This summer’s vacation happened to land on the opening days of Reno Neveda’s Hot August Nights.  To do something a little different, all the photos in this blog post were made using the Canon 45mm Tilt shift lens ( TS-E 45mm f/2.8 ). Using the tilt shift allows the photographer to create very shallow and selective depth of field, which can be quite useful when photographing objects in a parking lot with many background distractions.

Chrome Hood ornament.

427 Cobra Shelby signed by the master – Carroll Shelby

My reflection in the hubcap as I try and capture the details from all the angles. It turns out it’s pretty warm out there in the parking lot taking photos of the automobiles. The aren’t kidding when they say it’s “Hot August Nights”.

Here is a little extra info about this 1961 Corvette. It features a Paul Newman Car Creation Chassis – New 2003 LS-1 Engine – New 2003 4L60E Automatic Transmission – Refurbished 1996 Corvette Independent front and rear suspension – Thunderbird Power rack and pinion steering – 36 rear 3rd member with 3.07 gear ratio – Dakota Digital clock and Gauge package – New 17 inch centerline wheels – Flow Master exhaust system – Candy Apple Red Paint job by House of Kolor – Lexus Crystal white Pearl Coves – Flaming River steering column with custom built steering shafts – Edelbrock Ceramic coated headers – Stainless steel 1961 gas tank with pump.

I spoke with the owner of this 1939 Chevy. He mentioned having spent about $100,000 on the car. It had a quite beautiful paint job.

The selective focus used in this photo makes the Reno casinos appear as miniatures. This photo was taken with a Canon 5D using a Canon 45mm TS-E at ISO 1600 at 1/20 of second at f/3.2.

Update – It was fun using the tilt-shift lens to make to these images, but it’s really a very specialized lens that isn’t for every photographer.