Pat Yanahan's workshop on paint repair has become a must for club members who want to learn the techniques and keep up with the latest products and technology.  For 2011, to get everyone off to a good start in our first-ever 356 photo contest, we added to the program a talk by professional photographer Wally Wright on techniques for taking a photo that does justice to the beauty of a 356.  The two topics fit together well.  As Pat put it in his invitation to this year's event, "It's all a matter of light.  Whether it is taking a good photograph or making your Porsche shine it is totally dependent on how the light is managed and reflected."

After Wally's classroom session, Chuck Schank volunteered his Bali Blue C Coupe to serve as an artist's model for a hands-on demonstation of the techniques Wally had described to us.  The images that Wally made during that session are at the bottom of this page.

After an unusually cold and wet spring, we were treated to a beautiful warm and cloudless day for this event, and Pat's back yard was filled with 356s newly released from their winter confinement.  As usual, the workshop was followed by a delicious lunch on the lawn, and a wonderful time was had by all.

The first truly beautiful summer day of 2011 brought out a large bunch of 356s.

photo by Sid Messing

Wally Wright makes a camera out of his fingers.

photo by Jim Hinde

Wally talks about shooting a moving car with a slow shutter speed and the camera moving to keep the car sharp and blur the background.

photo by Jim Hinde

Chuck Schank volunteered his gorgeous C Coupe to be moved into the shade and serve as a model for photographers in the audience to practice on.  A tip from Wally:  with a dark car, use a flash to fill in the shadows, and hold the camera upside down to make the light come up from under the lens.

photo by Sid Messing

Our host, Pat Yanahan, begins his talk about paint preservation and repair.

photo by Jim Hinde

To clean out a paint chip prior to repairing it, Pat recommends bumming a used pick from your dentist.

photo by Sid Messing

Paint is best applied using a tiny foam applicator.

photo by Sid Messing

After the paint dries, wet sandpaper--1000 grit, smoother than a
cotton shirt--is used to level it prior to the final polishing.

photo by Sid Messing

After Wally's classroom Chuck Schank's C Coupe was duly moved to a shady spot for a hands-on photo session.  As we had all learned, direct vertical sunlight makes for bad photos.  Wally demonstrated the use of a fill flash along with natural light, with an interesting twist to the technique. To illuminate the car evenly, he held the camera upside down so that the flash was below the lens and put its light where it was most needed, on the lower part of the car.   For the interior shot, he opened lens aperture to its widest setting, to minimize the depth of field and allow the focus to be placed selectively on the speedometer.

Upside down camera, fill flash.

photo by Wally Wright

Notice the shallow depth of field we get with a large aperture.

photo by Wally Wright