No, we didn't buy a 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport. But did you ever wonder how we get these zoom-zoom road shots? The right answer is NOT photoshop. We call them "car-to-car" shots and it helps if we've got 3 people involved (one drives the subject car, one drives the camera car, and one shoots the photos), but here's one way to do it when you've got just one driver and one photographer.
Kurt Niebuhr steered the MazdaSpeed3 with one hand and held a shutter release in the other. Unlike in the dark ages when cameras used something called film that required at least a day to view the fruits of our labor, we could periodically pull over, check the framing and exposure, adjust as needed, and proceed.
Chief Road Test Editor, Chris Walton @ (+/-) 1,000 miles (a month ago)
bkochuk says:
08:40 AM, 11/16/09
Great shot of the Corvette.
But how is the camera attached to the MS3?
cr_driver says:
08:41 AM, 11/16/09
Could have been almost any other car, right?
sm42 says:
08:56 AM, 11/16/09
bkockuk - Suction cups.
cr_driver - the nice thing about the Mazda to me would be that the roofline is higher than a car, so you won't get the trunk when shooting with a 16-35. Plus, it's short enough that you don't need a giant release cord. Also, it's probably easier to set up than it would be on an SUV, since the roof is lower to the ground.
felonious says:
08:56 AM, 11/16/09
Sweet rig.
eswalls says:
08:56 AM, 11/16/09
I, too, fail to see how this is relevant to the MS3. Is this a photography blog now?
norsairius says:
09:01 AM, 11/16/09
My guess is that this is a subtle reference to the MS3's handling abilities such that it can be in front of the Corvette through curves thus allowing for great high(er) speed shots through corners and such than what you'd get in other cars that may not be able to attack corners as such. I may be over-analyzing it though, and the picture provided for this post isn't through a curve.
Still, regardless of how much this has to do with the MS3, I always like hearing about the behind the scenes stuff.
norsairius says:
09:02 AM, 11/16/09
aaand what sm42 said. For practical purposes, that makes a lot of sense. A hatchback would be a better camera car.
compliance says:
09:28 AM, 11/16/09
Ever had a camera go flying off?
rick8365 says:
10:18 AM, 11/16/09
Being a everything must be level, plum, square etc kind of guy, I immediately focused (:-)) on the fact that camera wasn't level a top of the MS3. I figured a subsequent picture would show that it had been leveled. Looking at the shot of the Vette again, I see that it wasn't and why - cool effect.
Thanks for the post - it combines two of my favorite things, cars and photography. Lots of great cars and photography here on IL.
audisport says:
10:26 AM, 11/16/09
I thought IL staffers only took photos while driving cars???
carguy622 says:
11:52 AM, 11/16/09
What speed do you usually drive when take these types of shots?
stwok says:
02:49 PM, 11/16/09
cool post!
yellowmiata says:
08:54 PM, 11/16/09
Well those who know photography would recognize that in order to get speed shots as the one IL is describing at the beginning, very little speed is necessary. So neither the Corvette nor the MS3 needed to prove their manhood to obtain such shots. Extra speed just means more camera and subject blur and therefore more missed shots.
efinils2 says:
05:58 PM, 11/18/09
I could have swore you guys laid down on the open hatch while the car was being driven...didn't you guys do that with the Fit? I guess the safety ante has gone up a notch! I just hate to be the guy following if (or when) the camera falls off the car in front!