A new Pebble Beach location for Corvette Z06 Auction Photography
I have photographed several cars for auction for Brian of Peixoto Auto Group in the past. They were all his client’s cars (a Lexus, a Mustang . This time though, it was much more personal as his very own Corvette Z06 Convertible was to be in front of my camera! Add to that we were trying out a new location and the variables that brings, I wanted to be focused and make sure I delivered once again for Brian a set of photos that will really drive the bids up when he lists it on Bring A Trailer. The new location was a spot I had considered for a while, the large turnoff area on 17-Mile Drive called Bird Rock. There is a lot of space there, so even if it had some tourists, there would be space. Well, there were way, way more tourists there than I thought, in fact at one time 3 bus fulls!! Not only that, the local wildlife was getting in on the action. While trying to get a low angle shot, I see appear right under my camera a squirrel very much unafraid of me and looking like it wanted a snack! I said sorry buddy, no food, only a camera — haha.
Making the most of a tight location for Car Auction Photography in Watsonville
I am always excited when Brian of Peixoto Auto Group reaches out to me about photographing his latest client car. This time it was another car auction photography shoot for Cars & Bids. I drove up to Watsonville looking forward to making great shots of the white Lexus GS 350 he told me about prior to the shoot. The one challenge was going to be the location. I had seen it before, and at that time of day, the mix of sun and shadow would not really work. However, scheduling this one early in the day allowed for me to have the lighting and space to make it work. I used the barn as the backdrop for the required 360 exterior shots, then had Brian move the Lexus to another driveway spot to get cleaner backgrounds for the interior photos. I wrapped up the shoot going low angle getting some hero shots with my trusty 24mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.2 lenses. In the end I was very pleased with the variety of photos I was able to make for Brian in this location and really liked the inspiration I had in photographing the very cool looking interior of this GS 350. Thank you Brian for continuing to choose me as your car auction photographer and for the wonderful 5-star review!
Shooting low and on The Road is one of my favorite shots
The low angle on The Road shot is one my favorite types of photo to make. This one was made on a winding desert road south of Santa Rosa. It’s a great driving road for its lack of traffic, scenery, and numerous bends and curves. As light was starting to fade, I pulled over and got the camera out to compose this shot using the double yellow lines as a composition technique called leading lines. You can use anything to make leading lines, which catch the viewer’s eye and lead them to look into the full frame of the photo. The next time you are out with your camera, look for something you can use as leading lines in your shot.
Summerfest returns to Albuquerque with music, cars, and food
Summerfest 2022 Albuquerque returned for the first time in three years (last was in 2019, see car photos). Summerfest is a combination of multi-stage concerts, a car show, and street food. It was extremely hot this year, even after 7pm, but I managed to get a few photos before melting. I chose low angle composition for all these shots to show the viewer something you could not already just see when walking by at typical eye level. Plus using low angle with an empty foreground draws the eye of the viewer into the photo, as seen in both photos featuring cars. Add to that using leading lines, and the photos have two composition styles to show a different look at Summerfest.
Summer along the San Juan River is still freezing in the water!
Navajo Lake and Navajo Dam is one of my favorite areas of New Mexico, and having just made my tenth visit to the area, this was the first time to be there in the heart of summertime. I thought this, finally, was my chance to go for a swim in the San Juan River. The air temperature was in the low 80s. This made me totally unprepared for just how cold the river was. You could not ease your way into the water, which is not my custom anyway, so I made the plunge completely under water, only to have to immediately bounce back up and make my way out. The cold was so intense I felt something like frost bite! After warming back up, I took out my brand new lens, the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, and made a few photos of the river mostly from a low angle. Doesn’t the water look inviting on a hot summer day??
Stories from the city, stories from the Sea in Texas
It was my first time to see the Sea, or some part of it, in over 2 years, the longest such stretch of my life, and 2 years too long. Corpus Christi, Texas offers city and sea experiences, both of which you can drive right too. I had never driven on a beach before, as it is not the custom in Florida (I don’t count Daytona). It was both convenient to go a few miles down the shoreline to your own spot and have all your gear right there, but also disconcerting because a car could drive by you while relaxing on the beach! I brought my new DJI Mavic 3 Cine drone with me, and my new Sony 24mm f/1.4 G Master lens to capture these images. I really enjoyed the results of holding my camera low, with a slow shutter speed, and letting the small waves come in and create seascape dreamscapes.
Using shallow depth of field and setting your focus point
Since I started Jason Collin Photography back in 2009, I have taught hundreds of people of all levels 1-on-1 photography lessons. In the course of that teaching I repeated some favorite photography advice. Here is one of them:
“Show me something I cannot see by just standing there.”
Another one is:
“A photographer can make something out of nothing.”
In the example photos in this blog post I had my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens on my Sony a7 III full frame mirrorless camera. This lens is my favorite lens for making something out of nothing because the large f/1.4 aperture means I can easily create very shallow DoF (depth of field). Making a photo with a very shallow DoF is one of the easiest ways to make something out of nothing.
