Any ideas??

[Jediboy]

This is an experiment I had earlier tonight. I held the camera as tightly as I could whilst I got someone else to drive the car. I used my tripod as best I could to keep the camera still, but with pot holes, car movement I found it impossible to keep the camera still and keep the dashboard from being blurred.
Any ideas how to deal with this, or any other ideas to improve the photo would be greatly recrived.

Thanks,

Chris

[JonnyM]

Recce the road first, try a dual carriageway as they should (!) be smoother. Perhaps a faster shutter speed than 6 seconds to retain the light trails but reduce camera movement. Switch off any image stabiliser especially if mounted on a tripod, any excessive car movement can trigger the IS inadvertently. Weigh the tripod down and possibly use a ratchet strap to tie it down to the seat mounts. Trial and error.

Where is that excessive white light on the dash coming from? Try and keep any extraneous light off the dash and windscreen so the dash lights and exterior lights are more prominent, just my opinion that last bit.

[Jediboy]

Thanks JonnyM.
I was just trying to delete this thread because I didn't want it to be considered as cheating. ie putting a photo up for advice and then entering it into a ompetition. You beat me to it.
I held me tripod as tightly as I could and tried to wedge myself in. I need more practice!!
The white light on the dash is a quick flash of a torch. The idea behind this was lightbupnthe flash, oath wise it looked to dark. In this photo it's not very even. Again, this was trial and error.

Dual carriageway was better than B roads, smoother and more lights. The B roads are riddled withpt holes, it's about time the council repaired these, if for no other reason than to help with my photography.
Thanks for your help, I'll try and go out again tonight.

[JonnyM]

Personally I wouldn't worry about lighting the dash as there will be enough ambient light for exposure there due to the slow shutter speed, and in that example the dash draws your attention away from the streetlamps. Moreover, I'd like to see the dashlights glow in the dark more, if you light the dash you lose that. Just a suggestion I think this technique can work well in twilight too, you can still retain sky detail and light trails.

It's not cheating Jediboy and you've improved your chances of getting a response by placing it in this thread too.

[Sabrina_De_Winter]

Hi Jediboy,

I did give this a try to last weekend.
I fixed my camera on the dashbord, to keep it really still.
Maybe you could try to fix it on a piece of the car to, the car seat or something
I don't know, just thinking out loud.

Kind reagers,

[cosmicma]

i wonder if photo stacking would help in this sort of situation ?

taking multiple shorter exposures to minimize shake and stacking them together might be a plan
also try to get a car in front traveling at the same speed / distance during the shoot giving some interest to the photo

my 2p worth

might work might be a disaster
gotta be worth a try

[Jediboy]

Thanks for the comments. Appreciate your thoughts and advice.

I'm definitely going out again to try a few different things. I live the effect but just need to add a bit of polish
I thought about a Gorillapod SLR attached to the headrest, but not convinced that would work. Need to check what weight they can support.

[ianpinion]

What you need ideally is a specialist mount I saw a guy using on the BBC's One Show for aerial photography. Basically, it had a number of gyroscopes inside it that held the camera perfectly still, despite the movement of the helicopter they were using to shoot from. It made one hell of a difference.

[Jediboy]

Originally Posted by ianpinion

What you need ideally is a specialist mount I saw a guy using on the BBC's One Show for aerial photography. Basically, it had a number of gyroscopes inside it that held the camera perfectly still, despite the movement of the helicopter they were using to shoot from. It made one hell of a difference.

I bet it did. Bet I also bet it came at quite a price!! I think know the sort of thing you're referring to.

Cheers.

[JonnyM]

If you want to go down the rigging route look at 'Manfrotto's' site for pump cups, magic arms and accessories. But I think you can achieve this shot without all the paraphernalia.