No, not Elvis.
No sport enjoys such a rapid pace of technological change as motor racing so comparisons of drivers between generations is a pleasant diversion if not one based in objective measurements.
But few, I think, would disagree that Michael Schumacher was the greatest ever – sportsman, gamesman, competitor, professional.
One color works here – what else for a Ferrari?
It doesn’t get more macho than this.
My normal habit of underexposing by half a stop does wonders in preserving the dynamic range in the printed version. This has an almost Fritz Lang-like mechanistic intensity which greatly appeals to some part of my nature. The curves of the bodywork are easy on the eyes, too.
I find that f/11 gives you workable depth of field and the best definition. Smaller apertures do not show the Canon 100mm macro at its best. I simply change the ISO until f/11 is indicated.
The poor man’s medium format digital.
The English site DP Review has an exhaustive test of Canon’s top of the line full frame digital camera, the 1Ds Mark III, reflecting no fewer than eight months’ use. What is surprising in their conclusions is that they compare the images to ones taken on a medium format digital sensor. I have long maintained that my 5D easily equals medium format film results, so despite its $8,000 price tag, the big Canon body remains a bargain when you look at the cost of medium format digital bodies, with their bulk, slow speed of use and limited lens ranges.
Do I have any interest in one? No. Total overkill for me and why would I want to spend all that money when I routinely make large prints (18″ x 24″ is my idea of ‘large’) from the 5D? I can easily print from half the frame at that size – equivalent to a 36″ x 24″ print from the full frame – with negligible quality loss. And I don’t mean from just the ‘best’ snaps – pretty much from every frame.
On a related note, the review suggests that sensor noise is now beginning to rise with pixel density – the far less dense 5D sensor is more than a match when it comes to absence of grain. Maybe there are new breakthroughs around the corner but it’s hard to change the laws of physics.
The thinking man’s Monochrome.
No need to hide behind the forced abstractions of monochrome when color does it better. Just imagine how unspeakably dull this would be in black and white.
This small version cannot begin to do justice to the large print hanging on my garage wall. Only minimal processing (regular sharpening to offset the effect of the 5D’s anti-aliasing filter) was required, using Lightroom.
Cleaning up the clutter.
After my first serious venture into the world of macro pictures of vintage car details one persistent irritant was the clutter many snaps exhibited in the background.
So before venturing forth a second time, the occasion being the Monterey Historic Races, I dropped by that acme of capitalism and low prices, WalMart, and asked the nice lady in the haberdashery department for a couple of pieces of non-reflective cloth in black and red. These would serve as backdrops to clean up the clutter. I thought about getting some green for British cars but concluded that my love was closer to the Mediterranean than the English Channel, so plain black and Ferrari red seemed more in order.
Now a back drop is useless without a drop cloth manager, so I prevailed on friend and vintage racer Franklin Rudolph to accompany me on the two hour drive to Laguna Seca. This had several advantages. First, as I find driving the ultimate time sink and Franklin likes little else, he got to drive the car and I read the Wall Street Journal. Second, few know more of vintage racers than my colleague, so I had the best possible tour guide to the paddock area, replete with dozens of $5mm toys. If the arcana of 1954 Maseratis are your thing, Franklin is the man. Finally, Franklin not only helped with spotting interesting shapes and forms, he volunteered to be the back drop man, holding up the cloth or placing it under the cars as we saw best.
A win-win. He gets two 18″ x 24″ prints of his choice for his superb workshop and I get the best possible professional help on the planet.
On the way home, going south on the 101 Freeway, we cut a two hour trip to what was seemingly a few minutes as we gazed with appreciation on the dozens of exotics making their way north from Los Angeles for the Historics while simultaneously keeping a careful eye out for cops writing speeding tickets, to finance their early retirement at the local doughnut store. Franklin’s choice was a gorgeous Dino with a V6, mine a late 50s tourer with a real Ferrari V12 in the front, where they belong.
Thank you, Franklin, for your friendship and easy expertise. Not to mention your back drop skills!