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The Ultimate Driving Machine
1st PlaceThe Ultimate Driving Machine
bassbone


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Automobile Ad II (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX
Location: Ledyard CT
Date: May 20, 2009
Aperture: f20
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/4
Galleries: Advertisement
Date Uploaded: May 20, 2009

 A repeat (I know!) of an earlier shot but these are fun shots to set up. I borrowed my wife's 1992 BMW 325i convertible again, tied my tripod into the backseat of the car using rope, and set up the camera with a remote shutter release. This time I had my son Charlie help out holding the tripod and hitting the shutter release when I said 'GO!". Hoping that this will not be pounded too badly for being a 'remake'. Setup for Shot Description

Editing:
1. Shot in RAW, converted using CS4 with slight adjustment to vibrancy and saturation and curves, converted to JPEG. 2. Generated two duplicate layers
3. On one used Topaz Adjust Portrait Smooth to smooth the motion
4. on the second used Topaz Adjust Clarity to sharpen the car.
5. Masked each and used opacity adjustments to get the final look.
6. Merged layers and adjusted Hue/Saturation.
7. Minor "sponge" to saturate the yellow line.
8. Added another dup layer for the road to darken and adjust hue/saturation.
9. Resized and performed Adamus sharpening, followed by resize for web.
10. Added border and text (after searching BMW Car ads for ideas)

Please Note: "BMW" and "The Ultimate Driving Machine" are all registered with the BMW motor company.


[May. 31st, 2009 12:14:09 PM]

The comments have been awesome and helpful all around. I agree with the comment about the image being slightly off kilter with relation to the car - I hadn't noticed it until it was mentioned...good catch. Also, the comments about font size - I reviewed a lot of BMW ads online before I decided on the final edit - the small size is typical for BMW - understated yet obnoxious - so I went small and funny. Cheers!

Post Challenge: The Blue! How cool is that especially given all the awesome shots in the challenge - I expected senor_kasper to put something awesome together - and he did along with many others.

Thanks for all the tremendous comments during and after voting. Yep, it was a remake but I guess you have to practice to get things the way you want.


Statistics
Place: 1 out of 68
Avg (all users): 7.6108
Avg (commenters): 8.8261
Avg (participants): 7.1613
Avg (non-participants): 7.7132
Views since voting: 9933
Views during voting: 505
Votes: 167
Comments: 64
Favorites: 28 (view)

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AuthorThread
 08/10/2012 10:45:21 PM
Really, Really cool shot. Love the fact that it's a 90's BMW. always loved the squareness back then :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/30/2011 10:31:05 PM
Wow! Outstanding image. Just curious how much time did you spend on post processing?

Message edited by author 2011-03-30 22:33:13.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/05/2009 06:41:26 PM
Hey Peter, this is an awesome image! Thanks for sharing your setup info. Love the tag line, wonderful processing, I'm happy to see you ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/05/2009 08:52:51 AM
This is toooo cool. I've got to learn how to take a shot like this. Really like it. Thanks!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/03/2009 08:45:07 AM
OH Peter , this is AWESOME - congrats on a well deserved blue !!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/03/2009 02:55:10 AM
Wow even better than your previous version (which I faved). Very well executed. I'll have to try and do one of these one day it looks awesome.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/03/2009 12:27:21 AM
Congratulations on your blue ribbon and PB!! well deserved high score!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/02/2009 09:15:43 AM
BRILLIANT!! Huge Congrats..
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 11:11:37 PM
Amazingly good!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 09:54:46 PM
This is crazy awesome!!! What a nice reward for your brilliant execution!! CONGRATULATIONS!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 05:51:55 PM
Peter, congratulations on a great image and most deserved blue ribbon !!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 02:00:04 PM
Beautiful shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 01:07:35 PM
Peter, congratulations on the blue and your new PB!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 10:54:54 AM
Congrats on a wonderful image and your ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 10:50:25 AM
ha! like you're surprised!!! Nice finish and good work keeping that average up..ya DoRk!
hehehe

Nicely done Peter! Was a 10 in my book!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 09:24:58 AM
Peter, congrats!!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 08:06:46 AM
Oh yeah!!! Excellent finish. Congrats.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 06:47:12 AM
This one needs to be in "How'd They Do That?" :) Even though it's a "simple" setup, it deserves to be illustrated and explained :)

Awesom foto!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 06:46:34 AM
Congrats Peter! Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 06:03:26 AM
Congrats Peter, this is a beautiful pic. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 05:50:28 AM
You were right - good enough for top 5. ;)

Well done Peter - and congrats on meeting your final goal.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 03:51:05 AM
BOSH!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 03:36:31 AM
Awesome shot and fully deserving of the great score and the ribbon. Was my pic for blue.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 03:02:44 AM
Congrats mate :) Glad to see it placed exactly where it belonged!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 03:00:28 AM
Great shot. Maybe the text should be more FUN/excitement per gallon (because it sure eats up a lot of gas), hehe. I only say this as an owner ('08 3 series)and the roads here in Germany are great for this car!

Message edited by author 2009-06-01 03:02:27.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 02:54:30 AM
Bravo !! Brilliant shot and Congrats on the blue. Love the slogan too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 02:41:39 AM
This is such a fantastic shot! Congrats on your well deserved blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 02:18:09 AM
Well done. This is a classy add. Worthy blue ribbon winner!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 02:04:35 AM
Congrats on blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 01:42:08 AM
Ah, if only I could remake a few of mine and ribbon with 'em... :-) Looks like it is indeed a fun shot to get - and that's more than half the joy of it, isn't it? Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 01:20:46 AM
WOW .. !!!!!!!! .. this is just TOO GOOD .. !!!
you've taken the most amazing photograph .. i can feel the motion .. insane . !!
everything is perfect ..
your text is inspired .. excellent font and size & its the placement ..
oh .. CONGRATS ON THE BLUE AND AN AMAZING SCORE ..:)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 01:16:34 AM
Congratulations on winning and on your new PB. A fantastic image and a killer score.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 01:10:30 AM
I love this professional looking image that would look beautiful in any high-end magazine! Congratulations on winning a blue. Thanks for sharing your editing techniques, too!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 12:49:20 AM
I'll be honest and tell you I gave it one of those 4's. Not because I thought it was poor, because it is not. Normally I would have probably given it a 7. I was trying to understand the people who normally vote low on good entries and I was trying to vote on a scale of don't like<--->like instead of bad<--->good. It was an interesting experiment and I gave low and mediocre votes to some killer shots, while some lesser pics that appealed to me got higher votes. This looks exactly like an ad I would see in a glossy magazine, and also one that I would turn past without a second glance. Glad to see my experiment didn't hold it back any. I didn't think it would.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 12:28:22 AM
7.6, holy smokes Peter, congrats on the PB!... the overhead-car-pan-shot shall henceforth be known as "The Bassbone"
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 12:23:58 AM
Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/01/2009 12:02:01 AM
no question. congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
05/31/2009 10:19:06 PM
Totally something I would see in a car ad. It makes me go WoW! What a cool drive in a cool car. Like how your text is small and allows the advertisment to speak for itself. Nicely done. I'll try not to hit any more wrong keys. =)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/31/2009 05:47:27 PM
Amazing shot!

Definitely could see this on a billboard it has that same quality about it as a pro produced Ad campaign - great work
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/31/2009 03:56:30 PM
Great shot. I ribboned with a similar one; colors are much better on this one so, I predict you will ribbon. (not voting)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/31/2009 03:37:34 PM
At first, I didnt think this was a BMW, but I knew I had see this before. I am assuming this is bassbone, as I just saw a similar photo on your portfolio, and after reading the description, I see that this is a Beemer. Great photo, and my choice for the blue (my only 10). Good luck.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/31/2009 01:54:23 PM
Great
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/31/2009 12:28:35 AM
Great ad. Really looks professional. My only pick would be that I'd ask for a larger font. But that a great tag line.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/30/2009 11:15:52 PM
I really feel like I'm moving. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/30/2009 09:44:45 PM
excellent, my top 5 10/10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/30/2009 02:08:37 PM
Like the text! 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/30/2009 12:57:25 PM
Excellent idea, you should have a nice blond in the passenger seat with hair flying in the wind. Great work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/30/2009 07:55:28 AM
Amazing photo.... very nice....(9)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/30/2009 12:33:56 AM
very cool
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/29/2009 07:56:58 PM
There is a lot about this I like. The location is great, I love the fact that despite all the motion blur you have that solid looking yellow line right down the middle leading away into the distance. The solid red colour of the car sits in nice contrast to the surroundings.

The text is just a tiny bit small for me, but it's far better that way than too large which it is in a lot of the others.

Overall, 8 from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/29/2009 05:45:49 PM
this is the best entry in the challenge, hope you do well
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/29/2009 12:52:07 PM
what a bimmer is all about. excellent post capture work. boder a tad heavy? 8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/27/2009 03:07:28 PM
very very impressive. I love colours and motion
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/27/2009 01:49:46 PM
AWESOME shot!!! I actually got nauseous looking at this full on..
LOL! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/27/2009 03:14:56 AM
Awesome. Ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/27/2009 12:16:45 AM
Awesome Image! Sweetly Crisp on the subject! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/26/2009 10:42:24 PM
A couple of people tried this, but you pulled it off by far the best. A really well executed image of movement, and one that fits the challenge exceptionally well. Something I could easily see on a billboard.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/26/2009 11:23:53 AM
even though this has been done before this is a great capture. perhaps a little more of the driver and his right shoulder, but that's a nit pick- 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/26/2009 07:08:08 AM
Compared to a similar image, I think this is nicely done. Nice conveyance of motion, and nice POV helps the viewer visualize being in the car and "experiencing the ultimate driving machine." Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/26/2009 06:22:57 AM
Superb shot!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/25/2009 03:13:28 PM
One of my top three picks. Your image is one of the very few in this challenge that I feel actually looks like an advertisement, instead of a photo trying to look like an advertisement. I love the colors, the motion, the contrast... I also very much like the placement and color of the text, and I think that the statement really fits with the feeling of the photo. If I had to nitpick a little, I can't help but feel that the left side of the car is tilted down a bit, and it's a tad bit distracting, but otherwise this is a very perfect entry, both as a photo and as an advertisement.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/25/2009 08:34:32 AM
This might be my favorite so far. It truly looks like something you'd see used in an ad campaign. The motion blur is terrific. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/25/2009 02:32:01 AM
Perfect! This is ribbon material right here. Great slogan, great exposure, and overall, unbelievable!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/25/2009 12:09:46 AM
a winner!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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