[Vapor Audio]

I'm no muscle car fan.  A big motor is great, but worthless without a balanced an agile chassis.  Camaro's have always epitomized the mindset that American engineers have no clue how to design a sports car.  The 3rd and 4th Gen Camaro's weren't just bad, they were horrid.  Ok in a straight line, but pretty much a crap shoot as to where the car would go when any wheel angle was applied. 

But I decided to face my deep seeded biases when I realized the new '16 Camaro was based on the same Alpha chassis as the impressive Cadillac ATS-V.  That car was sharp and refined, you point it shoots, and it does so with soul.  My hope is that this same feel would translate into the Camaro, and after putting a couple hundred miles on it over the last 2 days, I can say it does for the most part.  The SS is a bit softer than the ATS-V, but we still have the ZL1 and Z-28 to look forward too, I imagine those will sharpen the edge.  As a package the SS however is much more sports car than muscle car, it's not without issues but they're minor.  3 days ago I'd have said there is absolutely 0% chance of me owning a Camaro, ever.  Now, with this latest FAR more balanced offering, I can easily see one in my driveway.  If you haven't driven one, you should! 

Thanks to BISL and Son for help getting pictures ...

[Scott F.]

That stretch of highway looks familiar 

So who are you doing the shoots for? (the pics are stunning BTW)

[Bob in St. Louis]

Thanks to BISL and Son for help getting pictures ...

You're very welcome. Any time Ryan.
My 17 year old son enjoyed piloting the machine (he still has "permagrin") while Ryan shot out of the back of my YukonXL while I drove.
It's fun being the "chase" vehicle. I had fun. A good time was had by all.

Your level photography is inspiring. Awesome shot! 

[zybar]

Awesome picture!

I am just about to start a 3-5 month sabbatical and on my "To Do" list is test drive some cars!!   

Might just have to add the Camaro to the list.

What did you take the picture with?

What settings did you use?

I would love the try and get a picture like that of my 2009 M3 sedan.

George

 

[milford3]

The Camaro is nice but my go to car is the 1968/1969 Dodge Charger R/T.  Morpar strong.

[Folsom]

The pricing is getting a bit absurd on the Camaro as you go up the ladder. You can spend another $15k and get an ACR that'll rape the Z28 on a track (and every other production car), if you want a track machine. And if you only want to spend $7k more you've got a Z06.

It's good to know they didn't make a HellFatAssCat like Dodge did.

[Vapor Audio]

Awesome picture!

I am just about to start a 3-5 month sabbatical and on my "To Do" list is test drive some cars!!   

Might just have to add the Camaro to the list.

What did you take the picture with?

What settings did you use?

I would love the try and get a picture like that of my 2009 M3 sedan.

George

Thanks for the compliment, I have a lot of experience.  I was a Motorsports photographer on the American LeMans and Grand-Am series for about 4 years.  I also had my own print magazine about Mazda rotary engine cars called RX Tuner, for which I did nearly all the photography and writing.  There's not much to it, just a lot of experimentation to get the effect you want. 

That shot was taken with a Nikon D7100, 12-24/4 lens at about 15mm, 1/15 sec exposure and f/8.  There was a Hoya polarizer attached as well.  The trick with shots like that is getting the ambient light knocked down a bit so that you're able to do a 1/15 sec exposure without blowing everything out.  1/30 will give you good blur too, but obviously more is better.  But with slower shutter, of course that means more blurry shots.  With these it's about 1 in 10 that are usable, and 1 in 50 that are spectacular.  I sat in the back of Bob's Suburban with the back glass open and just hammered on the shutter, working angles and focusing on keeping my body still.  In the shot the car looks a distance away, but being at 15mm makes it look that way, in reality I could have jumped onto the hood from where I was shooting. 

For comparison this is what you get when you take the same shot at 60mm

[Vapor Audio]

The Camaro is nice but my go to car is the 1968/1969 Dodge Charger R/T.  Morpar strong.

Drives like a 4-wheel waterbed, no thanks

[Folsom]

Drives like a 4-wheel waterbed, no thanks

 

[Odal3]

Nice shots!  Impressive you can get them so sharp at those shutter speeds while sitting in a moving vehicle.

[Folsom]

Using a VR lens would make 1/15 like shooting 1/30 - 1/60 as far as ease of use, but the blur remains the same.

[zybar]

Thanks for the compliment, I have a lot of experience.  I was a Motorsports photographer on the American LeMans and Grand-Am series for about 4 years.  I also had my own print magazine about Mazda rotary engine cars called RX Tuner, for which I did nearly all the photography and writing.  There's not much to it, just a lot of experimentation to get the effect you want. 

That shot was taken with a Nikon D7100, 12-24/4 lens at about 15mm, 1/15 sec exposure and f/8.  There was a Hoya polarizer attached as well.  The trick with shots like that is getting the ambient light knocked down a bit so that you're able to do a 1/15 sec exposure without blowing everything out.  1/30 will give you good blur too, but obviously more is better.  But with slower shutter, of course that means more blurry shots.  With these it's about 1 in 10 that are usable, and 1 in 50 that are spectacular.  I sat in the back of Bob's Suburban with the back glass open and just hammered on the shutter, working angles and focusing on keeping my body still.  In the shot the car looks a distance away, but being at 15mm makes it look that way, in reality I could have jumped onto the hood from where I was shooting. 

For comparison this is what you get when you take the same shot at 60mm

Thanks for sharing the specs and approach.

You have to love digital photography...it has raised all of our levels by allowing us to just keep snapping away with no penalty!

George