Photo shoot with my charger yesterday

[resq302]

Granted, it was not for a big magazine or anything like that but the pics turned out fantastic.

[aussiemuscle]

it's a beautiful thing

[resq302]

pic was for winning Best in Show at the Pompton Lakes Elks Car Show last year.  The following year (this year) the prior years Best in Show winner gets a write up and a color pic in the program they give out.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend that show this year due to a conflict with already registering for the NCPC show in PA the week after Carlisle.

I am trying to pic the best photo for an 11x14 that is going to be made up for me.  I would appreciate any help as I am torn between them all as they all turned out great.

[69_500]

If I was the one picking I would have the first one blown up. They should have had you roll all of the windows down for the photoshoot. It makes for a much cleaner look when they are all rolled down. Very nice background to do a photoshoot with though.

[resq302]

and here is one of the engine with the freshly corrected heater hoses       engine is all cleaned up and pretty for the upcoming NCPC show.

[resq302]

If I was the one picking I would have the first one blown up. They should have had you roll all of the windows down for the photoshoot. It makes for a much cleaner look when they are all rolled down. Very nice background to do a photoshoot with though.

Thanks, I am kinda partial to the first one also as the sky is nice and blue with tons of contrasting colors between the car and the background.  Either way, it was a fantastic place for a photo shoot in my town.  Only problem we had was that the Newark Watershed Security patrol officer came by and asked if we had a permit for our car to be there.  Prior to us going to where the boat launch ramp is behind my car, I went to the office to see if there would be any problem.  Office was locked up tight with no signs of anyone around.  According the the security officer, he had no problem with us taking pics but that we were issued a warning because any car on the Newark Watershed property were required to have a permit.  So during the week, I am going to get a permit which is only $15 and then can get nice pics of our chally and el camino.

[bajaherbie]

i vote for picture no. 1.....

[stripedelete]

Looks good.  Are those 14" or 15" rims?

[resq302]

14"s.   They called when I was in the middle of putting my heater hoses back to the original position with the factory criss cross.  If I had more time, I would have had the factory bias ply white streak tires back on there.  I love the look of the factory bias ply tires but rather have the radials for when I am driving to shows or around town.

As for the car, aside from a few upgrades for reliability, it is as close to factory as you can get!

[472 R/T SE]

Last time I read in a rag about how to take car photos that get noticed in them is to make sure the photo shows all 4 wheels.  

Pix look great but if were to critique, the only thing would be what 69 500 said.  

Call me nuts but I like the white streak tires as well.   Many years ago I had a '72 Charger that I had pimped out factory, etc. and when I went to the tire shop the dude was shocked to learn I wanted white walls put on. 

[bobs66440]

Nice! Is that Greenwood Lake?

[resq302]

Nope, Echo Lake right off of Echo Lake Road.

[bobs66440]

If I was the one picking I would have the first one blown up. They should have had you roll all of the windows down for the photoshoot. It makes for a much cleaner look when they are all rolled down. Very nice background to do a photoshoot with though.

Thanks, I am kinda partial to the first one also as the sky is nice and blue with tons of contrasting colors between the car and the background.  Either way, it was a fantastic place for a photo shoot in my town.  Only problem we had was that the Newark Watershed Security patrol officer came by and asked if we had a permit for our car to be there.  Prior to us going to where the boat launch ramp is behind my car, I went to the office to see if there would be any problem.  Office was locked up tight with no signs of anyone around.  According the the security officer, he had no problem with us taking pics but that we were issued a warning because any car on the Newark Watershed property were required to have a permit.  So during the week, I am going to get a permit which is only $15 and then can get nice pics of our chally and el camino.

I agree...the first one 

[FlatbackFanatic]

Great pics!! I like the first one also.

[BananaDan]

2 or 8 are my picks. BTW, looks like I may go to Lahaska after all...

[resq302]

2 or 8 are my picks. BTW, looks like I may go to Lahaska after all...

Woo hoo!!!!!!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

As for the car, aside from a few upgrades for reliability, it is as close to factory as you can get!

'cept for that damn stripe!!   

#4 or 5 does it for me 

[resq302]

As for the car, aside from a few upgrades for reliability, it is as close to factory as you can get!

'cept for that damn stripe!!   

#4 or 5 does it for me 

Yeh, yeh, yeh.  I forgot about that.  Trust me, if I knew that I could remove that stripe and not have a different shade of red under it, I would remove it in a heartbeat!  But, knowing how my luck goes, I'd pull it off and be stuck repainting the whole car cause the shade of red would be off where the stripe "used to be".

[TUFCAT]

Personally, I think it looks better without the award plaques in the grill. I'd attach them for special shows only were the majority of people recognize and appreciate the look.

I've seen some magazine cars with grille medallions and always see it as an ugly distraction mounted to the grille of a beautifully restored car.    

The quality of your car speaks for itself as well as your accomplishment and dedication to win these awards.  

[Alaskan_TA]

I was just going to ask what those things were, they ruin the look of a very awesome grille. 

[bull]

Subtle personal touches don't really ruin anything. Especially if they are easily removed.

[resq302]

Well, I did remove them to clean the grille really well to get all the dead bugs out of it and I guess from the sun fading the black grille paint, it left the area behind the awards a little darker than the surrounding paint.  I will most likely add them under the front license plate when I redo the grille (hopefully over the winter) or when I have the chance.

The award plaques are: on the pass side- New Jersey Region Antique Automobile Club of America First Place (has to be mounted on the car to be able to compete for Senior Class at show) and on the driver side- Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) National Junior First Place award with National Senior Award tab behind it.  Both of these need to be mounted on the car in order to compete at a AACA Grand National event.

[bill440rt]

I'm going out on a limb & suggesting pic #4.

I personally never understood the AACA's mandate of affixing their plaques to your car in order to show it at one of their events. They distract from the overall appearance of the car, & it almost becomes a rolling billboard for them. Yes, I am without a doubt proud to have won them as a sign of accomplishment, but leave 'em at home in the display case or on the wall.

My dad made me some small mounting brackets for them out of polished stainless, they blended in with the license plate and are easily removable. Plus, they won't mar the fragile plastic grille.



BTW, if your car was painted recently, the paint should not have faded. You could always remove just one side, like on the quarter panel or something. At worst you might have to lightly sand & buff the paint.
At very worst a repaint of the back half. Was it originally FE5 red??  

[resq302]

Bill,

the paint is going on over 20 years old now.  It was painted R4 10 years prior to me buying the car so I suspect that the paint has faded somewhat over the past 20 years and being that it is single stage paint and wearing thin in some areas, I'd rather not chance it.  Its still hard to believe that this baby has been with me now for 11 years but she didn't always look like this!

As for what your dad did Bill, that is what I was thinking of if and when I redid my grill as I have a little bit of the silver paint on the grille starting to crack and lift off.  This way they are out of the way and wouldn't detract from the car that much and can be removed and not worry about scratching or chipping anything.

[tan top]

   charger looks awesome     liking pictures  6 & 8  ,  looks a nice lake for fishing in background ! 

[resq302]

Seems to be.  Fairly large lake and the security officer was quite upset that I was blocking the boat launch ramp even though I was there for about a half hour and no one came to launch a boat, let alone drive down there.

Also, if you notice closely, in some of the pics my antenna is on and others it is not.  Thats because I remembered half way through that I forgot to put it on.  I usually take it off when I am driving due to the fact that the repro antennas are thinner than the factory ones and bend way too easily.  I paid close to $60 or $80 once, and I am not about to do it again!  Besides, you don't need an antenna to listen to MP3's inside the car.

[lookin@my68]

All nice shots but No. 4 for me 

[Richard Cranium]

Nice pictures.

[Chris G.]

Car is looking good.

But...remove the chicklets from the grille.

Is that a factory red/white car? Red and White is one of the coolest combo's on these cars.

[resq302]

Car is looking good.

But...remove the chicklets from the grille.

Is that a factory red/white car? Red and White is one of the coolest combo's on these cars.

Chris, already planning on removing the AACA emblems after I get the grille redone.  No it is not a factory red and white car but that is the color it was when I got the car 11 years ago and the body did not need any work done to it so thats why it stayed that color.  Originally it was born an F8 green with a green vinyl top and a tan interior.  However, the R4 Bright red paint and pearl white roof were options for the 1969 year so they are technically correct in a non numbers matching way.  Just like the engine and trans are not numbers matching but are correct era period parts.  Now if this was a #''s matching car Moparjohn's sunroof car, you better believe that would be back to its original born color scheme if it were me.

[Roger 68 charger]

Nice Pics     I like 2 & 8

[69_500]

One more thought if your going back to the same place with another car to take a picture. It appears that you took these pictures around 11 am to 1 pm as the sun is coming down on the cars making for a nice square shadow under it. I'd suggest going out there within an hour of either sunrise or sunset. These are the two best times to take pictures of a car, or landscape. The sunlight is at the best natural color to make for amazing shots. It really does make quite a difference in the same shots. Make sure all the windows are rolled down and if going for a shot from an angle make sure to get low enough that you can make out all 4 tires in the shot.

[bill440rt]

Car is looking good.

But...remove the chicklets from the grille.

Is that a factory red/white car? Red and White is one of the coolest combo's on these cars.

Chris, already planning on removing the AACA emblems after I get the grille redone.  No it is not a factory red and white car but that is the color it was when I got the car 11 years ago and the body did not need any work done to it so thats why it stayed that color.  Originally it was born an F8 green with a green vinyl top and a tan interior.  However, the R4 Bright red paint and pearl white roof were options for the 1969 year so they are technically correct in a non numbers matching way.  Just like the engine and trans are not numbers matching but are correct era period parts.  Now if this was a #''s matching car Moparjohn's sunroof car, you better believe that would be back to its original born color scheme if it were me.

As for the car, aside from a few upgrades for reliability, it is as close to factory as you can get!

I honestly never checked your tag to see that it was an original green/tan car. Are you also saying that the engine & trans are not matching #'s either? I had no idea.
Please don't take that the wrong way, I'm not picking your car apart at all. It is a VERY nicely restored & detailed car. You absolutely have something to be proud of. But phrases such as "restored to factory specs" or "just like it rolled off the assembly line" do not apply. You'd have to go back to green.

[resq302]

Did I say that?  If I did, I meant to say like the car COULD have rolled off the assembly line.

[Brock Samson]

 After two days of looking at the shots I prefer number one, but only if the photo is cropped to remove a lot of the gravel and the wood box on the right. I like the sky in the pic though.
(BTW: the plaques on the grill don't bother me nearly as much as the sticker on the windshield.
IMO.) I like the white walls better too, and the windows should absolutely be down.
The tips about Morning/Evening light are correct, you might also bring a step ladder in the trunk to gain some elevation, I'm not generally fond of the worms eye views in car photography, I prefer holding the camera a bit higher to show more of the surface area and contours.
And moving the camera slightly from side to side to get different reflections or highlights can pay major dividends.
as I said, my two cents...  
       

[hemi68charger]

Looks awesome ! 

[71ChallengeHer]

Great pics, Brian. I like 4 or 8. And your Charger always looks great.     

[maxwellwedge]

Car looks great! And so do those heater hoses!!        

[resq302]

Car looks great! And so do those heater hoses!!        

Thanks!  (it only took me 11 years to find out that little tid bit)