Bad Ass Car Show Sonoma

That was the name of the custom car show in Sonoma last weekend, apparently sponsored by Bad Ass Cars – a custom car shop in Sonoma. Many of these cars are works of art, but they are quite difficult to photograph well due to the inevitable busy backgrounds – people hanging around, other cars, miscellaneous objects  - that distract from the car you are trying to capture. Also, if you just photograph someone else’s art, are you really creating anything yourself? Photography becomes an exercise in low angles / getting in close and cropping. The other problem is that with all the chrome on display, it’s hard to get a shot that doesn’t include your own reflection – a fool holding a camera to his face, staring right back at you. I avoided it mostly in these shots, but not so much in all the others. (Note to self – next time, don’t wear an orange shirt! Maybe something in gray.)

Here are three shots I was happy with. PP in Lightroom 4 – mostly more saturation and contrast. The red car interior was HDR in Photomatix – five shots handheld in burst mode. And yes, it really was that red.

 

The rest of the pictures can be seen in the Bad Ass Custom Car Show gallery.