Ferrari
If you watched Magnum PI in the 1980s, like I did, and revisited it on Netflix in recent times, through all those years I thought the only thing you needed to thwart bad guys in Hawaii was your wits, and of course a Ferrari 308 GTS! So when Bring A Trailer contacted me about photographing this supercar up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I was very excited!
Read MoreSince coming to SW Florida, I have not had a chance to attend a supercar event in over a year. There are not as many here as there were in Tampa Bay. Fortunately, Naples Motorfest 2016 was on a Saturday morning I had free and Dona of Luxe Fashion Group once again allowed me to attend and photograph the exotic cars on display. This allowed me to see for the first time the Lamborghini Aventador SV (above) in a standout blue color with SV graphics on the rear quarterpanel. This car had tremendous presence and was drawing the most attention of any supercar there by far.
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Ferrari F430 Spider with black & white filter from Silver Efex Pro 2 entirely changing the look of the car - Tampa Car PhotographyConverting a color photograph into a black & white photograph is not a one result affair. There are many, many possible results of black & white conversion. A program like Silver Efex Pro makes this conversion process easy in addition to producing the best results. Starting with a yellow Ferrari F430 Spider, applying a pinhole black & white filter makes the Ferrari appear white while darkening the entire background and foreground. The supercar appears to now glow in its setting.
Using a different filter in Silver Efex Pro 2 makes the Ferrari F430 Spider look black - Tampa Car PhotographyStarting with the same yellow Ferrari image, choosing the full spectrum inverse filter in Silver Efex Pro flips everything, so that darks appear light and vice versa resulting in the yellow Ferrari looking like a sleek black exotic car. The neutral colored existing background is little changed with this filter, especially since no vignetting is applied either.
The actual yellow color of this Ferrari F430 Spider - Tampa Car PhotographySo starting with the yellow HDR image of a Ferrari F430 Spider seen above, it is possible to make radically different looking black & white versions of the car photograph. Which is your favorite look--white, black or yellow?
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Ferrari 458 Spider in Nero edited in a stylized HDR way processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRI have actually seen this Ferrari 458 Spider many times. I first saw it at the Cars & Couture event at the Tampa Jet Center in November 2013. Then the next week I saw it driving in my own neighborhood in St. Petersburg! I regulary saw it after that, especially on Friday afternoons. So I recognized it right away when I saw it at the 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala.
A nero Ferrari 458 Spider fills the frame in St. Petersburg Florida supercar photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRThere was only one car next to the Ferrari, a Maserati Ghibli, so from some angles I had a clean shot at the car, although I chose to make a tight composition for the above shot and fill the frame edge to edge with the supercar.
Profile view of a nero Ferrari 458 Spider in St. Petersburg Florida Professional Car Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRThe profile view was the cleanest angle I had to photograph the Ferrari 458 Spider. A downtown skyscraper provides the background.
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The 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala featuring a Ferrari F430 and a Ferrari 458 Italia - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRLast Friday evening was my second year in a row receiving a media pass to the 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala. I got to see a number of interesting cars last year, including Lexus LFA #406. This year, there was only one car I had not seen before, the Maserati Ghibli.
Mingling among supercars at the 2014 St. Pete Grand Prix Gala - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRMaybe it was because I got there just as the event started at 7pm, but it seemed to be a bit of a low key affair this time. Then again I only go to be able to see supercars, so having not that many people around when I was shooting is a plus.
Guests of the 2014 St. Petersburg Grand Prix Gala with a racecar - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRWhen photographing the same event as years past, I try to find shots I did not before. This year I went up to the open second floor to make photographs from a bird's eye view of the gala. I am not sure why this never occurred to me last year.
I have seen this Ferrari 458 Spider many times before - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRContributing to the smaller feel to the gala this year also was that there were only three cars outside. Last year I got to make one of my favorite images of the year, framing a row of cars with the open scissor door of a Ford GT supercar. At least the lack of cars let me photograph the above Ferrari 458 Spider from a couple of angles, which I will feature in a future post. However, I already saw this particular Ferrari last year and actually see it regularly driving around my neighborhood. Is it possible for a Ferrari to become commonplace in my mind??
The stunning Maserati Ghibli at the 2014 St. Pete Grand Prix - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-exposure HDRThe best part of this year's gala for me, by far, was getting to see the Maserati Ghibli in person. Immediately I thought this is a stunning car and the best looking sedan I have ever seen. The Ghiblie previous to this was not a car I thought about much or daydreamed about. That all changed after seeing this beautiful metallic gray Ghibli seemingly waiting for me to just come and photograph it, if not drive home with it!
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Ferrari California 30 the updated version on display in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRFerrari of Tampa Bay brought a trio of Ferrari to the duPont Concours d'Elegance 2014 in St. Petersburg, Florida. These three supercars show the great diversity currently in the Ferrari range from a hardtop convertible like the above Ferrari California 30 to the ultimate GT supercar in the Ferrari F12berlinetta below.
Ferrari F12berlinetta the most powerful Ferrari to date in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRI was very surprised and very glad to get to see the F12berlinetta in person. It is still a very rare car, though one Ferrari staff person said three clients had taken delivery in the Tampa Bay area. Resting in the shade on green grass it is hard to imagine the capabilities of the F12berlinetta with its over 700hp V12 mounted up front. Basically the car is unstoppable on the road!
Ferrari FF an amazing 4-seat supercar in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR
Actually, maybe the most unstoppable Ferrari is actually the Ferrari FF above. It is the first Ferrari with an AWD system and it can also comfortably seat four people. It has a hatchback design allowing for good road trip gear storage too. This makes the FF to me very unique. If I could only have one car, it would be the FF. It is a supercar that can be driven in all weather (even snow!) and you can bring your friends and backpacks along too.
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Dressing to match your classic car at duPont Concours d'Elegance St. Petersburg Florida 2014 - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/125thThanks to a future car photography client, I had the opportunity to literally hitch a ride in his BMW into the duPont Concours d'Elegance in St. Petersburg, Florida. This 2014 show was in cooperation with the Museum of Fine Arts set in North Straub Park. Things started out very overcast, as has been the case many winter mornings this year, but after 9:30am the sun did break through and I of course had my camera with me. I asked the couple above if I could photograph them as they had dressed up to match the era of their car. They are in the classic car restoration business. Visit their website for more info.
A Ferrari California 30 at duPont Concours d'Elegance St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseFerrari of Tampa Bay brought three cars, including the F12berlinetta, which will be featured in its own post. Above is the latest Ferrari California 30, upgraded with more horsepower and a new suspension from the original model of a few years ago. It is for sale!
1957 Buick Caballero at duPont Concours d'Elegance St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI talked for a while with the interesting owner of this very interesting 1957 Buick Caballera station wagon. He had original ads from the 50s showing that side view mirrors were only options back then! As you can see, this car has no side mirrors. If you can believe it, seatbelts were options too! This car does not have that option either. So with no seatbelts and bench seats front and back, you can have the fun of your sweetheart sliding into you around fast turns.
Classic BMWs at duPont Concours d'Elegance St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI arrived in the white BMW 2002 pictured above, but only was in it for one block. Both BMWs are owned by a future client so I am hoping to have featured shoots of both of these cars coming up soon to share. There will be subsequent posts featuring specific cars from this car show, including my current favorite of them all, the Aston Martin Vanquish.
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