My friend Chris bought a 1947 Citroen convertible when he lived in South Africa. His wife was aghast at the time, but grew to love the car, known affectionately as “Bon Bon.” When they moved to Thousand Oaks, Bon Bon was included like a member of the family.
I’d been looking for a creative way to photograph Bon Bon when I saw a great car photo taken in a completely dark space and lit entirely by small flashes. The photographer had attached three flashes to a pole, set his camera for one very long exposure and then walked around it popping off the flashes.
Alas, finding a completely dark location was difficult. I also didn’t relish the clumsiness of working without any light.
Then I discovered a seldom used feature of Photoshop that allowed me to shoot this as 24 different shots and combine them effortlessly. Well, almost.
The image was taken at the foot of my driveway in a cul-de-sac lit by a street light. The street light made it easy to work, but didn’t add to the exposure. (I hope I’m not boring non-photographers.)
Unlike the photo that inspired this, I thought it would be fun to add some people, so Catalin and her significant volunteered as models. Catalin was asked to mug like a starlet under siege by paparazzi.
We shot numerous variations, and this is the one she chose.