the circles and curves. There is the curve of the steering wheel, the semi-circular speedometer, the circular gauges, etc. The lighting isn’t great, but you work with what you have when you shoot at an outdoor show.

Processing included some preliminary work in Lightroom where I brought up the blacks and brought down the exposure a bit. I then took the image into Photoshop where I used Topaz Simplify to smooth out some of the less attractive elements. I reduced the opacity of that layer and then painted on a layer mask over the numbers on the speedometer to keep them clear.

I’d be interested in hearing what you think. Feel free to leave comments on the image below.

Copyright © 2010 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.