The Chicago Auto Show 2009

inTempus · Feb 15, 2009

I was really hoping to get more shots of the models at the car show. It turns out that most of them were difficult to shoot. There weren't all that many either, which is odd. Years past they would always have tons of beautiful people standing around talking about the various aspects of the vehicles. I don't know if I got there why they were all on lunch or what.

Here's one lady I did get a few shots of.

inTempus · Feb 15, 2009

The local AM talk radio station was at the show too. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of some radio celebrities but again, they must have been at lunch.

So I got this shot of their mics at the deserted table.

Jaszek · Feb 15, 2009

tharmsen said:
I was really hoping to get more shots of the models at the car show. It turns out that most of them were difficult to shoot. There weren't all that many either, which is odd. Years past they would always have tons of beautiful people standing around talking about the various aspects of the vehicles. I don't know if I got there why they were all on lunch or what.

recession lol

Susan1114 · Feb 15, 2009

tharmsen said:
I had a Sox cap on because I need a haircut. I have it on backwards because, well you know why.

Ya, and you know you look damn cool that way too. :lmao:
What lense is that by the way? Oh and just to let you know... I"m not into cars but your photos are so awesome they brought me in. Awesome work!!!

inTempus · Feb 15, 2009

Susan1114 said:
Ya, and you know you look damn cool that way too. :lmao:
What lense is that by the way? Oh and just to let you know... I"m not into cars but your photos are so awesome they brought me in. Awesome work!!!

Thank you, that means a lot. I'm glad you like them.

I used my 24-70 f/2.8L all day. I'm dying to buy a 16-35mm f/2.8L and being at the show today really makes me wish I had it in my bag. But the 24-70 did a good job I think. It allowed me to get pretty close, it gave me some reach too and the 2.8 was very useful given the often bad lighting.

ndredsox · Feb 15, 2009

tharmsen said:
I had a Sox cap on because I need a haircut. I have it on backwards because, well you know why.

Wrong color Sox cap...
Great shots btw!! I hope we can meet up sometime so I can pick your brain and learn some things.

LarryMartin830 · Feb 16, 2009

i am a real noob with my D40 i see you use a canon but this is going to sound stupid but did you use the flash the whole time? because i think this is the next time i maybe getting since i will be taking alot of car pics this year....

inTempus · Feb 16, 2009

LarryMartin830 said:
i am a real noob with my D40 i see you use a canon but this is going to sound stupid but did you use the flash the whole time? because i think this is the next time i maybe getting since i will be taking alot of car pics this year....

I didn't use the flash on every shot. Some I did, others I didn't. It all depended on the lighting. Many shots I took both with the flash and without.

Take the first shot of the Challenger as an example, the flash was used in that shot. Without the flash the colors didn't look right.

mrodgers · Feb 16, 2009

About the backwards cap wearing....

How is one suppose to hold a camera with a flash attached up to one's eye if they wear a baseball cap the correct way?

Just food for thought. Clearly illustrated in the photo of the photographer above if you can do some reasonable thinking on the subject...

SlimPaul · Feb 16, 2009

Great shots Tharmsen! I particularly like the Nissan one with the eye-catching Nissan sign on the left. Nice composition

How did you get these cars so shiny?

I love the way that futuristic silver car shines. Did you just fire a direct diffused flash?

Jaszek · Feb 16, 2009

mrodgers said:
About the backwards cap wearing....

How is one suppose to hold a camera with a flash attached up to one's eye if they wear a baseball cap the correct way?

Just food for thought. Clearly illustrated in the photo of the photographer above if you can do some reasonable thinking on the subject...

As I stated above, I know why its backwards, don't see anyone else asking why its backwards.

Jaszek · Feb 16, 2009

SlimPaul said:
Great shots Tharmsen! I particularly like the Nissan one with the eye-catching Nissan sign on the left. Nice composition How did you get these cars so shiny? I love the way that futuristic silver car shines. Did you just fire a direct diffused flash?

Did you ever go to an auto show? The cars are REALLY clean lol.

christm · Feb 16, 2009

Nice car shots. Gd to see your using the 50D, I got one at xmas and love it.

inTempus · Feb 16, 2009

SlimPaul said:
Great shots Tharmsen! I particularly like the Nissan one with the eye-catching Nissan sign on the left. Nice composition How did you get these cars so shiny? I love the way that futuristic silver car shines. Did you just fire a direct diffused flash?

As noted above, the cars are kept exceptionally clean by a crew that constantly is milling around wiping off finger prints and dust.

The lighting, for the most part, is already there. It's provided by very bright lights above most of the display models. It can actually be a problem as it will often cause some details to be blown out.

I only used a flash on a few shots, I probably flashed as many shots as I didn't flash. I defused using a Sto-Fen as you can see in the picture of me in my first post (last pic).