Stretch-Me

Since it is the 1st of Jan 2013 over here in time travel land (New Zealand) I would like to start my posts for the new year with a simple fun photo. Nothing real amazing about this image, and no real post processing performed, but, it is not every day I allow some laughter to be had at my expense :-)

Inside the Southward Car Museum there are two carnival type mirrors against one wall. I just had to find out what I looked like in one of them with some amazing old cars in the background.

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Tools Galore

HDR panorama taken at Cobblestones Regional Early Settlers Museum in Greytown, New Zealand.

This image was taken with a Raspberry Pi controlling my Canon 600D with a Tamron 18-270mm PZD. It is a 4 image 7 bracketed HDR merged into a panorama. Therefore this image consist of 28 photos. Bracketed shots taken with gphoto and HDR processing done with Photomatix. This is possibly one of the most complex photos I have ever produced.

For details on how to do something similar please see my blog article at: teach-me-photo.blogspot.co.nz

Click to view larger version.

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 18mm, Exposure 0.6sec - 1/4 to 1/320sec at f8, ISO 200, Focus manual, VC off, Flash none, Filter none.

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1928 Mercedes Benz 38/250 ss Exhaust

1928 Mercedes Benz 38/250 ss side exhausts taken at the Southward Car Museum on the Kapiti coast. You gotta go!

Back to the car, what can I tell you about it? Well, on its day it was classically beautiful but it was also a beast on the track because it was supercharged with nearly 300 horsepower and top speed of 120. Spec is 7100cc 6 cylinder OHC fitted with a supercharger that only kicks in when the accelerator is fully depressed.  This was the fastest car of its day. Personally, I would not mind one of these in my garage!

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 50mm, Exposure 1/160sec at f8, ISO 1600, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter none.

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 25mm, Exposure 1/400sec at f8, ISO 1600, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter none.

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Old time pharmacy

Next to the last post's photo of the Austin in the mock garage display at the Southward Car Museum, this is my second favorite photo ever. Why? Well, what draws me to this photo is simply the genuineness and realism to the scene. Just look at the counter, shelves, wallpaper and floor. So much to look at.

On top of this I would like to highlight the technical complexity of this photo. Of all the photos I have taken thus far in my life this is surely the third most complex photo of all. The reason being that this photo is a composite of 21 photos to make a three shot HDR panorama (7 x 3), shot through a screen door with holes just large enough to poke my lens through, with a little bit of Photoshop to fill in gaps created during the stitching process to make the panorama. I wish you could see the precarious position I had to make my tripod stand in, just to get close enough to the door to get my lens through the door so to speak.

I do hope you enjoy this photo from the Cobblestone Museum in Greytown. (click to enlarge)

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 20mm, Exposure 0.6sec - 1/100sec at f8, ISO 800, Focus auto, VC off, Flash none, Filter none.

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Austin Fixup

This is a display at the Southward Car Museum of an Austin in a mechanic shop. I love the warm tones and feel of the photo that kind of transports you back in time to make you part of the era and setting.

I would encourage you to view the full image. Notice how your eyes keeps jumping around in the scene searching out the various bits of interest.

Something else I need to point out, of all my photos on this blog, this one is possibly THE best example on how good the image stabilizing is on the Tamron 18-270mm PZD. This image is a 3 shot HDR taken hand held. The shots were taken at 0.4s, 1/10s and 1/40s. The manufacturer claims a 4 stop advantage with this lens due to the image stabilization and I can vouch for that from experience. I know I would not have made the shot with any of my other lenses.

Enjoy!

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 18mm, Exposure 1/10sec at f8, ISO 800, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter none.

And here is a slightly different angle.

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 20mm, Exposure 1/13sec at f8, ISO 800, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter none.

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Cobblestone Museum Shed

Next time you drive through to Masterton, make a point of visiting this amazing little museum in Greytown.

This image is of one of the displays. Due to lighting it gave the perfect setting for a 7 shot HDR. Why 7 shots you ask. Well, I was using a Raspberry Pi to control my camera since the Canon can only take 3 shot bracketed. Good HDR photos require a setting (subject matter) with a lot of contrast and lighting levels. With the sun partially shining in to the shed, I had nice dark and lighted areas. Hope you like the outcome.

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 18mm, Exposure 1/5-1/30sec at f8, ISO 800, Focus manual, VC on, Flash none, Filter none.

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1909 White Steam Car Lamp

This is most likely a 1909 White Steam Car Roadster. Have a look at the video links here to see one being built up by Jay Leno from a pile of rust. What an amazing car!

The White Motor Company operated from 1900 to 1980. On July 4, 1905, a racing steam car named "Whistling Billy" and driven by Webb Jay set a record of 73.75 mph (118.66 kph) on the Morris Park Racecourse. In 1909, president-elect William Howard Taft selected a 40 hp (30 kW) White Model M 7-seat tourer as the first official automobile of the President of the United States. The last steam cars were built in 1911 after which the company moved over to petrol cars.

Here is my shot taken at the Southward Car Museum. I do hope the photo will do the car justice :-)

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 119mm, Exposure 1/100sec at f8, ISO 800, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter none.

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1943 Schwimmwagen

Taken at the Southward Car Museum.

To quote Wikipedia:

"The VW Type 128 and 166 Schwimmwagen (literally Floating / Swimming Car) were amphibious four-wheel drive off-roaders, used extensively by the German Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the Second World War. The Type 166 is the most numerous mass-produced amphibious car in history.

VW Schwimmwagens were produced by the Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben / Wolfsburg and Porsche's facilities in Stuttgart; with the bodies (or rather hulls) produced by Ambi Budd in Berlin. 15,584 Type 166 Schwimmwagen cars were produced from 1941 through 1944; 14,276 at Fallersleben and 1,308 by Porsche. Given these numbers, the VW 166 is the most mass-produced amphibious car in history. Only 163 are known by the Schwimmwagen Registry to remain today, and only 13 have survived without restoration work."

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 18mm, Exposure 1/50sec at f8, ISO 800, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter none.

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