These Are Not Real Cars...
October 19, 2013 12:33 AM Subscribe
This post was deleted for the following reason: aw, shucks. -- taz
Everyone is forwarding that link around today when what they should be forwarding is the link to the guy's Flickr page. So much more to see there! Awe-inspiring.
posted by litlnemo at 1:03 AM on October 19, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by litlnemo at 1:03 AM on October 19, 2013 [4 favorites]
"Jaw-Dropping!" -Simon Skinner
posted by mannequito at 1:21 AM on October 19, 2013
posted by mannequito at 1:21 AM on October 19, 2013
I wonder about the lenses and the aperture settings to get these shots. Wide angle? Aperture wide open?
posted by zardoz at 1:34 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 1:34 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
How does he manage to get enough depth of field? On flickr, it says that shot of the old cars was taken at f4.
posted by DarkForest at 1:34 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by DarkForest at 1:34 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
Everyone is forwarding that link around today when what they should be forwarding is the link to the guy's Flickr page.
On-the-ball Mefiers fleshing out FPPs in the comments is one of the great things about this site.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:46 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
On-the-ball Mefiers fleshing out FPPs in the comments is one of the great things about this site.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:46 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
The photography itself, while quite effective, isn't really the draw for me here. For me, the models are what leave me gobsmacked. Even in Hollywood's heyday, miniatures of familiar items often seemed to betray themselves as being scale models because the small details seemed oddly out of scale. Usually small details, like the mesh on a car grille for instance, would look fatter, or not have as much detail. Trim pieces would also be bulkier than normal. Or the car bodies would sit higher on the suspensions, betraying a lack of weight. Or the paint on the bodies would seem inappropriately "thick", instead of being one with the sheet metal.
Here, though, Smith's brilliance is his attention to those details. Trim pieces have the correct visual delicateness. The bodies sit down on the suspensions, giving the cars the correct stance and appearance of weight. This is masterful stuff.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:44 AM on October 19, 2013 [5 favorites]
Here, though, Smith's brilliance is his attention to those details. Trim pieces have the correct visual delicateness. The bodies sit down on the suspensions, giving the cars the correct stance and appearance of weight. This is masterful stuff.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:44 AM on October 19, 2013 [5 favorites]
Thorzdad nails is. The photography aspects of this have been solved long ago. Making something small scale look full scale is hard, making it look full scale in context with actual real objects is hard squared and this nails it.
How does he manage to get enough depth of field?
Set the nearest point at the hyperfocal distance and everything beyond it will be acceptably sharp. Imagine if you set the lens to focus at infinity, and set the nearest object at the nearest point in the depth of field that's still in focus. That works, but since you've set the focus at infinity, a bunch of your depth of field is "beyond" infinity. The hyperfocal distance is where you set the focus so that the far edge of the depth of field is just at infinity.
posted by eriko at 4:58 AM on October 19, 2013
How does he manage to get enough depth of field?
Set the nearest point at the hyperfocal distance and everything beyond it will be acceptably sharp. Imagine if you set the lens to focus at infinity, and set the nearest object at the nearest point in the depth of field that's still in focus. That works, but since you've set the focus at infinity, a bunch of your depth of field is "beyond" infinity. The hyperfocal distance is where you set the focus so that the far edge of the depth of field is just at infinity.
posted by eriko at 4:58 AM on October 19, 2013
The term "forced perspective" describes so much of the content on the internet...
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:00 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:00 AM on October 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by Windigo at 12:49 AM on October 19, 2013