Tag: arts

LaSalle Lenses

Posted on by Nick Roberts

I’ve always been a fan of automotive designs from Harley Earl who was the first Vice President of the Art and Color Division at General Motors. His most ambitious work began with the LaSalle line of cars which set the standard for opulence and refined design during the short life of the line. As an offshoot of the Cadillac line many considered it to be the “baby” Cadillac and that in itself was the seed of it’s eventual demise. People were buying LaSalles because they were less expensive than Cadillacs but were built using virtually the same chassis and driveline as Cadillacs.

There aren’t many LaSalle in the streetrod scene so finding this early 30’s LaSalle at the Streetrod Nationals was a real treat. I loved the way the builder had kept Harley Earl’s design details intact and created a modern car within the framework of a classic LaSalle.

I chose to use NIK HDR Efex Pro to produce this Black and White version. This composition relies on repetition of form to build it’s foundation along with the strong diagonal lines formed by the headlights and grill. The black and white effect also emphasizes the clouds and adds texture to the image.

 

REO Speedwagon

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This REO Speedwagon was at the NSRA Streetrod Nationals last year. It was powered by the Buick Fireball Eight Engine I featured a few days ago. I’m sharing this because I think the way I chose to shoot it really worked out well. I was using my 18mm-200mm Nikkor VR lens and I got down on my belly to frame the shot. I shot at f8 with the lens set to 18mm. I wanted to accent the wheel and tire in the frame while including the Cadillac “Lady” hood ornament. I really dig the way she is soaring into the clouds while the wheel heads straight at the viewer.

I processed this in NIK HDR Efex Pro from a single frame image. I first did some minor cropping in Aperture 3 then adjusted the exposure and vibrance before finally sharpening the photo slightly. After doing this I saved a virtual copy with my Aperture 3 adjustments which I then took into NIK Hdr Efex Pro for the final version you see here.

One additional note: as with all the images I post here; if you click on the image it will open in another window at a larger size.

Tri-Five Beauty

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Among the lovers of the 1955 through 1957 Chevrolet the term “Tri-Five” is used to differentiate these models from the rest of their General Motors brethren. This gorgeous 1955 Chevy was parked at the Streetrod Nationals last year. I thought the overall restoration and modernization  of this car was outstanding. Even though it has been completely refitted with a modern driveline and custom wheels it is so well done it could fool most people into believing it is a stock 1955 Chevrolet. The interior was all reupholstered in new old stock factory seat covers and interior panels. The radio was hidden somewhere in the car but the controls looked like the original radio knobs and tuning dial.

I like this composition for it’s repetition of the forms that occur in the roof behind the car and the sky bridge at the left side of the image. The strong diagonals of the buildings reinforce the the placement of the car in the frame while the colors in the scene are harmonious and intensified. I used Topaz Adjust and Aperture 3 to process the image.

Mighty Mercury

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This 1946 Mercury coupe is the same car I used for my self portrait shot last week. I composed the image with the car coming at the viewer as if it were rolling out of the frame. Since one of my criteria for this shoot was to accent the reflections in the cars I really liked the way the reflection of the other cars showed up in the door on this car.

I processed this image using Topaz Adjust and Aperture 3 to intensify the color of he car and sky.

Navajo Highway

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This image is from Arizona along the road out of Flagstaf heading east. I was taken by the alien looking landscape and decided to stop and shoot a few frames before heading east. I climbed up on one of the mounds of clay to get a better composition and to get a sense of the place.

This image is almost straight from the camera. I used a polarizer to cut down on reflected glare. The composition uses the rule of thirds as well as letting the highway become a leading line. All processing for this photo was done in Aperture 3.