We all start somewhere. Somewhere for me was purchasing a digital SLR to take better photos of my black 2000 mustang GT so that I could follow in the steps of the graphics gurus on Black Mustang Club and create awesome signatures for my forum posts. At the time, I never imagined those steps would bring me here. I’d like to show a photo that I considered a favorite back then, in all it’s horribly contrasted glory. Let’s step back to June 2007.

I loved this photo. Everyone loved this photo. People still ask about the location.

Photo taken with a Canon Rebel XTi & 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Non-IS len. Without a circular polarizer. And long before I even knew the real differences in the letters on the camera mode dial. Why this one was shot in shutter speed priority? I couldn’t tell you. ISO 400, f/13, 1/500 sec. Shot as a jpeg. (Because I’m not sure I knew the term RAW then either). For starters, a little bit more detail in the shadows of the front bumper would’ve been nice.

Fast forward to August 2012, and together, Rebecca and I are able to accomplish this:

No matter where you are on your journey – just keep shootin’! You can’t learn it all overnight. So try some new things and have fun doing so!

Something New by Justin Davis – www.Autocaptures.com

So I’m beginning to find out that lighting in photography is more or less like riding a bike. Once you can see it, see what you want to be accomplished, the easier it becomes. I started figuring out lighting when I started with automotive interior shots….I’m not going to say I’ve done a Ton of them but I do have a few good ones that I like to show off from time to time. Rebecca and I practiced in the garage for hours one night, with reflectors, flashes, sheets, white poster board and more. We eventually were able to get the light to fall how we wanted. That said…most of my recent lighting attempts have actually been through post processing. 99% of it being created with dodging and burning, creating from multiple layer masks etc. While this is fantastic to do with pictures you have taken on the fly, at car shows or other events, using lighting with natural light has really started to intrigue me. Moving Forward.

For now I honestly don’t have a particular style, I feel I’m just honing my skills “In camera” and “Post processing” wise. I’ve bounced around a lot, most of my work being on the dark side.(I’ve always seemed to lean towards the darker type images for some reason). Looking at images and other photographers blogs on the web I ran across Sean Klingelhoefer. He did an article or blog about High Key processing.This really grabbed my attention. As much as I love the dark images this really made me want to dig in and give this a try! Rebecca (Wife) helped me get the shot set up and worked the camera, helping me get the exposure the way I wanted it. The setup was as follows: Canon 5d Mk2, 17-40L, 580 II, and softbox. Nothing crazy, just simple. The shot was composed of 3 pictures, one very over exposed, one for the flash lighting and the last was an exposure I wanted to use to remove a large glare on the hood. The glare exposure was taken by blocking the glare with a reflector. The shot turned out exactly like I imagined it and it looks like I am leaning more towards this style than any other so far. There are of course tweaks and such that I do for my personal liking. I do still like have a slight gritty feel to it.

A few rough pics of the setup.

It really is amazing what you can create by getting out there and just trying new things, experimenting, just shooting! I’m hoping to have some new things to shoot this week and if not, I just might have a few more garage pics, who knows.