The car that greeted visitors at the Concours d'Elegance Festivals of Speed 2013 in Vinoy Park St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 7-exposure HDROn a very sunny day in Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg Florida I strolled into the Concours d'Elegance Festivals of Speed 2013 with a media pass and my Nikon.  I spent as much time talking to people there about cars and their car related products and services as I did making photographs.  I already posted images of an orange Lamborghini and a chrome Nissan GT-R.  The photos below are a few car details that caught my eye.

1930 Cadillac hood ornament emblem at Festivals of Speed 2013 Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thI first thought this was a Rolls Royce hood emblem and had to do some research to identify it since I never made any other photos of the car.  I found out it was actually a 1930 Cadillac.  

Porsche Cayman bokeh look at Festivals of Speed - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/800thI like the lines of the Porsche Cayman very much.  I used a large aperture to show only the front fender in focus letting everything toward the back of the car start to disappear.

The Maserati logo on a Gran Turismo at Festivals of Speed Vinoy Park Florida 2013 - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250The distinctive Maserati logo found on the side of a silver Gran Turismo at the Festivals of Speed.  Using a 105mm prime lens forced me to look for details as getting an entire car into the frame in a crowded car show was impossible.  

Baby in the air on Indian Rocks Beach candid family portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power frame left & SB-600 @ 1/2 power frame right rearIt was an unusual family beach portrait session for me in two regards.  First, it was a large family of 12 people out on Indian Rocks Beach.  The more people the bigger the challenge of course.  Secondly, the client requested a 4pm start time since there were very young children in the shoot who could not stay awake for a more traditional sunset shoot which that day would have been until 7:50pm.  This latter condition though led to a new style shot I had not tried before (above) that I really like having one parent hold the baby in the air with the other parent looking on behind.

Afternoon on Indian Rocks Beach large 12-person family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightIn order to fight the power of the afternoon sun and still have the water in the background, I had to set my speedlights to 1/2 power to fill in the light on everyone's faces and also carefully angle everyone to get as much blue in the sky as possible.  That along with basically four babies in the photo made for a bit of a challenge!  I was very pleased with the result though.  It came out better than I thought possible for a middle of the afternoon portrait in direct sunlight.

This family told me they make this same photo year after year - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThey told me that they all make this same pose year after year and having many photos over time showing it.  I am glad to contribute the 2013 version of it!

Candid kids playing on Indian Rocks Beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th natural lightGetting all the babies close together was a no-go even with parents sitting them right next to each other, so leaving them to their own devices I had to do some moving myself to make this candid shot.

12-person family walking down Indian Rocks Beach candid portrait photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/500th natural lightA big action shot with 12 people on Indian Rocks Beach which was at least not crowded at that time of the day on a weekday afternoon!

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Young baby being baptized at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in St. Pete Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/3.2 1/80th ISO 1600This past weekend I photographed a baptism for the first time.  I was referrred to the parents by repeat photography client Vanessa...thank you!  This was also my first time to shoot with significant flash restrictions, which is why you will see in the exif data under some photos ISO 1600.  Fortunately, the windows behind the baptism area were large and facing the noon sun to at least provide back light and some fill light.  I had no idea so much water was used during a baptism as seen in the large pitcher in the photo above!

Proud parents before their baby boy is baptized in St. Pete Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 640 1/60th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedBefore the actual baptism ceremony there were a few quick minutes I could use flash and photograph the parents with their baby boy.  Baby Oscar was a very good smiler.  

Baptism inside St. John Vianney Catholic Church St. Pete Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedI used significant lens distortion correction in this shot to make the mosaic appear as straight as it really was.  I also decided to split the parents allowing for a more balanced composition to the shot instead of both on one side of the flowers, or even blocking the flowers.

Mom and newly baptized baby at Don Cesar Hotel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame right rearThe reception for the baptism was at the Don Cesar Hotel where I have photographed many past events.  It was a covered outdoor spot giving us still a peak at the water.  Here I could setup my speedlights on light stands for my preferred strobist style portraits.

Dad and newly baptized baby at Don Cesar Hotel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame right rearThis is Dad's turn with baby Oscar having fun at the baptism reception at the Don Cesar Resort.  It was a pleasant spring Sunday out on the beach.

Parents in thought during child's baptism in St. Pete Beach - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/3.5 ISO 1600 1/60thI am always pleased when I have the opportunity to make a candid photo like this one showing the subjects in thought reflecting their emotion.  Baby Oscar knew what I was up to though!

Jahaan composing a landcape shot with her Canon T3i during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaEven though it is still only mid-April, my first 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with Jahaan and her Canon T3i felt like the first lesson of the summer!  Jahaan likes to make cakes and was not happy with her photographs of them.  She felt they were not preserving the memory of her baking efforts properly.  So she took a general photography lesson with me to learn how to use her Canon properly in manual mode.  She can then take those skills and not only apply them to photographing her cakes, but anything else as well.

Jahaan had heard of most common photography terms, but did not know how they worked together to make a well exposed and sharp photograph in any given shooting conditions.  Having taught hundreds of 1-on-1 photography lessons, my methodology for teaching how to do this step by step is very refined and possible to be understood by even a total beginner.  Of course having some prior photography knowledge helps!

Jahaan was quick to learning her way manually around her DSLR and using the meter and reading the histogram to see how well a shot came out in the field.  I look forward to seeing her cake photographs!

Chromed Nissan GT-R at the Festivals of Speed 2013 event in St. Petersburg Florida, highly stylized & editedAt the Festivals of Speed 2013 car event in St. Petersburg, Florida, there was no shortage of cars getting a lot of attention.  However, a chrome Nissan GT-R was getting more than most.  Anytime you chrome out a car, it is going to be eye catching.  Whether such a finish to a car is to your taste or not, you cannot help but stare at it.  Since this GT-R was surrounded by people, I had to do a lot of editing in Photoshop and other apps to get a final result I liked.  Below I show the process.

I chose to completely replace the sky because that was much, much easier to do than to edit out the people and trees in the existing background.  This way I only had to select the car and foreground and then place that on a new layer and slip in behind it a blue sky I had in my archives.  The choice to go infrared was because of how black it made the sky, and in contrast how shiny the car looked in comparison.  Editing out the reflections in the car was just a tedious process that needed to be done to complete the look.

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