Transporter (final) Mihajlo by Konica Minolta Users

Konica Minolta Users | all galleries >> KM Challenges >> #4: Alone - hosted by Ferenc Mogor >> #4: Alone - Competition > Transporter (final) Mihajlo

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Transporter (final) Mihajlo

How about this John? Yes, BMWs can't win Melbourne GP, but they sure look great, eh? Z;-)
(Layered, sharpened, motion blurred, colour corrected, darkened... Huh!)

Model - DiMAGE A1
ExposureTime - 1/6 seconds
FNumber - 3.20
ExposureProgram - Normal program
ISOSpeedRatings - 100
DateTimeOriginal- 2004:03:01 18:32:29
MeteringMode - Multi-segment
LightSource - Tungsten
Flash - Not fired, compulsory flash mode
ColorSpace - sRGB
FocalLength - 62 mm full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Dimz		17-Mar-2004 10:07
Nice car, and nice pic :) Wouldnt mind a black 740i with a momo kit, a little bit of nos under the seats and 2 12" JBL's hooked up to a Sony Xplod 400w rms amp :)

Konica Minolta Users		12-Mar-2004 23:31
-- From John down under: The James Bond remote control Beemer was my first impression too and it works well with the theme from where I sit at my computer. Mihajlo, I'm pleased to see you have caught the post-processing bug for use as an artistic tool and not just for touching up your pics, although there is nothing wrong with just touching up pics of course. The digital darkroom/studio adds a whole new dimension to the digital photography experience, right? Another thing is that 'flash used - no' is not the most comprehensive set of exif data I have seen lately. LOL In PSE2, if you use 'Save for Web', it strips out your exif data. If you use 'Save As', it keeps the exif data, so that is the way to go. Do you still have your PhotoShop project intact so that you can do that? It would really put the finishing touch very nicely to your post here. Cheers, John --

Guest		12-Mar-2004 23:19
hmmmm.... my first impression of this photo was James Bond's remote controlled BMW from the movie! I like it!

Mihajlo		12-Mar-2004 14:14
Luminus, I am glad you ‘found’ my angle in this photo – literally Z:-) It means a lot to me because it justifies my effort in imagining the shot, and then composing, framing and cropping what I wanted to express. On the other hand, the effort gone into the pure PSE2 ‘trickery’ is never wasted – the more time you spend with a fine tool like this, the better craftsman you will become. And for that, I have to thank everybody that found the time to comment on this and few that ‘pushed’ me into post processing – I was not keen on the idea at all, until I saw the splendid results on this forum. Now, I ask myself – how did I ever do without it?!? Cheers, Mihajlo

Luminus		12-Mar-2004 02:57
Ah..I was under the impression that the intended effect was the car parking there with the camera panning horizontally. The driverless car didn't make me think the car is suppose to be moving...hence the confusion. As for the reflection...yes if it's a refelction it would appear like that...but projection won't and I was thinking about the projection. I just tried it with a light, and on semi-reflective surfaces you can see a projected light cone in the direction of where the light is pointing, and you also get a reflection in the direciton of observation. I guess in this case the reflection should be dominant because the headlights is suppose to be projected much farther ahead. So mystery solved :)

Mihajlo		11-Mar-2004 14:45
Hi Luminus, thanks for the comments. To answer the points: 1) The car is coming into the shot-area from the distance pointed to by the diagonal of the pillars where the point of origin is up-right corner. Thus, the movement of the car is diagonal too and so is the 'movement' of the lens. The car is still meters away from the lens, so there can not be any horizontal movement. 2) The reflection of the light is exactly that - immaterial, it only exists in the eye of the observer. Thus, wherever your eye (lens) is, that's where the reflection points to. Try it - it's just the laws of physics/optics. All the best, Mihajlo

Luminus		11-Mar-2004 07:00
A cool PS job for sure. Two points though: both the head light projection and the direction of the motion blur gives me a strange "unnaturally" feeling. If you are suppose to be "panning" the camera horizontally, shouldn't the blur direction be horizontal? It looks a bit diagonal to me. The head lights is just the opposite: shouldn't they be diagonal (in the direction where the car is facing) instead of straight down? Maybe the BMW has crooked head lights? :P

Mihajlo		10-Mar-2004 21:02
Thanks Feri. It’s fair & square comment – there’s nothing emotional about a car photo. But, it wasn’t my intention anyway. Regards, Mihajlo

Konica Minolta Users		10-Mar-2004 20:34
Hi Mihajlo, Appreciating your efforts, but still I could not really catch that emotional feeling of being alone while looking at a car in full motion with or without a driver! Feri

Mihajlo		10-Mar-2004 13:19
Jim, your comment confuses me - which blurring do you consider OK if the pillars are supposed to be static (sharp)? This is an (artificial) action shot - everything in the background is supposed to be blurred, because the camera follows the movement of the subject...? As far as 'alone', if a single car in the garage of this size is not enough for the ‘alone’ connection, then I don’t know...? Everything else (action, no driver) was just for fun & pun. Regards, Mihajlo

Jim Rickards		10-Mar-2004 00:09
I needed help to get the "alone" connection. Good imagination working there. The photo is nicely blurred to show movement, although I think the pillars should not be blurred, as they are not moving - we hope!

Konica Minolta Users		09-Mar-2004 08:12
-- From John down under: Mihajlo, beautiful! However, I'm not sure what I was thinking. Now my ant has even more competition! LOL In any case, well done. It wasn't hard, was it? Cheers, John --

Mihajlo		08-Mar-2004 22:38
Ah... all right, all right. There you go - like? Z;-) Mihajlo

Konica Minolta Users		07-Mar-2004 10:52
-- From John down under: Hi Mihajlo. Excellent interpretation of the subject, good exposure and nice framing. My ant is envious that it is missing out on a thrilling ride in your unmanned BMW. Are you sure the driver isn't crouched down in the back seat with a remote control? ;o) Your PSE2 efforts work well, but I have a simple suggestion to take it to the next level. When you blur the background, you don't want the edges of the car to blur too or it can look a bit unrealistic, as close examination of your pic shows here. I would first copy the car from the background onto its own layer as you probably did. There are then two obvious ways I see to avoid the blurring of the car edges showing up in the final pic. 1. For maximum realism, do some cloning to extend the background into the car edge space on the background before you blur. You can then blur the whole background without the result going beyond the space that the car will occupy when you flatten it onto that blurred background. 2. A simpler, but less realistic, way to do it is to just blur as you did, then when you put the car back over the top, expand the car slightly so that it just covers the areas that show blurring of the car itself on the background. I think you could get away with that in the car park setting here as the scale would be forgiving enough. Within the rules of the comp, you could still make one of those changes and replace this image in the same spot as it will still be the same pic, just with some additional processing. Are you up to the challenge? >;o) Finally, I have The Transporter starring Jason Statham on DVD. It may even be another version of the film you mentioned for all I know. While the plot is not much, I like the creative action scenes. I haven't knocked on a door the same since I first saw the movie! LOL Cheers, John --

Mihajlo		04-Mar-2004 22:19
Hmm, I don’t know your age, but for me the 1978 ‘Christine’, was the movie that started the ‘haunted car’ genre Z:-) But, the actual reference movie for this photo was the 2002 ‘Le Transporteur’, co-produced by Luc Besson. I begins with a lonely BMW 7 series in the garage that is a dead-ringer to this one (my work place) and the car is pretty much in the leading role for the first 15 minutes of the movie. Anyway, if you are into the fast-paced action movies with a lot of old-continent charm and sense of humour, hire it and you’ll see what I mean Z:-) And, if you’re a BMW fan, well… then you must! Cheers, Mihajlo

Konica Minolta Users		04-Mar-2004 13:33
Spooky! Didn't I once see a movie about a haunted car? But seriously, lovely dynamic composition and PS trickery.

Konica Minolta Users		03-Mar-2004 20:55
Ahhh - finally! I was worried that no one will spot the ultimate pun! Yes, you got it, the car is truly alone - no driver. Z:-))) PSE2 magic! Thanks David! Mihajlo

David Bourke		03-Mar-2004 19:21
Nice colors and composition. The blurring along with the lighting give it a cool feeling. I respect to the theme, it makes me consider the isolation--or maybe insulation--brought about by this mode of transportation, though I don't feel a strong sense of alone. One Thing I'm wondering--is there a driver in the car?

Konica Minolta Users		03-Mar-2004 18:12
Thanks guys! This was quite a challenge for me - and it's all Claudio's & John's fault! They got me into this PS thing Z;-( BTW - I printed this very same photo (76Kb!!!) at around 80% of the A4 area. I used Kodak's 'Everyday Picture Paper' which is the cheapest almost-photo-paper in gloss I could find and my old Epson Photo 750. Impressions: What noise? What lack of resolution? What... Z;-) Short & sweet - I'm absolutely in love with A1 and the whole digital experience! Regards, Mihajlo

Eric		03-Mar-2004 16:58
Nice pan-photo. Professional car advertisement quality :)

Claudio Gatti		02-Mar-2004 17:38
Nice idea... an empty parking lot... the last car... I can hear the music building up... I like how you compose it and how you focus the attention on the car Claudio

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