Slot Car Photography

[whitworthnut]

[Ember]

I think I like the first and second last the best. Really nice moody lighting work.

I've not had the inclination to get my camera out in ages. Currently too much on the plate. But your work here is bound to get me inspired again.

[whitworthnut]

[Ember]

That one I love. Very emotive.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Excellent. Looks like it's time for a new photo up top. :)

[whitworthnut]

Be my guest Harry

[studioRS]

[ecr]

WOW
I got to get myself a new camera. I have used it for a few years now,has only
digital zoom, and only 4 megs. It's the first digital camera I bought and has been a
great devise instead of sending pictures in to get developed.
Both Ember and you have shown me a new level of photography in your posts!
I could only wish to be as good at it !! Love the lighting tricks and ideas.
ecr :character-oldtimer:
P.S I got a long way to go,to be honest,I don't even know what your camera settings
mean !! :oops:

[whitworthnut]

Thanks Thompson. That would be my choice too. I've included a few variations just to show some of the subtle changes that happen and to reinforce the notion that the perfect picture won't likely happen on the first attempt. I've also found that seemingly doing the same thing doesn't guarantee the same result. Every session requires some tweaking.

I've also found that the camera doesn't really do the work (that should be self evident). Lighting and perspective are critical. The camera is really there just to record what you have created, camera settings notwithstanding.

Dave - I'm anxious to see you get your camera out. You have a good eye for detail, some great cars and scenery to work with. It's a great way to share your toys with everyone. It would be interesting to see some of your first attempts that you don't like and have you explain why and how you fixed them. That's one of the things that I think would be really useful in this thread.

[ecr]

OH GREAT !!
One more thing to keep me from doing the chores around the house ! :lol:
ecr :character-oldtimer:

[whitworthnut]

[Ember]

The Bentley really is enormous in real life. I've not had the chance to handle the Scalex version but I do have a Pene Pitlane shell that I started work on. Hoping I'll one day have the skills to fix all of it's problems. I've also got a Bentley Emberiocos shell from Munter which actually feels even bigger as it's got the beautiful Art Deco tear drop fenders on it.

These little vignettes of pre-war garage life are beautiful, Peter. You put me to shame. I'm too lazy to use anything other than available light.

[whitworthnut]

You're too humble Lynne.

FYI, George Turner is doing the Embiricos in the near future and yes it is huge - larger than the Jaguar Mark VII.

[Ember]

I really must buy myself some of George's stunning kits. Why should His Lordship be the only one in the household to have them, particularly when I bought them. :( I must have one of his MGs. And the Embiricos is the most beautiful Bentley ever. Bentley's were never known for their beauty. Refinement, maybe. Brute strength, yes. But beauty, no.

For those who may be interested....

[Ember]

I actually had my camera out shooting this morning. I've not had the urge for quite a while. But I'm currently putting the finishing touches to a mag article recording the first stage of the hill climb track build. The photos of the process are typically boring process type photos, but I need to submit some supporting photos that can be used to decorate the page a little. Pretty photos from a track that is only in its embryonic stage isn't something that really seemed likely. But I'm more than a little happy with this one.



I don't usually post process photos more than a little cropping or colour correction. This one is a little different as it was created using a focus stack.



All settings on the camera have been left automatic with the exception of focus. I then took a series of 5 photos with the focus slowly shifting from the front of the car to the back. The stack was built automatically in Photoshop (but I'm sure other photo processing programs will do it too). The 5 image frames are imported into a single file and aligned so that the car is the same size and position in each frame. The 5 frames are then blended together in such a way as to produce a single image of the car that is in focus from nose to tail. Fortunately Photoshop is able to do much of the work automatically, because I would hate to attempt the blending manually. The final image is then flattened and cropped.