2016 PHOTOCHALLENGE, WEEK 21: B&W – Automobiles

For some people cars are simply a machine that gets you from place to place. For others, automobiles are a personal statement that reflect individual personalities – some prefer sports cars while others gravitate towards large 4×4 trucks. I’ve always tended toward a more utilitarian approach for my personal cars, choosing function over form, except for the 1965 Mustang I had in my youth.

For the photographer automobiles present the perfect mix of form and function. Auto designers try to achieve beauty while engineers may seek to improve gas mileage or horsepower. What ends up on the showroom floor blends multiple competing goals into a single product. The challenge this week is to capture the essence of any automobile using black and white photography.
Curves and Chrome//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js
Car designers use many of the same principles of design for autos that we use in photography – strong leading lines, graceful C and S curves, and symmetry. Classic cars especially make use of sweeping lines.
securit-esg//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js
You can choose to capture the entire auto, or just part of it. How you frame the shot is up to you, just pay attention to composition and framing.
Big, mean Mustang//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

You can also try to tell a story or convey some emotion. The challenge is “automobiles” so trucks, vans, buses, or just about any motorized vehicle will work for this challenge.
Something picks me up//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

But You Ain't Seen Nothing 'Til Your Baby Drives a Buick, Plate 3

The rules are pretty simple:

  • Post one original photograph (Your Image) shot each week per theme posted on this blog to Google+Facebook, or Flickr (or all three). Tag the photo #photochallenge.org or #photochallenge2016.
  • The shot should be a new shot you took for the current weekly theme, not something from your back catalog or someone else’s image.
  • The posted image should be a photograph, not a video.
  • Don’t leave home without your camera. Participating in the 2016 PhotoChallenge is fun and easy.

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About Steve Troletti

I'm a Location Scout, Editorial, Nature, Wildlife and Environmental Photographer based in Malibu, California. I specialize in Nature and Urban Nature photography including Infrared Landscapes. The Bulk of my work takes place in the Los Angeles, California area, Greater Montreal Region, Canada, Switzerland, France and Varese in Northern Italy. Ethical wildlife photography is the main priority and focus of my work. A minimum disturbance of the animals, their habitat and the environment is my top priority. This applies as much to total wilderness areas as it does to urban nature environments. Ongoing education of environmental issues and building awareness for the protection of wildlife and wilderness areas around the world is what drives me to document the beauty that surrounds us.