1941 Ford Super Delux Woody Station Wagon, Antique Car Show, Old Town Fairfax, Virginia
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Car shows are always great fun and provide lots of opportunities for making images. This shot was from my local show in Old Town Fairfax, Virginia. The 1947 Packard in the HDR Portfolio was taken at the same show.
Because Nikon cameras only have a single exposure difference in their bracket sequence, I always try to take at least a 5 shot brackets to provide the minimum recommended +2/0/-2 exposure range for my HDR processing. Depending on the light I may extend this to either 7 or even 9 shot brackets. I always use all the bracketed shots as it produces a smoother image with less chance of bright halos in a bright sky the transitions from dark objects. This particular image is from a 7 shot bracket.
This image was processed in Nik Software HDR Efex Pro. The resulting image was then taken into Photoshop CS5 to complete. I always run any image with bright chrome like this one through Nik Software Color Efex Pro using the Pro Contrast filter. A mask is then applied with a black fill to hide the effect. A soft-edge white brush is then used to reveal the filter effect on the chrome work. This adds an extra sparkle to the chrome and really makes it stand out. The sun-burst at the bottom edge of the image resulted from the HDR processing – I did nothing else to it. I obviously could not see this when I took the brackets but I think it makes this image.
Twitter: JimiJones
| October 20, 2011
Lovely shot, Mark. I love car shows and you’re right. There are so many opportunities for photos.
I use a D5000 which has the +2/0/-2 in the bracketing menu, which is how I shoot most HDRs. It only shoots 3-bracket sets though. Have to change the settings to extend beyond that.
HDR Efex is a very nice package. I seldom use Photomatix anymore, not that anything is wrong with it. I just like the extra flexibility of HDR Efex.
Didn’t realize that you’re in the Fairfax area. I’m just up the road about an hour in Owings Mills, MD.
Twitter: curtfleenor
| October 21, 2011
Outstanding work Mark! I really like the warm tones and the textures in the wood. The sun-burst is a nice plus, I love it when something like this appears during processing!
Twitter: twitter (username)
| October 21, 2011
Wonderful treatment on this image Mark. I really like this unique perspective. Was looking at your other images as well….simply beautiful.
Twitter: twitter (username)
| October 22, 2011
I like the processing here, nice job. I have the Nik HDR tool but much prefer Photomatix for my HDR.
Twitter: catchthejiffy
| October 24, 2011
Awesome shot Mark! I thought that was a camera at first!! haha. I love this car.
Twitter: jimnixaustin
| October 24, 2011
that is just awesome Mark, great image!!