'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky

'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This is the Sefton Grand Atrium in the San Diego Natural History Museum. It's a big space, 4 stories tall with 5,000 sqare feet of floor area. It's often used for special events like corporate parties and concerts.  When Kathy and I walked into the Museum, I looked up and knew I would want to get a shot from the top looking down. Just before we left the building, we took the elevator up to the 4th floor to take this shot. I had to do a 3 shot vertorama with my 14mm lens and I still couldn't fit it all in. Each of the 3 HDR shots was created from 10 individual exposures and then photo merged in Photoshop to create this composite view. I like the unique viewpoint of the Allosaurus dinosaur on the bottom center of the photo.

Mercury 8

Mercury 8, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I recently purchased the Sweet 35 optic for my Lensbaby Composer. Rather than using aperture rings like other Lensbaby optics, it has a built-in f-stop adjustment. It's still manual focus as you would expect for a selective focus lens but it can render very sharp images if you accurately focus it on your subject. The depth of field changes depending on the setting used of course. I often will focus with the lens set for F2.6 and then stop it down to gain a larger focus sweet spot. The classic lines of this Mercury 8 seemed to work well with this new lens.

Sunny Side Up

Sunny Side Up, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This pristine 1957 flamed Chevy hard top graces the Enderle Plaza car show in Tustin, CA. I haven't posted since the beginning of June. I just don't seem to find the time these days. Work is very busy and family life has been taking center stage. It felt great to get out and shoot again.

Not Fade Away

Not Fade Away, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

The setting sun's golden light creates bokeh highlights and casts long shadows across these classic Chevy's at Bob's Big Boy Broiler in Downey.

One Clean 1954 Chevy Truck

One Clean 1954 Chevy Truck, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Via Flickr:
This is a really nice 1954 Chevy Truck. I saw it at Bob's Big Boy Broiler and since then I've seen it a few other times. Always spotless and a joy to shoot.

Sunset over a Classic Chevy

Sunset over a Classic Chevy, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

A beautiful sunset is reflected in the paint of this amazing classic Chevy. Kathy read about a car show on Crossroads Parkway so we drove over to see what might show up. Turned out to be a big show. Lots of cool classic cars plus quite a few lowrider impala type cars too. The sun set pretty quickly after we arrived so we had to shoot fast.

'57 Twin Fin

'57 Twin Fin, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

It always seems that when the sky gets cloudy, classic car owners put their cars in the garage. Not a single rain drop is going to fall on their custom paint job. The bummer with that is that HDR makes cloudy skies look amazing. I got lucky with this shot. The clouds rolled in after the car show got started so I had a chance to catch this amazing '57 out of its element. You can see the owner reflected in the trunk. He kept a close eye on my big tripod and camera which was just about a foot away from his cars tail fin. Viva la wide angle lens baby!

Pink Flames - Drop and Chop

Pink Flames - Drop and Chop, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This 1940's chopped Mercury was sitting at show center during the 2010 Uptown Whittier Car Show. The translucent flames on the hood and front fenders were only visible when the light hit them just right. The car itself was clean inside and out. What a great way to start my day photographing these classic cars. I like the dice on the valve stems. They match the fuzzy ones hanging from the rear view mirror.

The Mean Green

The Mean Green, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Here's another shot of this amazing green Chevelle I saw at the Bob's Big Boy Broiler. This side view better shows how reflective this car is.

Angel's Flight

Angel's Flight, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

When I first saw this '65 Ford Fairlane I immediately noticed it's paint was reflecting the car next to it like a deep blue mirror. The clarity of the paint was evident even under the yellowish overhead light of the Bob's Big Boy Broiler in Downey. Cars like this just can't be captured with a single photo. Only high dynamic range photography can do them justice.