Puddle

[blondievp]

Here is one of the action shots from off roading

[Jay C]

Thats more like it. Awesome. Like the glare coming through the trees, blocks out the driver.

[Grandpaw]

I like this shot much better showing the action. To me with the truck being so clean and with the angle of the mud going almost straight up instead of out it just doesn't look realistic to me. I know you said it is not PhotoShoped but it looks a bit odd. I do like it and think it came out well, Jeff

[OldClicker]

Nice action shot! A polarizer might have blocked the reflection in the windshield and let us see the drivers face. – Terry

[blondievp]

Thanks for the Feed back.

The water is coming up that high as he hit the water at 30mph but as it was only 5-10 cms deep it created this effect. A puddle closer to 15cm creates a different wave that splaces the front of the car, it changes with how fast you hit it and the angle that you hit the water at.

My friend had sent me an promo advertising picture from this car with a wave like this and I spent weeks trying to get the shot that he requested, in this pro pic the screen was black and I like how the screen is catching the light so that you can't see him.

Thanks again. vp

[armando_m]

very nice, this can easily make it to a publicity brochure

[Overbeyond]

Good attempt here but imho we need sight of the driver. Without him the shot looses reality.
At the moment it is devoid of sound, speed and the excitement one should get from this type of situation. Of course this is more difficult to achieve with a car coming towards the camera. So the effect of the splashing puddle is not just enough to make the photograph really interesting.
I also feel the brightness (just short of being blown out) of the trees directly behind the car is a bit too much.

[blondievp]

I have really been struggling with the light in some of these pictures, The car is ok but then the background is blown out, I have similar problems with the car coming towards me and then with the wall of water (slight cleaner that the one in the above shot) makes the picture to bright.

Is there any tips or techniques that you could give me to try and overcome this harsh lighting whilst shooting the picture (apart from editing after in photoshop)

Thanks vp

[Overbeyond]

My main bit of advice is for you not to be too precious about using post processing tecniques, be it photoshop or other software for that matter.
If you are choosing the route of digital photography you will find out some photo editing software is necessary. it will allow you to achieve and carry out similar tasks to darken or brighten selected areas; no different from what the great photographers used in the darkroom to enhance their work and repair oversights in the viewfinder. This is not cheating.
The basic tools of Levels/Curves etc will be adequate for these tasks and there will be no need to drown yourself in the myriad of superfluous tricks and nonsense that we all think we want but don't need. You don't need to spend huge money on this end of things at all. We all strive to do our best with the camera initially of course.

Situations of high contrast are very difficult to deal with irrespective of equipment used or the level of knowledge of the photographer.
In a landscape situation I often try to expose off something gray (something in between high and low if you like, lock it and recompose and focus. It does not always work.

In your situation with the car this method would have been difficult unless you locked the exposure in advance of the car arriving . I know some photographers who exposed for the highlights and selectively brightened the shadows. It's hit and miss.

Others here might have better advice to offer you.
Good luck and enjoy your photography.
PS. There is some very good work on your website.

[arne saknussen]

This shot tells me so much more about your excursion into the "country lanes" than your previous post. It is a nice action shot and a very good capture, i can only imagine where you are whilst taking this shot, I assume a nice distance with a telephoto.

[Greg McCary]

I agree this one is the better of the bunch. I also agree with Tom on learning some processing skills. It's what seperates the good from the average. There is really no such thing as out of camera. Scott Kelby's PhotoShop CS4 book is a great start. If you have CS4.