Warp Speed Ahead!

[sdo]

I once saw a shot like this and always wanted to take one like it. I finally had access to a convertible to try it.

For this, I used a Canon 7D with a Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 lens. The lens was set to manual focus at infinity. I tried a few different exposures, but I was having trouble getting any consistency, so decided to take bracketed exposures at 0, +2, -2. I used a remote trigger that was set to re-fire immediately after every shot. The camera was set to Av, ISO 200, and f/20 at 11mm. Shutter speed was determined by exposure. This shot was at 30 seconds.

The camera was mounted to the top of a Manfroto tripod with a ball-head. It was secured using the rear seatbelts (pulled all of the way out and allowed to ratchet/lock into place). The whole setup was secure enough to easily survive a 60mph drive. I drove around for about a half-hour looking for places where there was lots of lights and cars. The continuous shooting and bracketed exposures took care of the rest.

I also experimented with turning on the interior lights and map lights in the car to get some more light in the car. For this one, there was enough ambient light to illuminate the interior enough, though if I had to do it again, I might experiment with using a fill-flash to freeze the driver (me) better.

The shot was post-processed in Lightroom, mostly to increase the blacks, decrease the exposure a bit, and add some vibrance.

-Steve

[MOmilkman]

Way cool.

I dont care what you say, Id never have the guts to have my 7D way up there like that.
I'd still like to see the set up with the seat belts and everything.

[sdo]

Originally Posted by MOmilkman

Way cool.

I dont care what you say, Id never have the guts to have my 7D way up there like that.
I'd still like to see the set up with the seat belts and everything.

Thanks. Stupidly, I didn't bother to shoot a picture of the seat-belt configuration that was holding the tripod in place. I was very confident that it wasn't going anywhere. The tripod is very robust as is the mount to the camera. I was more worried about the lens taking a rock or bug. I didn't have a filter on the lens because it's so wide that any filter added to it would result in pretty severe vignetting.

[LeeR]

What a fun shot. I am sure it was every bit as much fun to make as it is to look at. Great job.

[tchudson]

Just what I need, one more reason to buy a convertible....

Fantastic shot, by the way.

[zona5101]

very cool shot.

[PhotoBlazr]

I love the shot! I've been wanting to do this for a while now as well.

I don't understand how you secured the tripod though? Were the tripod legs opened and standing, or was the tripod in closed leg position and somehow leaned up?

[Devinmonas]

Very cool shot.

Did you use the bracketed exposures and combine them at all, or did you use the bracketing to ensure you got a wide range of shots???

[sdo]

Originally Posted by PhotoBlazr

I don't understand how you secured the tripod though? Were the tripod legs opened and standing, or was the tripod in closed leg position and somehow leaned up?

The tripod was opened up. The back legs were in the back and outside corners of the back seats and the middle leg was extended down to the driveshaft hump. The shoulder parts of the seatbelts were wrapped around one of the legs and buckled in place. They were pulled all the way out so they would then ratchet back into place (like you'd use for mounting a baby seat) so they would stay tight. It was very tight and I wasn't at all concerned with it coming loose (though I did reach back to check a couple of times to make sure everything still seemed sturdy).

Originally Posted by Devinmonas

Did you use the bracketed exposures and combine them at all, or did you use the bracketing to ensure you got a wide range of shots???

I used bracketed just to get a wide range of shots. They weren't combined in any way, though I did consider going in using the best of the car shots combined with the best of the lighting streaks. I did a few tests trying to dial it in, but I was having trouble getting the exposure right for the variable conditions (the cars I encountered were a variable, as was getting stopped a red lights, etc). By shooting bracketed, I got about 3 shots every 45 seconds or so, so over the course of a half-hour of driving around in different lighting conditions, I got some various shots that were usable.