Sneak Peak - Group Shot at the Airport

[D4fotografix]

Sorry for the delay. More info coming soon. Please email cobraphoto@ymail.com with any questions.

Thanks,

The Photo Team

[Seagull81]

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gregg(What's his name)?]

on the airplane. That is 50cal machine guns. What a great shot of the group and the aircraft.

Gregg H

[Gary Morris]

It's OK....don't get me started.

Gary

[D4fotografix]

Zoomed from the same photo. The original high-res version suitable for printing was taken with a professional camera at over 15 Megapixels from 2-3 stories up from a scissor lift swaying in the wind. The image was stitched together from multiple images to create this single panoramic. I think Sonia did a great job in some difficult circumstances.

Recognize anyone?

Again, these will be available in a few days. Please be patient.

- Jim

[Ed Csoltko]

It's not the camera but the lens used that counts.
Moving the scissor lift closer to the Cobras and a good wide angle lens would have made a better photo (MHO).

[D4fotografix]

Thanks for your reply. Of course, high-end lens was used. This is only a sample .jpg.

Extreme wide angle lenses that would have been required in this situation tend to distort at the edges and would have made the cars and drivers on the outside very small and indistinguishable (read undesirable). This is not a typical "landscape" shot. We needed to see detail in the faces and you can recognize everyone in the photo on the high-res 300 DPI image suitable for printing, not the 72DPI which was attached for just a preview.

[D4fotografix]

We did our best to make everyone happy, to work as quickly as we could to get the job done. Now for some technical talk...I was using a 17-55 mm lens btw, and switched to another lens when I realized that,to frame everyone in the shot, the ends would have been distorted AND everyone was tiny! The poor guy that was operating the lift was moving us all around-up down, frontwards backwards. It was getting to the point where our safety was a concern because of the wind and other folks that should not have been on there (but we had no control over this.)
Yes, there are things that could have been done and that would have required more time. It became very clear to us that most folks did not want to spend the afternoon perfecting the shot. Trust me, I would have gladly tweaked a few more things if I had the time.It turned out to be a beautiful day and we understand that most of y'all would rather be out riding! I don't blame you!

Hopefully, this will clear up a few things. There were a lot of factors involved that we did not have control over. Yes, things could have been done differently. We were not paid to be there btw, we were there on our own time. Even still, we put our best into what we did, given the circumstances we were working under.

We really appreciate the feedback we have been receiving so far.
We got a test print of the 12x24 panoramic btw. The detail is incredible. You can find yourself in he photo WITHOUT a magnifying glass!

Sonia DeFoor

[hey,littlecobra]

thanks for all the effort you put into the photo, Sonia. It is a challenge every year to get that many Cobras lined up and visible. We are glad so many make the annual trip, but it does create a challenge on the photo!
You obviously have put a lot of time into the shot, and that's really nice. Looking forward to seeing the final result.

The wind was absolutely terrible, and i for one would NOT have gotten on that scissor lift no matter what!

I chose not to have my GT500 in the group shot. My personal opinion that being a 'cousin' of the Cobra replica, it doesn't belong.
Sometime we ought to do a 'related' photo- the GT's, gt500's, Shelby gt's.... on and on.

Kristen

[D4fotografix]

Hi Kristen,
Thank you for your encouraging words. Did you stay for a little bit (after the group shot was taken) to take pics with the aircraft? If so, I know I have at least one shot of your car and the plane from up on the lift!
About the lift....we had secured that lift prior to the event and were horrified when we showed up Sat morning and it was being used! The guys at the hangar offered to put me up on a fork lift! Yikes! Everything worked out though. And I lived to tell about it! ALL of the cars out there were beautiful! It was my understanding that all of the cars, including "relatives" were to be included in the shot.....

[GlynMeek]

Sonia...ignore any whining, you did a GREAT job. "You can't please all the people all the time". Trying to organize over 100 egomaniacs and their prized possessions for over an hour was like herding cats. If it was me doing it, there would have been a great deal more of "would you f*****g idiots just do what I tell you", shouted down from that lofty pedestal!



Glyn

PS I think the resolution is even good enough to see my monkey!!!!!!!!!!

PPS you did EXACTLY the right thing in ONLY including the Cobras in the picture

[D4fotografix]

Thanks Glyn!
-Sonia

[tomh440]

Exactly why we DON'T want Glyn taking the pictures.

[Gary Morris]

Originally Posted by D4fotografix

Hi Kristen,
Thank you for your encouraging words. Did you stay for a little bit (after the group shot was taken) to take pics with the aircraft? If so, I know I have at least one shot of your car and the plane from up on the lift!
About the lift....we had secured that lift prior to the event and were horrified when we showed up Sat morning and it was being used! The guys at the hangar offered to put me up on a fork lift! Yikes! Everything worked out though. And I lived to tell about it! ALL of the cars out there were beautiful! It was my understanding that all of the cars, including "relatives" were to be included in the shot.....

Ok....As a Founding Member of this club and one that has been to every meet since the start I have a question that I have been trying to get answered but no one seems to know. You are right in your understanding that ALL cars including relatives were to be included in the shot if they onwers wanted to be in the shot and out of respect for the Cobras to be at the back of the shot. It has been that way since the start and last year myself, Matt Tice, and another Mustang were at the back of the shot. this year I was asked.......told to get out of the shot. I was told it was "discussed" but I would like to know by whom? Do we have a secret board of govenors or something? I spoke with other Founding Members that did not have a clue...the current President did not know about it....so I blamed the photographer....and now to hear it wasn't so.
Hmmmm...Interesting. For those of you who don't know this club was founded on very few rules or principles. First...there are no rules...we came together as a group of people that love the Cobra. Ownership not required. It's all about the people....the car is just the glue.....we exclude NO One. Never have and I hope never will. This was the 1st year I have not been in the group photo and to say I was disappointed is an understatement. Ok...I have said what I wanted to say publically and get it off my chest. Flame suit on.


Gary Morris

[D4fotografix]

Gary,
I can see why you would be frustrated and upset to say the least. . I can only offer my opinion that it seems that there was a breakdown in communication somewhere along the way. As I mentioned before, it was my understanding that everyone would be in the shot. We had even taken that into consideration when we were planning the layout of the cars (i.e, the cars would be varying models, so varying lengths). Things were happening very quickly during the shoot and I was having to scream and use anyone that was walking by to communicate from the lift.
I know that there is probably not much that I can say to make up for the fact that your car was excluded from the shot. I don't know what happened, but if it is something that perhaps I may have been partially responsible for somehow, then I offer my sincerest apologies. I only wish that someone would have said something to whoever asked you to leave -to let them know that you were SUPPOSED to be there!
Thanks for you honesty Gary. It's great that you all have that sense of closeness and I really do feel terrible about what happened.
-Sonia DeFoor

[Gary Morris]

Sonia....No apology needed but I Thank You anyway. The photos I have seen are totally awesome. It was time for a change on our photographer. I was just trying to understand the "discussed" part that was told to me. I'm not going to say who told me that as I respect him very much and consider him as everyone else my family. I just want to make sure that in the future we come up with some options. With the digital age I'm sure you would agree that another shot or 2 WITH the extra cousins so to speak would not have wasted any film. then you would have had options for those that wanted to be in the picture and say" that's me there in the back" . No harm done and those that know me know I only want to make sure we include everyone in our family at these get togethers as that was the roots of the club when it was formed. That's why we had 16 cars and probably 75 people in attendance and the group shot was merely somone taking a picture and enlarging it. We have come a long way and I plan on being around until I can't physically make it. We owe this to our brothers that are no longer with us that are listed on our Presidential plaque because believe me that's the way they would have wanted it.
I have owned 2 Cobras and hope to own another one some day but for now I'm driving the Mustang. I hope no one takes my comments the wrong way cause I love you all and consider everyone of you part of my family.

Gary

[Austin_Snake]

I was at the photo shoot and not to offend anyone was glad it was just Cobra replicas and we did not have any Mustangs or Corvettes in the photo. It was a Cobra event, not an all Fords or AC's English relatives.
I did not see any registration list and know the TCC does not have any rules but would imagine you should pay an entry fee to play.
Richard
Austin
Exact 427 Carbon Car

[Gary Morris]

Entry Fee??? Of course we paid our entry fee, donated to Operation Confort, and donated money to feed everyone on Friday night...the same as we always have for 10 years. Cobras ONLY??? Some people just don't get it.

Gary

[Austin_Snake]

OK so next year look out for a few Mini's, Triumph (the English relatives) and a few Pintos and Mavericks (the Ford relations)

At least they won't be doing burn outs on the tarmac like the non related Corvettes.

Later,
Richard