The photo here “Neon Cadilliacs” was taken at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo Texas. For more information on the Cadillac Ranch see my Photo Destination post.
This photo was taken after the sun had set and it was dark outside. The exposure information is ISO 100, f/9.0, 13 seconds shutter speed. Shot with a Canon 50D, using a Canon 24-104 f/4 lens at 24 mm, and mounted on a tripod.
I used a Canon 580 EX flash in manual mode handheld to fire a single flash at each of the cars so each would be properly exposed and consistently lit. This was done mostly by trial and error, I first did test shots to determine what exposure value would be needed, to allow me enough time to run down the line of cars and fire the flash at each car. I also wanted to give some illumination to the sky, but not give too much exposure to the photo.
The second step was to find the proper setting for the flash. I did this by shooting at the settings determined for the exposure and then firing the flash at the first car. I found I needed to manually zoom the flash to 105 (the max zoom on the 580EX) in order to confine the light to only the car. I then set the flash power manually and determined that 1/4 power would give the best exposure at about 10 feet from the car.
Next I had to fire the camera, run from car to car, point and fire the flash on each car, before the end of the exposure. After about 15 attempts I felt that I had accomplished my goal.
The part that is not seen in the photo, is that even when dark there were about 20 people still there, some of them I think just wondering what the crazy photographer was up to, as I ran past the cars firing the flash at each, then checking the camera, and then doing it all over again.
The photo was then edited in Lightroom and some additional cleanup done in Photoshop. Below is the photo before any editing was done.
Here is the completed image.
Great Places for Great Photos
Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure. I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography. I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination. I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip. I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!
Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.
All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need. Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.
If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom. This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.
Very impressive! I like the way you add your logo too.