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Maggie Mod Day
Posted on November 8th, 2009 No commentsToday was the second day in a row doing car stuff. This time I had to wake-up early as I needed to be in Tracy by 8:30am. After loading-up the car with the majority of my camera equipment I headed-off. Like always, I had some extra time so decided to take a leisurely drive down Altamont Pass Rd. I was again reminded of the cold cloudy morning when my Father and I drove these same roads in the RX-7 chasing after trains. It would have been a perfect morning to have a NorCal GOATS club jacket!
After meeting-up with two other people, the group headed South on I-5 towards Merced. Unfortunately we had to make a brief stop as one of the group was pulled-over by the CHP for having tinted windows (Seriously, doesn’t the CHP have something better to do?). The remainder of the drive went smoothly and we made good time.
While driving down I couldn’t stop thinking about photography. The weather was partly overcast and the parts of sun that made it through really made the countryside look gorgeous. The recent rain has resulted in the hills starting to turn green… very photogenic!
The shop where the mod day was being performed was incredible. When I think of my ‘garage’ (which is actually just a parking spot) I am reminded just how awesome a workshop could be. Not only is there a huge area to work on whatever you could imagine, there is even a lift!
The work on the Magnacharger (MP122) was going well, without my help, so I decided to look around for something to do. Given I have had photography on my mind, I quickly set-about trying to find some photo locations around the shop. Looking outside was OK, but the inside of the shop was just perfect to setup as a studio!
I don’t have much (any?) experience lighting something as large as a car with studio lights, but figured today would be a good time to learn. When I purchased my strobes I decided to go with the more powerful monolights just in case I wanted to do something like this (and I’m glad I did). I also picked-up a Vagabond II battery pack for the ability to work in remote locations… today I had power, so it wasn’t needed.
After some experimenting I found a lighting setup that seemed to produce some nice results. I probably should have done some more shots with less ambient lighting to create a more dramatic mood, but a nice evenly exposed image is more usable (and I can always add the shadowing in post). All-in-all I’m sure I was able to get a couple shots that will be potentials for the NCG calendar.
The drive home was fun, being joined by one more GTO, and went smoothly. I decided to take Corral Hollow Rd. just to add some spice to the trip. There was the typical traffic around Carnegie Park, but I was able to get a clear piece of road to have some fun.
The weekend has turned-out to be quite a bit of driving… I’m guessing I drove over 500 miles in total… but like always it was a blast!
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