Faster than my Acura SUV!

What makes me excited? Super Car Photography, that’s what! What gets me going? Seeing lots of supercars gets me going. In September 2021, my wife and I had the opportunity to participate as staff members of a sports car driving tour organization known as EuroSport Tour. It was the first time I had photographed an event like this. The tour started at a park in middle Pennsylvania. As the cars came in, my wife and I (and others) checked them off the entry list. A marshall directed the drivers to their starting positions, then.

I roamed around the area and photographed the supercars. Many of my favorite marques were there, including Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren, and Lamborghini. It was so exciting just to be there! I had photographed several Lamborghinis and a Ferrari at the estate of a private owner in the mid-1980s, so I was used to being around exquisite automobiles, but I’ve never been around this many in one go, save perhaps an auto show, and this was better than an auto show.

Working the Supercar Grid

My photos came out really good for not having any studio strobes with me. Had I brought a tripod, I could have gotten more depth of field and detail. But I didn’t have that kind of time to set up, compose, and shoot. I worked my way down the “starting grid,” taking my time.

Breakfast with a Lamborghini Legend

Breakfast and a driver’s meeting were in a nearby pavilion. The promoter, Kevin Sims, and his father have organized events like this for many years. This year, Kevin had invited the lead test driver for the Lamborghini factory, Valentino Balboni (Ret.), to the event to lead the pack. Valentino is a true gentleman, and he emitted a glow of happiness that no one. He came from Italy, so naturally, I had to introduce him to my wife (who is from Corsica, France).

Below are several photos of the various marques that participated in this year’s event. Click or tap an image for a full-screen eye-candy view.

SUPERCAR PHOTOGRAPHY FINE ART

Sports cars have always made people’s hearts race. But is there more to them? I contend that there is a lot more. While a sculpture by itself is a great work of art, so are these cars of blinding speed. So let’s get even closer and look at the details more. Let’s look at them as graphical elements that could very well stand on their own, on a gallery wall. This is the art of a supercar. Click for enlargement.

“I visited Eduardo Miura’s ranch in Seville where he raised bulls for bullfighting, and I was so impressed that by the time I got home I had already selected my future emblem.”

—Ferruccio Lamborghini

I’ve waited 40 years to see this car: Porsche 917LH

My wife and I tried keeping up with a couple of Lamborghinis, an AMG Mercedes, a McLaren, and a couple of Porsches, but my streamlined Acura MDX wasn’t happening. We got lost; we should have stayed on course using the turn-by-turn directions. This was a good experience for us. If you have a navigator and use GPS, put it on both phones. You will know if you entered the same address in both. So, we got lost and didn’t get to meet up with everyone at the next stop on the tour; an airport with historic planes in Reading, Pennsylvania.

With an executive decision, I decided we would miss the group if we continued to Reading, Pennsylvania, and decided to head to our final destination; the Simeone Car Museum in Philadelphia. The museum was a real treat! It was full of sports cars, sports cars, and more sports cars! What more could you want? Lunch? We had that too. 12 Street Catering in Philly provided a delightful selection of tasty treats. It was absolutely delicious!

All of a sudden I was in the movie “Le Mans”

The moment had finally arrived. I heard the sweet sound of a flat-12 cylinder engine startup; it was the Porsche 917LH just outside. Visions of Steve McQueen thundering down the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans raced through my head. While “the hippie” 917 wasn’t in the movie, it has competed at Le Mans, and its voice was just like the car that Steve McQueen drove. Everyone quickly made their way out to see it. There were several Youtubers in our group, and they were having a field day, including Savage Garage and DoctaM3.

As the demonstration of this magnificent thoroughbred ensued, everyone was elbow to elbow. The “pilot” drove the purple and green “hippie” Porsche around what looked like a quarter-mile loop behind the museum. However, I didn’t partake in the excitement. Nope.

Camera Position

I immediately saw how many people were clustered together. Then, I noted the position of the sun and the direction the car was moving—as a commercial photographer, these are the kind of things I look for automatically in any environment I walk into. Really good photos have an impact, good lighting, and composition. The next thing I did was be where everyone else isn’t. So, I quickly made my way down to the far end of the museum grounds and sat on the ground with a 400mm lens. From this position, I could capture the sun in the driver’s face instead of at his back like it would in the previous location.

The car also went through a turn where it was side-lit. The photos below are exciting. I’ve waited 40 years to see this car! I felt fulfilled with all the access I had to it. I left knowing I had captured everything I could have of this 24 Heures du Mans podium finisher. The only thing that could have taken it over the edge (besides being able to drive it, which I don’t think they would be interested in letting me do) would have been to hear the car at full chat!

ABOUT MY SUPERCAR PHOTOGRAPHY

I approached this project with simplicity and portability in mind—not! So I brought five lenses, one Speedlite, remote triggers, and a tripod. Oh, I also brought circular polarizing filters. The triggers are attached to the camera hot-shoe and the Speedlite. This way I could hold the camera in one hand and the flash in the other, keeping it off-camera. If I happened to set the camera on the tripod, I had another trigger on my belt that would fire the camera and flash, but I never got the opportunity to use it—there just wasn’t time for it.

I had polarizing filters on all lenses I used. Surprisingly, the filter didn’t help as much as I thought, but it did help a little. You can see its effects in the individual car photos—you’ll see either a section of pure color without glare or no glare in the windows. I have a better strategy for the next time I do this. I can’t wait to do this event again next year.

Visiting This Old Friend

I’ve photographed supercars in the 1980s, including three Lamborghini Contachs, a Ferrari 512BB (all belonging to the same owner), and an AC Cobra 427 kit. This kind of car “portraiture” was known as Salon Photography back in the day. Today was a chance to rekindle that passion. I want to offer this kind of “car portraiture “or “salon photography” to owners of these unique types of art on wheels. I’ve had a fascination for more than just snapshots of beautiful cars. I’ve been composting and retouching images for 30+ years and am interested in a style of photography called “Light Painting.” With these skills and techniques, I can offer a fine art image any owner would be proud to hang on their wall.

ABOUT MY SUPERCAR PHOTOGRAPHY

I approached this project with simplicity and portability in mind—not! So I brought five lenses, one Speedlite, remote triggers, and a tripod. Oh, I also brought circular polarizing filters. The triggers are attached to the camera hot-shoe and the Speedlite. This way I could hold the camera in one hand and the flash in the other, keeping it off-camera. If I happened to set the camera on the tripod, I had another trigger on my belt that would fire the camera and flash, but I never got the opportunity to use it—there just wasn’t time for it.

I had polarizing filters on all lenses I used. Surprisingly, the filter didn’t help as much as I thought, but it did help a little. You can see its effects in the individual car photos—you’ll see either a section of pure color without glare or no glare in the windows. I have a better strategy for the next time I do this. I can’t wait to do this event again next year.

Visiting This Old Friend

I’ve photographed supercars in the 1980s, including three Lamborghini Contachs, a Ferrari 512BB (all belonging to the same owner), and an AC Cobra 427 kit. This kind of car “portraiture” was known as Salon Photography back in the day. Today was a chance to rekindle that passion. I want to offer this kind of “car portraiture “or “salon photography” to owners of these unique types of art on wheels. I’ve had a fascination for more than just snapshots of beautiful cars. I’ve been composting and retouching images for 30+ years and am interested in a style of photography called “Light Painting.” With these skills and techniques, I can offer a fine art image any owner would be proud to hang on their wall.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Did you land on this post first? Click here to go back to part 1.