AUtomobile

16 Cars and Vans

A couple of weeks back I was approached to do a set of 3 illustrations of classic sports cars at a fixed price. The direction was specific about the view being straight ahead from the front of the car. The end goal was that these were going to be used in a printed calendar, and after the first 3, I’d get 9 more to work on.

Unfortunately, I fell victim to the bait and switch tactic or would you rather do these on spec, or for free, for a ton of exposure, and a possible cut of the profits. The thing is I don’t work for free, and unfortunately, the client’s proposal left me flat. So, I decided to say thanks but no thanks, keep my files and go back to my office.

The thing is though, it got me all inspired, so I did 12 more over the course of a couple weeks, and shared a few on social media. Now, I’m releasing them to the world. I really don’t have any interest in making money off of these. It was a fun little exercise with Adobe Illustrator that I feel good about. Each image is sized for the iPhone 6 screen resolution.

All I ask is if you download them and use them, give credit where credit is due. Let people know I am the guy that made these. Don’t resell them to make money and don’t take my name off of them. Tell people where you got them, and ask them to respect the same request about selling and credit.

Enjoy.

XKE

280z 356 911 917 2002 A-100 Alfa California Corvan DB5 Falcon Merak Miura Quatro XKE

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

Nothing gets me going more then when multiple thing I am interested in come together at the same time. For instance, Graphic Design, Film, Automotive Design, and Industrial Design. In this case it is one of the latest books from Gestalten, the topic, and the support film released on their website.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines! is a record of limited edition, history making vehicles, and industrial design finessed into rolling art. All of this is packaged in a beautifully designed book that is filled with show stopping photography, type, and page layouts. Jared Zaugg and the team at Bonhams have put together a book that gives the reader a true sense of the intensity of true automobile culture, representing it in a large format designed to showcase the forms and details of these classics.

The short video below is a wonderfully shot and edited piece that highlights the contributors to the book, the cars themselves, and the the content that fills the pages. With each short film they release the crew at Gestalten gets better and better at their craft. The video itself really does a fantastic job of selling the story behind the book, and the book itself.

“The book features a selection of models that go far beyond mere technical stats and gleaming chrome. Rather, they all offer something far more valuable: compelling stories. These include the rare and uniquely configured Lamborghini Miura SV Coupe purchased by rock star Rod Stewart. Or the Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe from 1937 that, after the owner’s death, was rediscovered by his family sitting exactly as he left it nearly a half-century earlier. All the big names are included, but the focus is on what can be found behind the logos and the polished surfaces.”

1-of-1 Porsche’s and More.

As someone who’s formal eduction, training and work experience is in the filed of art and graphic design, I have a profound appreciation for the work of 1-of-1. The posters shown below have a flattened refined look that will stand the test of time. The visual simplicity highlights the car’s silhouette . There is just enough detail to keep things visually interesting without detracting from the aesthetic of the automobile, or the overall visual design. Limited color pallets and flat graphics help to enhance the overall feel of the posters themselves. The designer has worked closely with each client to capture personal details that really make each print one of a kind.

1-of-1 is the brain child of Australian designer Steve Schenko and it grew out of the creation of a one off print of one of his advertising clients Porsche 911 GT3. That single poster caught the eye of a number of automotive enthusiasts and the rest is history. Well history in the making since he is just starting out. Right now Schenko is open to taking commissions on poster designs for your personal automotive or motorcycle baby. The posters are one of a kind images printed on 310GSM artist stock paper, and signed by the artist.

Art of the Car. Ghosts Amongst Machines.

Today was the eighth annual Art of the Car Concourse at the Kansas City Art Institute. With each new year, the quality of the cars being shown increases, and so do the crowds. Both things are good, since the ticket money goes to a scholarship fund, and everyone gets to see a diverse and interesting group of automobiles. The challenge however for those of us taking photos, is how to get rid of the oblivious passerby that walk through your shot.

The image above shows both the solution and the problem in action. That ghosted blur is the legs of a man that stood directly in front of my camera as I took the shot. He’s a ghost because the exposure was five seconds long. The photo isn’t ruined, but it isn’t right either. Thankfully by using a heavy neutral density filter, long exposure, and low ISO settings on the OMD, I was able to experiment with a new process and pretty much eliminate the walking masses from some of my shots.

I didn’t want to drop a ton of cash on a piece of gear for a process I’d never tried before, so I picked up an in expensive variable ND filter for 35 bucks at a local camera store. The filter when set to its maximum allowed me to expose for up to five seconds at ISO 200 or lower. Now I wish I had gotten an even heavier ND filter so I could have opened the aperture up and blurred the background out. Because it was 9:30 AM the sun was bright enough that I had to stop down to f16-22 in most of the shots at this exposure length. Lesson for next year.

All the images below were taken on my OMD EM-5 with the Zuiko 12 to 40mm f2.8 lens. ISO was either 200, or Low ISO. Exposure times ranged from 2 to 5 seconds depending on light, and how many people were walking through the shot. Minor post processing was done to the JPEG’s on my iPad in SnapSeed. Raw images will get uploaded later.