motorcycle engines chrome etc how?

[bogeyes]

Anyone ever photographed motor cycle engines/parts (B&W), any tips on film/dev lens/filter choice and lighting most welcome. I have the option of 120 or 35mm format or both. Thanks in advance, Bogey

 

[Paul Howell]

what is your setup, on the bike, off the bike, natural lighting, flash or lights?

Paul

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

The key thing with reflective objects is that you're photographing what is reflected in them. Whatever kind of lighting you use, the basic idea is to control reflections with white cards or paper and then use black cards or strips to add modeling to the object while you're looking through the camera.

 

[User Removed]

The ONLY person I think you should talk too is Noseoil (Tim Curry) on the board here. I have seen many of his 8x10 AZO contact prints of motorcycles and they are amazing! He has also done smaller format too. Either private message him, or wait till he finds this thread and replys...because I am sure he will.

Ryan

 

[gareth harper]

If the lighting is bright, I'd grab XP2 with all that chrome around.

 

[Andy K]

I seem to remember francesco or someone did a fantastic shot of some chromework which was posted on these forums some months ago. Anyone remember it?

 

[jjstafford]

All the suggestions so far are good - especially quenching and filling using cards. In a pinch you can also use a dulling spray on real bad areas. It wipes off no problem, but if you have some kind of YUP poseur, he'll probably freak out. (Is it your bike?)

 

[gareth harper]

I would also recommend polishing the chrome as thoroughly as possible. The illusion of a liquid mirror that chrome can create, is shattered by surface grime, corrosion, or other defects. Best of luck,

Good point. Invest in a tube of Autosol, it'll cost you about 2 quid, if that. Oh and before yoi go buffing up somebodies chrome, make sure it is generally good condition, if it looks a bit flakey best leave it alone. If it looks fine get stuck in with the autosol and a soft cloth. And only use the autosol on metal parts!

 

[noseoil]

Dr. Frankenfruter here

OK Ryan, I guess the cat's out of the bag. No, I'm not allowed to wear fishnet stockings at work.

Efke 25 at asa 12 or 6, PMK pyro at 7:00 @ 70f, 15 second agitation cycles. Use a tripod. Shoot stopped down to increase "star effects" from specular highlights. Shoot low and slow. Clear blue skies are best (sorry, UK not always cooperative).

Couple of examples...

tim, aka, Quido Fartori, Copious Mucose, THC

 

[noseoil]

First shot, 35mm, Efke 25 @ asa 12, PMK, Ilford MGIV, glossy, 5x7
Second shot, 4x5, Efke 25 @ asa 6, Pyrocat HD, azo
Third shot, 35mm, Efke 25 @ asa 12, PMK, Ilford MGIV, postcard stock

Sorry, all the shots were taken in full sunlight without filters, lights, cards or other aids (except a tripod).

P.S. The shot Francesco posted was scanned and posted by him for me. It is the first shot in this series of three. I didn't have a scanner and the one I have doesn't work too well, so these shots aren't as good on a monitor as the prints. As always, we owe Francesco a debt or gratitude for his kindness and consideration.

 

[Andy K]

P.S. The shot Francesco posted was scanned and posted by him for me. It is the first shot in this series of three. I didn't have a scanner and the one I have doesn't work too well, so these shots aren't as good on a monitor as the prints. As always, we owe Francesco a debt or gratitude for his kindness and consideration.

Kudos redirected to you then Tim! Truly beautiful!

 

[User Removed]

OK Ryan, I guess the cat's out of the bag. No, I'm not allowed to wear fishnet stockings at work.

Efke 25 at asa 12 or 6, PMK pyro at 7:00 @ 70f, 15 second agitation cycles. Use a tripod. Shoot stopped down to increase "star effects" from specular highlights. Shoot low and slow. Clear blue skies are best (sorry, UK not always cooperative).

Couple of examples...

tim, aka, Quido Fartori, Copious Mucose, THC

I have seen your prints of chrome on motorscycle, and know how amazing you can make it look. I figured, if anyone has any good suggestions...it would surly be you.

Sorry Jay, I have no experience shooting bikes, so the best I could do was recommend someone that truly knows what they are doing.

Goodluck,

Ryan McIntosh

 

[bogeyes]

Paul, outside in natural light is the only option open to me. my first project will be photographing some pre 1950s Indian/ Harley engines. My friend has a Harley Heritige Softail he would like me to photograph. I also have the oportunity to photograph some unrestored pre-war Indians that have quite a dull appearance (narrow tonal range). I am sure I read somewhere that a blue filter can be useful when photographing metal, I,m not sure if this will increase the contrast or not. I may also have the chance of photo graphing some military bikes in drab green/khaki any tips welcome. The main problem is that the bikes have to be photographed in a very cluttered yard between 2 high buildings, the sun is only shining into the yard at mid-day. An overcast day is good for the shiney stuff but bad for the dull stuff. Noseoil thanks for the tips, and how come Harleys are taking over the world here in the U.K they seem to be breeding like rabbits, I,m a Ducati man myself.

 

[Andy K]

... and how come Harleys are taking over the world here in the U.K they seem to be breeding like rabbits, I,m a Ducati man myself.

Where I live those stupid little miniature motorbikes (mini moto?) are the current craze. I'll try to get a photo or two. Grown adults on two foot long bikes. Morons!

 

[noseoil]

Bogeyes, if you can pick a clear day (sorry) it will be fine. A reflector or two will help pour on the light, but watch out for the mirrors and reflections. Efke 25 is a great film for specular highlights and metallic surfaces, almost liquid in its effect on metals. It is especially good in low light / low contrast situations as it adds a bit of punch due to the steep, flat curve. Just make sure to kick it up off of the toe's curve or shadows will block up badly.

As far as slow speeds in lower light; use 1/3 stop for 1-10 seconds and 2/3 stop for 10-100 seconds and you won't have any trouble, cut speed in half for tungsten light. In full sun, use a gray card and ignore the specular reflections or underexposure may result. Let that light burn into the film. I use PMK or Pyrocat in this situation because I think it helps to control the highlights.

Try the filter routine and let me know if it helps. All of these shots were done without filtration, so I don't know what to recommend, other than Efke 25 and a pyro developer. Good luck on the project and please let us know how things work out.

Don't know why Harleys are so popular now. Over here there is a huge surge in custom bikes done around Harley type motors. The first image is a 1720cc Harley "clone" motor by S&S. They do drag bikes, another one of my favorits subjects. The third shot is a Harley clone running on nitro-methane and making about 900hp, normally aspirated. They're running the 1/4 mile in six seconds now and aiming for 5 seconds. No way you'd get my butt on that seat for a qucik trip to buy beer.

 

[bogeyes]

Where I live those stupid little miniature motorbikes (mini moto?) are the current craze. I'll try to get a photo or two. Grown adults on two foot long bikes. Morons!

Mini-Motos= Mini-Morons, sounds about right.

 

[Paul Howell]

Paul, outside in natural light is the only option open to me. my first project will be photographing some pre 1950s Indian/ Harley engines.
As mentioned by others use a white relector to fill in the shadows a large portion of white cardboard will do, use a stand to get the engine up off the ground so you dont have to crawl on the ground for a eye level shoot. If you are handy and have access to white plastic sheeting you can make a light box and set the engines (outdoors) in it for soft diffuse lighting, if you use 35mm you can shoot several rolls, different films, filters, try a star filter, and bracket your exposures. Use all of the advice given and see what works and what you like.

Best of Luck

 

[Donald Miller]

The key to photographing highly reflective surfaces is to create a large surface for the chrome to "see". In other words, one does not light the chrome so much as creating an even surface for the chrome to reflect.

In a studio setting this would probably amount to using relatively large banks. In natural light this would be large reflective panels.

 

[fhovie]

I am thinking on a foggy day (no shadows) - all the light is diffused and will look like soft even lighting. The other choice is a white tent. No so hard to make or borrow - Those pop up car ports with white nylon all around will do a nice job - A wide angle lens will let you get closer and will help with DOF.

 

[noseoil]

I've shot chrome on a cloudy day (sorry, no fog here) and in full sun on a clear day. I much prefer a clear blue sky for chrome, but by all means, shoot and see what you get! If you try fog, watch out for the dew point or have a lot of towels handy and maybe a space heater.

To me, the chrome with a soft light and white reflections isn't as nice as with harsh light and blue sky for a firm, hard edged look. Just my $.02 worth, but try it all and see. Depends on the look you want in the shot. tim

 

[bogeyes]

I like the sound of using a slow film, although I have used Ilford delta asa 100 rated at 80asa with a pyro type dev, I have never used anything at asa25 or less. Efke 25 is pretty scarce here in the UK, Retrophotographic are out of stock, but I can get Maco 25. Anyone any experience with this film used with a staining dev or 2 bath dev to tame the highlights?

 

[fhovie]

I used to choose my film based on speed reqirements. Now speed is rarely the main consideration. I now size up the total contrast of what I am shooting and choose my film based on which one will do the best job with the tonal range I wish to capture. For ranges near 5 stops, l always use FP4 because of the way it expands the range easily to a density range of 1.2 to print on grade 2 paper. It also works well with staining development. For images with a great contrast range, I find TRI-X to be the most capable. I stick to these two for LF.

I like the sound of using a slow film, although I have used Ilford delta asa 100 rated at 80asa with a pyro type dev, I have never used anything at asa25 or less. Efke 25 is pretty scarce here in the UK, Retrophotographic are out of stock, but I can get Maco 25. Anyone any experience with this film used with a staining dev or 2 bath dev to tame the highlights?

 

[Tammyk]

I am going to try this efke25 film . I've been seeing all good things from it.

But, I'd have to say that Tim Curry's best role is Pennywise the Clown. ooohhh very scary.....

-Tammy

 

[Andy K]

... and there's always the option to shoot something with little or no chrome, like this rat trike. A 3.5 litre V8 rover engine bolted to a pick-up truck rear end with a bike front welded on.Shot yesterday while out for my daily cycle.

 

[Dave Miller]

OK Ryan, I guess the cat's out of the bag. No, I'm not allowed to wear fishnet stockings at work.

Off topic, but I have to ask why not? I find that they aid creativity, and I was on the point of recommending them to all, but I shan’t now.