I’ve been throwing around the idea of learning how to do video for sometime now. I’m always looking to add more to my skill-set. So when I heard that the new Canon 5d Mark II was able to shoot HD video as well as 21.1 megapixel photos, I knew I had to have it. Here’s a couple photo samples.
We all know it’s an awesome still camera so we can skip that and go straight to the video capabilities. One thing you should know is that Canon does not include any video editing software. Also, if you plan on editing HD video, you’ll need some fairly serious computer hardware. I ended up going with Adobe Premiere Elements 7 for editing software. It’s not bad but I’m not even close to using it’s full potential. I’m probably going to hit up my local library for some how-to books.
I’ve gotta tell you though, video is a whole other animal. I definitely have more respect for videographers. Along with creativity, you’ve got to have the patience of a shaolin monk, unless you’re using Batman’s computer or something. The clip I produced was only 34 seconds but it took me like 8 hours to cut. Granted I had no idea what I was doing but hopefully my editing time gets better. I plan to keep adding to the Mazdaspeed 3 video as I learn more. Keep a eye out for OB-VIDEO.COM, haha. If you want to watch the video in HD click the HD button.
I first spotted his car while roaming the halls of SEMA at 2am, gotta love that 24hr All Access Pass. I recognized the rims first and then the kit. But what threw me off was the new Tokico sponsored vinyl treatment his 350z was sporting. Wouldn’t do it to my daily driver but the vinyl was perfect for SEMA. Mel’s car looked right at home there. I snapped a couple shots and came back the next day to introduce myself to David from Tokico. Great guy, I hope to work with him in the future.
Mike from Motevo Mobile asked me to shoot his car for a poster that Nikita will be signing and handing out at SEMA this year. Not having shot a car in a while, I was eager to get back into the saddle. Not to mention it’ll be cool seeing something I shot printed out poster size and passed out to the masses. Mike wanted to minimize the risk of damaging the car since SEMA is around the corner. We decided to shoot it at their warehouse. Definately not the best place to shoot a black car because it was a bit dim, but I made it work. The white walls did a great job of making sure you could still see detail in the black paint. Nikita did a great job modeling and was very easy to work with. All in all I was pretty happy with the results. Keep an eye out for a full shoot of Mike’s Lexus. Be sure to visit the Motevo booth at SEMA this year for a copy of the poster. Don’t forget to have Nikita sign it for you. Tell her I said, “I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts”, she’ll know what I mean.
I had the opportunity to shoot Tyler’s Daytona Blue Nissan 350Z last week. He drove all the way from Temecula, Ca so the pressure was on again to make his trip worthwhile. I didn’t want him to drive all the way out here just to shoot in a parking garage so we went out into the hills of Santiago Canyon for this shoot. You might recognize the location from a couple of my other shoots but I love how wide open and picturesque it is there. The best part is that the location is fairly secluded and I haven’t been hassled by any authorities yet. That in itself is worth the drive out.
BJ requested a few rig shots and this one in particular gave me a bit of trouble. First off, because of the angle of the rig, the suction cups blocked a lot of the hood requiring a lot of touch up on the actual vehicle. I usually try to minimize that because too much touch up ends up looking cheesy.
Secondly, the pole itself goes through a relatively detailed section. I usually try to avoid that because it’s harder to retouch than a plain ceiling or wall. It took a little doing, but I managed to clone the pole out.
Lastly, I don’t know what it is about silver, but I was having a hard time blending the cloning and the airbrushing I did. Especially when I was trying to remove the shadow of the rig on the car.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the shot came out. Just goes to show you what a little patience and a few beers will accomplish.
BJ hit me up for a shoot because he’s lookin to sell his 350Z and he wanted some good shots before he let it go. He specifically asked me to focus on certain rig shots so thats what I did. Post processing took a bit longer but I try to accomodate my customers as best I can. The clean Nismo front bumper and the 19 inch Work Meister S1’s really set this car off. All in all, the shoot went great. BJ’s a good guy and was easy to work with. Whoever ends up buying his car is gonna be really happy.
I’ve always been into cars. When I purchased my 2003 Nissan 350z 5 years ago, I was ecstatic. I had finally gotten my dream car. The Nissan 350z’s 287 horsepower V6 engine was solid and it handled great. The best part was it had the looks to match. I told myself I wouldn’t modify it but sure enough, a couple of years later, I added a subtle Nismo body kit and gunmetal Enkei rims. When the “mod-bug” bites it doesn’t play around.
Mel specifically asked to shoot at this location because he liked the way the green contrasted with light colors such as silver. One problem I find with this place is lighting. There are tall street lamps up and down the road, alternating sides. You really have to pick your positioning carefully because if you don’t you get distracting glares and shadows. I fixed this by bringing my own lighting into the equation. By lighting the car with a strobe and then combining it with a shot of the background, I was able to get the car exactly how I wanted it.
Mel contacted me on My350z.com for a photoshoot of his highly modified Nissan 350Z. With a full Vertex body kit and custom FIVE:AD rims, he is well on his way to building an awesome machine. The way Mel modified his Nissan 350z was clean and subtle, but at the same time the car screams “Check me out!” But don’t take it from me, check out these photos:
