Getting High

There is some value in not being afraid to look down on other people—or at least their cars. John Arafiles of Hawaii has done a wonderful shot of a group of Porsches from the vantage of the tall Aloha tower; it’ll be in the next issue of Pano and sets the theme for this column.

A different vantage is often the key to making a photograph interesting. Sometimes the need is to get lower—we’ve all seen too many shots of kids and pets from adult height when more is to be gained from shooting on their level, or below. But often with cars that special interest can be found from above, and it doesn’t always have to be from great height. A shot down with the camera at about chest height can be used to pick up graphically interesting features like headlights (with variations to include daylight, night time, and rain shots). This can usually be done handheld, but a tripod with a side arm like some of the Manfrotto and Gitzo models can be even better.

This 917 headlight takes on a new appearance from above in this hand-held shot.

LEONARD TURNER

 

Then there’s the arms extended shot; you want a wide angle lens for this because now you’re into the Hail Mary mode without being able to see what the camera is seeing unless you have a top-viewfinder like a Hasselblad or a movable view screen or rotating lens like some of the digital models. These usually wind up being the naval gunnery model—take a shot, see what you got, and compensate with the next one. Autofocus will usually do an adequate job, or the camera can be prefocused as desired.

Arms extended with a 24mm equivalent lens produced a different look for Timo Bernhard in the pits at Road Atlanta.

LEONARD TURNER

 

Moving up the scale, a lightweight stepladder can be a great help, and with a little ingenuity and perhaps some gaffer tape can even be made to support a tripod or other camera mount. I have an ancient magnesium ladder that has served me well for 30 or more years, and even went to a Parade once (no, we didn’t fly to that one). With this rig, you can get high enough to get a good bit or even all of the car, depending on your angle. Just remember that too wide a lens from too close will give your car a prominent snout or a big butt; you may want to be higher and further away so you can use a longer focal length.

A stepladder gives enough altitude to keep the cars in front from obscuring those farther back.

LEONARD TURNER

 

If there’s no ladder or geographic high spot, consider a pole. Monopods work well in the range of up to 11 feet or so, and longer poles can be bought or adapted. Here you’ll not only be shooting blind (unless you’ve mounted a video camera to ride along and see what your still camera sees) but you’ll also need a remote release mechanism such as a very long cable or a radio/ infrared shutter release. In a pinch you can rely on your camera’s built in timer, but this adds another variable. The pole technique can be very useful in the event that you have to shoot with a lot of people around you, and I had some success with it at the last Rennsport Reunion.

Cropped to illustrate the technique rather than the car; look at the shadow in the lower left corner showing the camera on a light-weight monopod being fired by an infrared remote.

LEONARD TURNER

 

Now you’re into bucket truck and hydraulic lift territory. I have a friend who actually bought an old bucket truck on an impulse and used it for a car book he was doing. Fellow PCA member Marvin Ross rented an aerial lift and got some wonderful shots with it at the Colorado Parade this year, and I’ve seen another PCA member work out of a bucket on a crane. All of this is a bit outside my range of financial and physical comfort (read $$ and acrophobia), but if it’s to your taste, some great images can be had; just be safe.

This 911 Speedster benefited from a high angle (off the roof of a house) to show both external hallmarks of the car as well as some of the interior.

LEONARD TURNER

 

Which brings us back to the likes of architectural assets like the Aloha Tower. Over the years I’ve shot from a tree (which I don’t recommend—the leaves blocked too much of the view, and I got pretty well skinned up), from my third story window (with and without a pole), overpasses, at least one catwalk in a convention hall, the tops of buildings, from a tiny hotel balcony that seemed anxious to separate from the hotel, and from the wall of one 700 year old castle. All—even the tree—gave a different viewpoint that added something to an image that might have otherwise been less interesting.

A true overhead from a building will usually require the use of a pole to get the camera directly over the car. Don’t drop it!

LEONARD TURNER

 

Give it a (careful) try, and let me hear from you about this or any thoughts or questions you might have. I'm leonardt@pca.org.