photographing classic cars

[marky.b]

im hoping to go to woodvale rally this weekend
loads of classic cars. army vehicles. stunt shows etc
looks like a good weekend
as i shoot mostly wildlife and landscape, . any tips will be appreciated . things like apertures or should i take the flash gun.
as there will be lots of people around. its going to be difficult to photograph cars with out people in the background so i thought it might be fun to experiment with abstract, or close ups of grills, lights etc.
im hoping to give the new 5d classic a good run out
probably take the 24-70L. 17-40L .and 70-200L and the 1.4 conv
think that should do

 

[rereg2010]

Sounds like a good idea as when I went to a classic car show recently there were so many people and distracting backgrounds it was difficult to get and decent shots!

NOt sure you'll need the 1.4 unless there is some track action?

 

[Byker28i]

If there's lot's of people about think wide angle lens and get close

 

[seth]

To get people-free shots often means waiting, particularly if the car is something a bit special. Some shows are worse than others and I sometimes find the number of people walking across in front of me when I'm lining up a shot to be infuriating. I'm sure its worse in the digital age than it was with film.

As I've been learning/trying recently, also have a go at making the people the subject. There are usually some great characters around.

I tend to use fairly wide apertures, no higher than F5 or so usually, to loose the backgrounds as much as possible. Eg. in a "classic" front three quarter type shot having sharp focus on the front of the car with it fading towards the back leads I find leads my eye to the cars "face" and front end details.

If you're looking for details, bonnet mascots/badges are the usual but its also worth keeping an eye out for individual items an owner has added eg old car club badge, unusual sticker etc.

Hope that's of some use!

 

[Nod]

Travel light! The 24-70 should be wide enough for most shots on FF but you might want the wider lens, so take it in a pocket. Mascots, grilles, badges etc make good detailm shots as do under bonnet, brake details, instruments, hubcaps (watch for your reflection), rear lights... keep your eyes open and shoot whatever looks good.

 

[Pork]

I’m going to Woodvale on both the Sat and Sun, as I’m showing my car. I was planning on using the nifty fifty for some shallow DOF shots, and maybe using a wide-angle 10-20mm and 10 stopper, to try and blur the people. And also a longer lens to have a go at the flying model aircraft. In other words I’m taking all my gear.