As promised, here are the road photos of the R33 Skyline I shot last week.

This is my first attempt at this, and I discovered a few things that might help you in your own car photography endeavours:

1. Stay safe - Make sure it’s very hard to fall out of the leading car and keep speeds under 50kph (30mph) *duh*
2. Communication - Set out a few hand signals for basic operation of the two vehicles. Keep it simple and intuitive, and make sure both drivers know what to do if you encounter traffic.
3. Shutter speed will determine the sense of speed in the photo, but going too low makes it challenging to keep it sharp. This comes down to experience and technique, but make sure to get some safe ones in the bag before you go all gung-ho (a.k.a 1/10th). For the shots in this post, I hovered between 1/40th and 1/60th.
4. Lens - the choice of focal length, in my experience, has a big impact on the sense of speed in this type of image. I used a prime 28mm, and I found that the wide angle limited me somewhat. Next time, I’ll try my 85mm and see how that works.

Make a great day!

Erik

Sometimes you have to try something before you know whether you like it or not.

After an inspiration hunt on 500px (1, 2, 3), my dormant love of car photography received a reviving jolt, compelling me to dive into this petrol-fuelled world once again.

A meeting with my frisbee-buddy, “Vega”, and his beautiful Nissan Skyline R33 provided a great opportunity to organise a photographic test run.

We promptly arranged a date, and I went out scouting for locations. In my head, I knew that I wanted old, “griddy” and industrial.

By an incredible coincidence, I stumbled upon a perfect facility owned by the local shipping company NQ Freighters. A deep breath, some courage and 10 minutes later, I had access to their warehouse for the afternoon of the shoot. Just ask, people!

A few phone calls and meetups with my friends Mia and Duncan, and I had two motivated assistants on board.

From there it was all fun and giggles. I had complete freedom to do whatever I wanted, and I had all the help I could ask for.

Joe McNally says: “Put yourself in front of something interesting.”

Up until now, I’ve given more attention to lighting and technical quality, and it has not yielded results I can be proud of. Recently, I’ve taken McNally’s words to heart and concentrated my efforts into preparation and concept. I think there is a magical balance between the two, and I have made it my goal to find it.

After shooting in the warehouse for two hours, we hit the road for some car-to-car shots. 

Stay tuned tomorrow to hear how it played out and to see the final images.

Make a great day!

Erik

The heat has really arrived, and this young viking (yours truly) is spending most of his days in the life-giving shelter of an airconditioned room.

(If only…)

Nope, I’ve actually been pretty active this past week! 

Launch of Elle Graham’s new EP. Inspiration boost!

Shoot with a friend’s Nissan Skyline. Couldn’t have done it without the help of these two jokers, Mia and Duncan! Final images will be up tomorrow afternoon.

My 5MOYT adventure continues, although I’m taking it slow until this extreme heat passes. This is Ashley, who was more than happy to let me take her portrait.

Make a great day!

Erik

P.S. “Unstoppable” is worth a watch.