New Pics of my 1996 Coupe!

[Rain]

Yes, had a buddy clean her up today and I got home just in time for the sun to set out behind the house. Had to snap some shots to share!

CLICK for new Pics

 

[Moonunit 451]

Looks very nice Rain I'd sure like to find a friend that would detail my car

 

[Rain]

No kidding!
Mike is one of our local Parrothead Club memebers. When we got the vette, he immediately said he would be more than happy to detail it. He is big into it! Has all the special brushes and such.
Think he spent about 3 or 4 hours on it today!

He wasnt going to let me pay him for it, so I brought him a 6pk of rolling rock and a 50$ GC at Outback Steakhouse.

Great friend to have - Hes got a nice newer Camaro vert and a sweet BMW highway motorcycle that both stay in showroom condition. His dad worked for GM/chevy for years in the development of the lunar rover and the robotics that are part of the construct. line on the Vette. (so I think he was trying to get his dad out of the house to come see our Coupe, too)

Thanks for looking at the pics - I was so proud, I had to show them to you guys n gals!

Rain

 

[paintdaddy]

Looks like a new one,does it have the new car smell still?

 

[Rain]

Smell?

Actually smelled like musty leather when we first got it back in March. Prev. owner had it garaged and barely drove it (or cleaned it, I guess)

Engine is still dirty. Need to get aircompressor and wet rags and try to sparkle her up under the hood!

But to answer your question, after Mike wiped down the inside, it really did smell new!

Thanks
Rain

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Looks great.
Is that back bay where you took the photos? I had a place in Ocean Springs until Fredrick blew it away.

 

[Ctfoodguy2000]

Sure did do a great job with your ride!! Looks fabulous.

 

[Rain]

The pics were taken in my back yard. We are in Ocean Springs, MS, just "next door" to the Natl. Seashore Federal Park. Lots of bayous, marshes, and trees. All on the Gulf Of Mexico.

The home is up on a ridge with a horseshoe pond around the back yard. (thats what ya see in the pics) Brim, Bass, and Catfish PLUS about 7 alligators of different sizes. Beyond the pond is a bit of marsh and then the Gulf.

The no-see-ums are pretty fierce right now. Other than that, we've really enjoyed our "seclusion in the middle of town".

We are moving to a new home as soon as its finished. Its just off back bay Biloxi.

I've been here since 96 and Hurricane Georges is the worst I've seen, so far.

Rain

 

[Ctfoodguy2000]

Great part of the country. In the mid 80's, I lived in Mandeville, LA - just north of New Orleans, across the Causeway. I used to travel to Gulf Port, Biloxi, Pascagoula, and other spots along the Gulf Coast over to Florida Panhandle. I used to love my job in the summer.

 

[Magmotor]

Great looking car..!!:cool I'm in Biloxi, Hope to see ya cruisin on the road..!!

 

[Rain]

Thanks Yall!

Rain

 

[kingman]

Looking Good!!

Hi Rain
It really looks great, good luck with her.

Alan

 

[MsSchroder]

That first one nearly took my breath away! GORGEOUS!
Tell me about that camera.... and tell me how you got such a shallow depth of field with the blurred foreground and background, with the car RAZOR sharp?????

Tammy

 

[Rain]

WOW!

I just love that reaction to my "fun"" work!

Gave me a HUGE grin - THANKS!

Its Photoshop. Been a partime graphics geek since my first Macintosh back in the early mid 90s.

Picked up a Photoshop tricks book a few years ago. That helped. Add that to just hours of playing with the program.. ..

Had to do this to that particular pic - I framed the rear end of my UAV (ugly A$$ van) and couldnt crop it out. SO decided to do the motion blur effect.

For this effect - its really quite easy.

Take your image - I took those pics on High resolution. Large images with great quality. Easy to zoom in and get close.

Use the Magnetic Lasso tool to crop out the Vette. Click COPY. Then in the LAYERS menu, click NEW LAYER with COPY. Move that layer to the back with the ARRANGE function. Then select the original image and from the FILTER menu, select BLUR and MOTION. Adjust to taste.

Then move that layer to the back and flatten the Image.

Voila! SHARP clear SUBJECT. Blurred moving background.

 

[MsSchroder]

I wondered if that image might have had a little software help with the foreground and background. It is very impressive.
I don't have a copy of photoshop. Probably won't be able to afford it for a while. But it looks like a great piece of software. I'll put it on my Christmas wish list

Does the magnetic lasso tool do a good job of separating the subject from the rest of the image? I've seen tools like that in the cheap photo editing software packages, but they never work very well.

 

[stingray4me]

It looks so clean & shinney that I can actually smell the wax !

 

[Rain]

Check ebay for an older copy of Photoshop. Most of them come with the transferrable serial number, so you can do upgrades as they too come on ebay.

Anything 4.0 and newer should work.
OR
Just buy a copy of the LE version on ebay. Most of these have come with a new digital camera or scanner and the owners dont need it. They go pretty cheap. They arent upgradable, but they do give you a chance to do alot of stuff the full blown version of Photoshop will do.

With a highquality picture, a steady hand, and some practice, the magnetic lasso does a pretty good job.
I did that first pic in my webshow in about 5 minutes. (so if i had slowed down, blown it up more, and put more time into it, it really would have been clean!)

I ditched the typical mouse a long while ago in favor of a Kensington Orbit. Its a small two button mouse with a track ball on the top about the size of a ping pong ball. Makes my graphic work much easier. (and I dont have to have a HUGE open space for a mouse)

Good luck, and Thanks again yall!
Rain

 

[95ZR1#418]

Nice