Twisted Indifference

Glitzy, Glamourous and easy on the environment. That was the Honda booth. Apart from the cars, even Asimo was present to ensure everyone who walked in to the Honda booth did not walk out. I was unable to get a snap as he garnered more attention than the vehicles. The sheer number of people shoving each other to get a glimpse and the fact that I love my camera too much prevented me from getting close enough to shoot. What was worse was that I entered the display around the same time that the booth babes went for a break.

Shooting cars was easier than trucks. At least as far as the Auto Expo was concerned. Honda made it even easier. The cars were on display on turntables. It makes my job a little easier. I can shoot all angles without having to move. Just make sure you avoid motion blur. The speed of the turntable might be real slow but the low light conditions don’t exactly allow for a high shutter speed either. Unless of course you already own a lens that allows an aperture value of 2.8 across the entire zoom range. I was carrying a 50mm prime that opens up all the way to 1.4 but expecting a fixed spot at all locations would be nothing short of expecting miracles.

One thing you need to consider in these cases is the colour of the vehicle. Ok, so no one would consider using the photos shot here on a poster or an advertising billboard but paying attention to colour is still important. Why? Exposure. As I had mentioned in the earlier post, the light setup was more to attract than to photograph. Now red is a colour you need to be careful about. If you ever look at the histogram displays on your camera, you will know what I am talking about. I was still on Matrix metering mode but I made sure I shot to the right. I usually do that with darker colours in conditions where the light is not under my control.

Now this was time to switch over to RAW instead of shooting JPEGs but the sheer volume of the snaps and the editing that would be required made me think twice about it. Given the photo’s end usage I guess sticking with JPEGs was fine. I might have chosen other options altogether if I had been hired by the car manufacturers themselves for the shoot. End usage is something you need to consider even before you begin the shoot. Needless to say, your equipment has to match what you are planning on shooting. I would have loved to have a Nikkor 70mm-200mm f/2.8 VR but since I cannot afford to buy at this point, I chose to improvise. The VR in my 18mm-200mm VR comes in very handy. I have always been very steady with the camera. There have been exceptions but then that was not the case here. Combined that with the VR capabilities and I can shoot at ISO equiv. 100 even in such low light conditions. Sharp images even at 1/20 shutter speeds.

This concludes the Honda segment of the Auto Expo 2008. I did not shoot all the Honda cars but I will put up the links as soon as I find someone who shot them. I missed the following exhibits, BMW, Volkswagen and Skoda. I would like to invite those who have visited those displays to do a guest post on this blog. Please let me know what cars or bikes you have shot and if it would be possible for you write a little something about your photography. I can be contacted at sumit@twistedindifference.com.