Photomode Photographers Q&A #35 - nanabu

Nice insight to the thoughts of Zambuca 👍

Now bring on Nato - can't wait to hear what he comes up with.

Always a real pleasure to read these Q&A.
I wonder why not add some link to the gallery of each photographer who answered in this thread ?

Good idea.

Awesome read zambuca, yes I am back! And I appreciate being mentioned amongst those other great photomoders. 👍

Looking forward to Nato's.

Kodje

Always a real pleasure to read these Q&A.
I wonder why not add some link to the gallery of each photographer who answered in this thread ?

Click to expand...

+1

This thread is really great Lee 👍 It adds a new spice to the forum. Very interesting and entertaining

Thanks for the comments guys!

Subscribed: cool thread.

1, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?
I gave it a go with GT4 but didn't get into it at all, when GT5 arrived one of the first things I did was to take some photos and I liked GT5's photomode much better than GT4's but didn't think it would be something I'd use much. That was until I discovered the delights of GTPlanets PhotoMode section and more specifically the PhotoMode Competitions. I joined in at PMC and 2.0 Week 6 and have been addicted ever since. Just for laughs this was my first PMC entry and this my first 2.0 entry - they are both utterly horrible!

2, How would you describe your photography style?
I don't know that I have a particular style - I just go with the flow really. Though the way I take photos and use the camera tools on offer has evolved over time as I've learnt more about photography in the process. I started as a total noob - now I'm just a noob. However I do tend to take action shots (from a low vantage point) more so that stationary or extreme closeup photos.

3, In your opinion what makes a great photo?
A great photo is generally one that ticks all the technical boxes such as composition, depth of field etc, but I believe a really great photo is greater than the sums of it's parts. To me it has a combination of factors, firstly it may have that instant wow-factor that grabs your attention, but more importantly it has a depth that continues to deliver that wow factor the more closely you study it. A great photo has a story to tell or makes a statement so to speak and a truly great photo makes an emotional connection with you.

4, What is your favourite car to shoot?
I'd like to say all of them, but not all are created equal in terms of modelling and rendering and there are a few that disappoint and some that excell on those points. But really I don't have a particular favourite. I do prefer to shoot the street/super cars more so than the race cars however and if I had to nail it down... the McLaren's, Astons and a Viper or two would be high on my list.

5, What is your favourite location to shoot?
Nurburgring is a favourite along with Toscana and any of the weather change tracks. I've found that by using the weather options a good range of lighting conditions can be had. Monza for example has quite harsh lighting in my opinion but given 25-50% weather (not raining) it transforms the lighting completely.

6, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?
Hard to say, I have a few I'm quite fond of, but I'll pick this one;

This photo is the one where I can draw a line in the sand and say right here something clicked and my photography and editing improved substantually at this point. I really enjoyed taking all the shots in that set and I developed a technique that really suits me while editing them. I may have better shots since then but there's an emotional connection with that one which makes it stand out for me.

7, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?
Almost always, the only time I don't edit is for the PMC competitons and then I usually make an edit of those later as well. I use PaintShop Photo Pro (currently X4) as my main editing tool, I also use GIMP but pretty much only for cleaning up Standards and other jaggies. As for techniques... what are they? Unlike everyone else it seems I hardly ever use curve adjustments, instead I use duplicate layers and various blend modes, then nearly all of my editing is carried out on the duplicate layer(s). Mostly I'm just tweaking the colour balance, saturation, highlights/midtones/shadows, maybe some diffusion and gradients, the usual stuff.

8, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?
I would love to have a more free-roaming camera able to go nice and high for truly aerial shots and be able to move around 'off-track' so you can better position yourself as opposed to the static trackside camera positions. Higher quality modelling of the cars in photomode would be good too - we should have the same quality as we do in Photo Travel. Oh and the ability to open doors, hoods etc, in Photo Travel (multiple cars even). More Photo Travel locations and maybe a Photo Track mode where you can place your car in the usually restricted zones and take Photo Travel style photos. Though not a photomode feature as such, I would like the ability to set up a race with the cars you choose taking part so you could set up any particular scenario you want to shoot. I could probably keep on going if I keep thinking about it , however the camera options themselves are pretty good.

9, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?
For those just learning/starting out there are really good tutorials here on GTPlanet for explaining the camera options and what they do as well as great guidelines for good photography and looking through peoples galleries will give you plenty of inspiration. The best way to learn though is by doing. Experiment and try different things and just keep at it.

10, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?
There are so many! In fact I could probably name every one of the photomode members as having been an inspiration in some way at some point, however there are two that stand out for me personally and deserve special mention. Firstly bmxmitch - Mitch's photos are always amazing and his editing top-notch but more so that he always offered me encouragement right from the beginning even when my photos were utter rubbish. Secondly Raphaele. Raph's Photoshop competition entries were always incredible and inspired me to push myself further, we quickly developed a friendly rivalry in that comp. Raphaele's continued support and encouragement has always been something I have cherished in my time in this forum. Thank you guys and the wider community without you all I probably would have given up long ago.

Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?
This is probably the hardest question! There are so many I want to hear from.
However next I would like to hear from the most prolific winner of the competitions ever since he arrived on the scene.... Mr DarkR.

Thanks Nato 👍

(And yes, looking back at those early photos you definately have came a very long way!)

Great answers Nate 👍

I will be sending mine near the end of the week

BTW that Mr. thing It makes me feel a little bit old

Great stuff Nato - been waiting to hear from you

...and next Mr (haha) DarkR! Can't wait for that!

Really nice interview Nato! 👍 this thread is COOOL!

Great answers Nathan, really enjoyed reading that. 👍

I pretty much agree woth your thoughts on the Photomode features and you most certainly have improved greatly, to me you are definitely beyond noob level right now.

Superb fav photo choice too, it's flippin awesome.


Very much looking forward to DarkR's interview now, he probably would have been my choice too.

zzz_pt

Really nice interview Nato! 👍 this thread is COOOL!

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👍👍

Looking forward to DarkR's interview! Will we finally find out his secret to winning comps so easily?

I love that picture, Nathan.

1, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?
I discovered the photo mode in GT5 last year around the month of January, took some photos from time to time as I tried to get to level 40 in A and B spec. Then during the fall of the PSN, I started looking around GTP, to find something to do with the game and found the photo section. Since then I've been doing some pictures here and there.

2, How would you describe your photography style?
Minimalist, I like to keep things as simple as possible, sometimes I like to take pictures trying to mimic realistic angles other times I just let go and see how far I can go.

3, In your opinion what makes a great photo?
Like others have said, is the “wow “ factor. On some occasions you have a picture that is technically perfect, but when you look at it, you only see a empty image without any kind of inspiration, without any “soul”. Also the story and the details all play an important part in the pic.

4, What is your favourite car to shoot?
The list is long ... but I like the Enzo, the 458 Italia, the Aventador, some of the classic muscle like Mach1, the Camaro 69. Small cars like the Beetle and of course, the classic and new LMP.

5, What is your favourite location to shoot?
All tracks have something different that makes them unique and special. But some of my favorites are Nurburgring, Laguna Seca, Tokyo, Madrid, Suzuka, Toscana .

6, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?
This was one of my first pictures in GT5, one of my first pictures here on GTP and one of my first edits.

What I like about this photo is how the car works with the background, the angle, the sensation of speed and tones makes all seen so natural and realistic. It may be something simple for many others, but for me is special

7, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?
Yes, except when competition dictates that they should not be edited. Normally what I do is small change to the photo, such as tones, lighting, etc. As for tools, I use LR, PSCS, Photomatix for HDR and other programs.

8, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?
I'd add, all the locations from GT4, and those blocked locations that you can see during the intro. I wish I could get out of the limits of the tracks, something like the photo travel glitch. Also add the option to take photos without needing to use the replays.

9, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?
Yeah, shut up and take some pictures, seriously, many times I see people entering the competition and fail to reach the poll and immediately, they get frustrated leave and never return. With this attitude you accomplish nothing, you should not give up so easily, try to open a gallery and ask for feedback, stay practicing and try to experiment with different angles and other stuff.
About the editing do not exaggerate when editing the pics, try not to overdo the noise and the sharpening tool.

10, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?
There are many like SMfan, DOLP, Revolution, ShaolinMasta, nanabu , Miklad, Nato, Raphael, CCShaft, leeislee , ceiling_fan, bmxmitch, Horde, Rpanico, Zambuca, Nicknamealguem, Moglet, SlipZ, etc.
Sorry if I left someone out, but there are too many to name them all

Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?
Let's hear what Slipz has to say

Thanks DarkR 👍

Nice interviw DarkR 👍

And great choice for that shot. It's perfect

Oh i absolutly love this thread. It's like all those interviews from movie making-ofs i like to watch. Thank you all for sharing some secrets and having a little inside look behind your marvelous art. *bows* 👍

Good words of wisdom there Dark 👍

Great interview.

Miklad

Good words of wisdom there Dark 👍

Great interview.

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+1...I'm looking forward to hearing from you Mik 👍

^^ditto. I particularly appreciated the advice you gave DarkR. Well done.

It's great to have a little insite into the minds if the people whose work I admire! Nice one DarkR, looking forward to slipz!

Quite interesting nice to hear the thoughts of a major talent. Interesting shot choice too. Well done DarkR. 👍

Also looking forward to Slipz.

I've missed a few of the more recent reviews, and I'm just going to catch up on them now. Received a PM from Lee about being nominated; thank you Dark, that was completely unexpected! I've already got through yours, and it was an interesting read; much like with your actual images, I'm worried about meeting the high standard you set 👍

Lee will have my interview in a few hours - and maybe I'll use this as a handy jumping-off point to getting back into galleries

Discovered this thread, so cool! Hope to see more!

1, How about an introduction?
Howdy everyone; chances are you've seen me around these parts already! The name tends to get shortened to Slipz or Slip, but my real name's Kyle. I'm a Super Moderator here, though I've been a member for over 9 years. Believe it or not, it took over a year before I made my first post! Jordan asked me to join the ranks a few weeks before GT5, (I like to think) partially based on my enthusiasm for the Photomode section; despite the old user title of "PHOTOMOD", though, I'm in no way designated to this section of the site. I just genuinely love it here


2, How long have you been taking photos in Gran Turismo?
Technically, before there was a mode for it! Back in the ages of GT2 and the PC-available Bleem!, I took screen captures from replays for a small website called GTGarage. But with an actual Photomode, it started a few weeks into GT4's North American release in 2005. I didn't really start exploring GTPlanet's dedicated sections until near the end of the summer that year; this was my first competition entry, for Week 24 of the PMC, and according to the file properties, it was taken on August 13th, 2005!

3, What was the first picture you took in GT5?
It'd be the first image that showed up in my gallery, actually; I was still coming to terms with the mode and rediscovering the joys of editing GT images, but I thought a new-to-GT-Photomode F40 was the perfect complement to the gorgeous new 'Ring:



4, And your first edit?
Above! When I look back now though, I'm very unhappy with not only the editing, but the overall image. But I'll never get rid of it!

5, How would you describe your photography style?
Personally, I prefer a minimalist style. I'm a sucker for large expanses of negative space. I realize that one man's minimal is another's boring, though, so I try not to get carried away with it too much. Like Nato, I find myself taking a lot of action shots from low vantage points; they're "safe" in my eyes.

6, In your opinion what makes a great photo?
Can I refer the readers to all the previous answers to this question? They've all nailed it. You (Lee) have covered the importance of eye flow in an image in your tutorial, and I feel that is absolutely an integral part of a good image, especially when the viewer gets a circuitous visual story out of interest points, moving back and forth between them, and taking into account how the relationship changes the dynamic based on the eye flow. "Getting lost" in the image, basically. That jumble all said, I feel like originality counts for something too, though it must be hand-in-hand with technical strength; originality for originality's sake seldom pans out. One must know the rules and guidelines before one tries to break them!

7, What is your favourite car to shoot?
The Aventador and the F40 are both treats to shoot, with no real bad angles. The LFA is one of, if not the, highest-quality model, making it a cinch too, though I've only tangled with it twice. But thanks to personal preference, I'd definitely give the nod to the '02 Viper GTS, the McLaren F1, and the 787B; I never get tired of driving them in addition to capturing their beauty!

8, What is your favourite location to shoot?
Statistically speaking, Nurburgring; PD really did us photographers a favour with the wonderfully-rendered lighting transitions. A lot of the times, I want to capture an image that doesn't look like it's on a race track though, and while the 'Ring provides that, I also head to Mt. Aso and Madrid a lot for that reason.

9, What is your favourite picture you have in your gallery and why?
There were about four others in serious contention, but in the end, this won out:



(from my Gold Standard set)

It has a dual-purpose; it sums up the basic style I prefer, compositionally, and garnered the most votes in the last Tournament's Qualifier, leading off my most successful Tournament run ever. There's a fine balance one needs to walk between pleasing the viewers with regards to votes, and pleasing yourself, and I think this image has done that better than any others I've made.

10, Do you edit your photomode pictures and if so what techniques do you prefer?
Always with exception to PMC entries; I don't consider it "cheating" or "un-pure" as some people do, since touching up images was pretty common in dark rooms - I just have the safety of an Undo command now ! My techniques are pretty basic; I have a few saved commands for Curves, Hue/Saturation, Colour Balance, etc etc. I'm not sure how many people use Selective Colour, but it's an incredibly important piece of my editing puzzle, and I have about a dozen different presets saved based off of my real-life photography to help give images a desired texture or feeling. Topped off with some gradient adjustment layers, layer blending mode changes, a once over with an Unsharp mask, and a sprinkling of some noise, it usually takes about three minutes to edit a photo, with anywhere from five to an hour longer if I start playing with dodging/burning or any re-drawing to fix jaggies.

11, If you could change, add or remove any feature in GT photomode, what would they be?
I'd re-introduce a proper white balance setting; GT4 had it, PD! I'd probably remove the Miniature filter on the grounds of it being used incorrectly about 98% of the time I see it, but that's just a personal vendetta. Heading back to feature re-introduction, I'd really love it if heading into Photomode from a replay gave you the exact camera location as the replay features, since decent track-side locations are sadly both a) hard to come by in GT5, and b) important to really nail down a realistic feeling a lot of times. I'd love for Photomode to be accessible from the Pause Menu a la Forza, and I'd really like to insist on getting the old GT4 Travel locations back, as well as the frustratingly locked ones we see on the main GT5 screen; the ones that were even in Prologue! That said, I still say GT5's Photomode is the best of any racing game's I've played.

12, Do you have any advice to share with the rest of the photomode users?
No matter if it's taking photos in a game or running a marathon, you don't get better without practice. For some, wading into the pool of Photomode can be intimidating, especially without any artistic schooling under your belt, but it's absolutely not a requirement to both enjoy Photomode, and produce stunning shots. It's important you know your tools, and understanding all the options and how they affect the output is a step in the right direction. The Tutorials section of the depot will answer a whole heap of questions you may have, and if there's anything else, don't hesitate to ask; I'm a firm believer that the Photomode sub-section is chock-full of the kindest, most generous members GTP has, the prime bit of community in the GT5 section, undoubtedly. Check out some galleries, and get involved in the competitions; their names are a bit of a misnomer, since a lot of us simply take part to have fun and encourage each other to steadily improve. I've yet to see someone get worse by way of regular participation...

13, Which GTPlanet photomode member or members inspire you?
This may sound like a broken record, but too many to name! I challenge whoever's reading to not think the same thing; there's simply so much talent in these parts, its impossible to narrow it down. Three names that sadly aren't seen much around here anymore are alexwrc, franz, and atlop; the first two for their utter brilliance in combining Photomode with editing programs to bring us creative, original takes on the formula, and atlop for his mastery of composition. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tangled Web and RetroGiant; they both started showing how a beautiful sky can elevate an image way back in GT4 days, and continue to impress now. Mitch manages to create beautiful images consistently, and is an ever-present figure in the competitions. Revolution for his mastery of realism. Nato for carrying the torch as the de facto Standard cleaner-upper. Gtuned for carefully considered compositions and stunning editing, as well as proving you don't need the established "standard" software to edit well - it's just a shame he listens to angry computer sex and calls it "music" . DarkR for his chameleon-like nature; he can choose from a wide variety of subjects and always give them a definitive voice. ShaolinMasta for almost single-handedly ushering in a popular editing style. Moglet for images that say "Class" before the 999 words that follow. Raphaele for being a gentleman and a scholar, with a fine collection of photos to boot. Zambuca and nanabu, both with distinct styles that stand out amongst the crowds in all the right ways. TVR and ceiling_fan, for proving that quantity by no means needs to sacrifice quality. Sue-Ellen, the caterer, for knowing just how much prosciutto I prefer. My hair and makeup crew, for knowing when I shouldn't leave the trailer. The academy, for this nomination...



(I have missed many other people; don't think I forgot about you!)


14, Outside of GTPlanet, Do you have a special photo, piece of art or anything else you've created that you would like to share to showcase your other interests and talents?
I've always been wary of mixing "GTPlanet life" with "real life" in the online realm too much after some particularly obsessive banned members ( ), but to be honest, none of the work I've done outside of GT-related things (even commission work) gives me the same amount of joy, which is probably why I'm far from successful at it! While still GT-related, I'd point to Rev Magazine as my main showcase. The print world might be getting smaller and smaller in the face of online work, but I love working with the physical stuff, and really have a passion for typography as well. Rev, despite being *just* a magazine about some imaginary auto journalists, really had me delve into the finer details of layouts and publishing, which was handy, since it's now where a lot of the focus is in my classes this semester. I love good design, from automotive, through fashion, interior, and graphic, and encourage everyone to immerse themselves in it at every opportunity 👍

15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session?
Now to narrow it down. If we can, I'd really like to hear from RetroGiant. If his continued inactivity stretches for too long, I'm fine with Lee asking me to choose someone else

Thanks Kyle, Awesome answers. 👍

Kyle as usual 1-upping everyone in everything, including anwsers
Also, "Gtuned for carefully considered compositions and stunning editing, as well as proving you don't need the established "standard" software to edit well"

I'm honored to inspire one of the photomode gods, it's just cra- wait...

- it's just a shame he listens to angry computer sex and calls it "music"

Excellent post Slipz. LOL @ Gtuned. I hope RetroGiant responds to the nomination - his shots have always been great.