Project 365 - Week 22 & 23 "Chevelle"

Alrighty. Here we are, officially caught up in the world of Project 365. This is not only the last of the marathon. but is one in and of itself. This post covers the last two weeks for a whopping fourteen photos. The idea that I had for this collective theme was my fathers Chevelle. I love classic cars for their designs, they evoke much more visually than most modern cars, it doesn't hurt either that this particular car is one of my favorite shades of blue. Using nothing but a single off camera flash I lit all of these photos. It was fun trying out different angles and seeing how I could get the highlights and shadows to work effectively given the curves and lines of the car.

This project was also something of some creative lighting in that for all of the photos (the first is an exception), there was no backdrop only the absence of light to create the black background. This added another layer of creativeness, in that to create the black background, I had to have the flash more in front of the camera pointed at me, ultimately limiting my choices in lighting, as I could not light from where the camera was or anywhere from the sides.

Now the real challenge was the first photo. There was still no backdrop, but instead I used 5+ photos to ultimately give me this single shot. I fired off four separate photos (later blended in Photoshop), in which I lighted the hood and entire length of the car. I then took three other shots in which I back lit the car, highlighting the edges and created a background devoid of light. Once in Photoshop all of the images were blended to create a fully lit car while still maintaining a black background. I'm extremely excited about this shot, as I have been wanting to take it for some time now. Thanks to some work in Photoshop I was able to capture in my fathers garage, what usually requires a studio, with backdrops and several large studio lights; with nothing more than a single off camera flash.

A big thanks must be given to my wife, who as always, was a tremendous help in her aid with the lighting. This shoot would have taken most of a day if done by myself.

Day 148 - Chevelle

Day 149 - Chevelle Detail #1

Day 150 - Chevelle Detail #2

Day 151 - Chevelle Detail #3

Day 152 - Chevelle Detail #4

Day 153 - Chevelle Detail #5

Day 154 - Chevelle Detail #6

Day 155 - Chevelle Detail #7

Day 156 - Chevelle Detail #8

Day 157 - Chevelle Detail #9

Day 158 - Chevelle Detail #10

Day 159 - Chevelle Detail #11

Day 160 - Chevelle Detail #12

Day 161 - Chevelle Detail #13