We asked Urs Buhlman to share some of his insights with our readers and here’s where we got to …
How important is it for you to have scouted a location before you shoot or do you prefer to roll with it on the day?
“I like to do both. For my night locations I’ll do a recce. This will have prepared me for the shoot – the angles, light and traffic conditions. For the day shots I aim for a backlight where possible which will help add more tension, texture and shadows. It’ll give a sheen to the road and works well for my end use. I actually like shooting in the rain for the luxurious surfaces plus the water tends to hide the uneven tones in the road”
How do you decide what angle to shoot a certain scene and what impact does this have on camera height etc?
“The type of road I’m shooting will dictate the camera height. I tend to shoot lower on a sealed road than a dirt road. This will depend also on the type of vehicle that will be rendered with that road. Sedans and sports cars often look better at a low or more aggressive angle while the off road SUV’s and 4WD’s work better at a higher angle. I like to tilt the camera to add tension and will always aim to shoot several angles per location to allow a greater scope in the post production process. The locations will soon tell me what’s possible based on the safety aspects and that’s something I need to work with”
Let’s talk gear and equipment. What camera and lenses do you like to work with for your 2D backgrounds?
“I work with a 40 megapixel digital back and wide angle lenses, a tripod and of course the all important cable release which eliminates camera shake in the longer exposures”
