My first car

[Ultra Magnus]

This is a pic of my first car.. '72 Dodge Dart Swinger. As a teen I used to race a lot, both on street and on the track. It's old and needed a LOT of upkeep to keep it just in running order, and after a couple of years of marraige it broke and got set out to pateur (sp?). I decided to never get rid of it but it's sat in my back yard on jackstands for several years now. I still hold to the hope that it will run again! Anyway, I took a heap of pics and I think I've got a good theme going but after close scrutiny I don't think any of them besides this one is worthy of posting. I found that there are some elements that I don't want in the frame and others the wrong part of the pic is in focus. So, here goes, all comments are welcome..

[Norman]

This is a theme I like, you can tell a story with a group of pictures. My friend used to have a Dodge Charger that he put 30 grand into, he sold it & still regrets it.

Your photo is interesting I find the B&W a little flat, it could do with more contrast. Did you mean to get reflection on the window? I think if you did I would have not framed as tightly & shown not much more but would have included some roofline.Did you take one with the window down or a polarizing filter to cut the reflection. I might have sprayed the window with water to create rain drops as an idea. I do like your photo.

Post some more photo's you have a great subject

[Ultra Magnus]

Thanks for the comments.. I feel a little dumb, but I can't say I totally comprehend what you mean by flat? I didn't intentially try to get the window reflection but I liked it when it came out. To be honest, when I stated out and didn't intend to do anything other than experiment with what I learned about aperature settings! I ended up with a bunch of pics, most sucked, some were ok, but once I cropped them and made them B&W I noticed a bunch of small fundamental flaws that are hard to notice on a 2" LCD screen. I'll retake the others this weekend and hopefully get them framed and focused better and post next week. Thanks!!

[Norman]

Thanks for the comments.. I feel a little dumb, but I can't say I totally comprehend what you mean by flat? I didn't intentially try to get the window reflection but I liked it when it came out. To be honest, when I stated out and didn't intend to do anything other than experiment with what I learned about aperature settings! I ended up with a bunch of pics, most sucked, some were ok, but once I cropped them and made them B&W I noticed a bunch of small fundamental flaws that are hard to notice on a 2" LCD screen. I'll retake the others this weekend and hopefully get them framed and focused better and post next week. Thanks!!

In the context of black & white photo's means you should have black blacks & white whites & inbetween shades of grey, giving what is refered to as full tonal content. I thought your picture looked a little too grey, perhaps try to get a higher contrast level. It is rather difficult looking at the image on a computer screen, but look at other black & white photo's on this web site, such as the street project section. You are on the right lines, keep practising.

[Ultra Magnus]

What camera settings should I adjust to acheive this? Or can it be done with a post editing program? I have a Sony F828 and I already had the contrast menu control on the + side.

[Norman]

Did you take the picture in Black & White or colour. If colour you can make it B&W in a number of ways, but probably the least complicated is remove the colour by going into the colour settings in your image editing software & slide the saturation over to one side to remove colour. Technically this is not the best way, but for a beginer it's a good place to start. Then using contrast/brightness settings adjust it so the black is punchy with good contrast. If you know about the levels settings, use that slider to achieve a good contrasty image. Just remember on a overcast shadowless day it is more likley to produce flat B&W photo's. Hope this helps

[Ultra Magnus]

Thanks.. I'll give it a whirl. I'm still trying to learn what makes a good picture different from just a picture. I'll play this weekend and post next week hopefully with good results.

[zabyss]

What's up with the window? You owned the car, and therefor had the perfect opportunity to get a great shot.... and you blew it. It is way too distracting for an otherwise awesome shot.

[Ultra Magnus]

I guess I was trying to capture the car as it is, and as it has been for the last severl years. I didn't think I wanted to "pose" the car. I rolled the window down after the first couple of suggestions and didn't really like it. Heck, I'll try it again and post it and see what you guys think. I loved that car in my late teenage years and still do (the only way a gearhead could), and I wanted it too look neglected and sad in my pictures. I think it'll make mroe sense when you guys see more pics. I'm still working on the set and am trying to decide which ones to post. I've narrowed it down to 17 so far.

[zabyss]

I think I'm just distracted by the window because it is such a large area of the photo, and the focus is behind it. Since you said you tried the shot with it rolled down, you very well could have chosen the better one.

[Ultra Magnus]

I tried and tried and tried to capture that same shot except this time with the window down. this one still isn't right, but I think I know what I need to do to get it right. This one is close though...
Tell me what you think!

(edit)
Now seeing it shrunk down makes me realize how much detail is lost. In full size the grain on the dashboard looks real good. The tach looks darker too... Oh well...

[inko]

hi there bmadau

i think you are getting there..certainly looks better with the window down and the contrast. i like it better but why does the inside of the car seem fuzzy? or is it just me? seems like it wasn't focused properly

Anyways, good stuff

Those are just my opinions (im just a beginner photographer)

[Ultra Magnus]

I was focused on the dahboard/tach area. It looks a lot better in the uncompressed/shrunk version. Thanks for the comments!