Old Car Details – Vadnais Engineering

February 5, 2023February 5, 2023

SAE Automotive Forensic Photography Class – April 2023

SAE International has scheduled my next Photography for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing (C1729) class at their excellent Troy, MI facility from April 4-6, 2023: https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c1729/

It’s a great facility and is quite easy to access on W Big Beaver Rd just off I-75. It’s about 45 minutes from the Detroit airport. There are plenty of hotels and a lot of great restaurants in every price range.

The link above provides a detailed course outline. We’ll also get hands-on time to practice with exposure, flash, polarizers, tripod use, and more.

If you have any questions or would like more details, please feel free to email or call.

I look forward to seeing you there!

March 15, 2022February 5, 2023

SAE Photography Class — July 12-14, 2022

With live classes now returning to SAE, I’m excited to announce that my next Photography for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing class will be July 12-14, 2022 at Mecanica Scientific Services’s fantastic classroom facilities in Oxnard, CA. Special thanks to Mecanica’s John Steiner for hosting this class for the third time!

Here’s a link for more information and to register: SAE Photography Class July 2022.

The class has ten major subject modules that build upon each other. We’ll explore in-depth about gear, light, camera fundamentals, settings, post-processing, and much, much more. You’ll come away not just knowing about, but actually understanding how to make better, more consistent, and more useful photographs during all your inspections and analyses, regardless of lighting conditions.

Please call or e-mail me directly if you have any questions or need more information.

I hope to see you there!

December 22, 2018January 20, 2019

Suggested Gear for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing Photography

Even before I started teaching Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing Photography classes, I’ve often been asked about what photo gear works the best for those areas.

In response, I’ve created two wish lists at B&H Photo Video: one for Nikon Nikon Gear Wish List and one for Canon shooters Canon Gear Wish List. I’m a Nikon shooter, so most of my direct experience is with Nikon equipment. Here are some notes on the lists:

-1- I currently use the Nikon D850. It’s arguably the best all-around camera on the market, but I recommend the Nikon D750 for Nikon shooters for several reasons:
– Its files are more manageable in size, but are still plenty large.
– It still has the manageable body size and shape, and even has the really useful flip up and down LCD screen.
– It has a built-in flash to use to trigger the Nikon 4804 R1 macro flashes.
– The built-in flash isn’t terribly powerful, and can’t be rotated or removed, but can be used in a pinch.
– Right now, it is on a fantastic sale—especially with the 24-120 mm lens. You save $1,200 instantly.
– It’s been out for a while, and is tried and true.

There are similar advantages for Canon shooters with the 6D Mk II vs. the 5D Mk IV. If you have the budget, the Nikon D850 or Canon 5D Mk IV can’t be recommended highly enough. But they are not necessary for the work we do.

-2- The lists show both the ZEISS Milvus 50 mm and either Nikon 60 mm or Canon 100 mm macro lenses. I use the ZEISS, but also have the Nikon. I use my ZEISS Milvus 50 mm lens for most of my work photography, since it has a normal perspective. I also use the ZEISS Milvus 100 mm lens when I need to fill the frame with a macro shot, but can’t get close enough.
Advantages of the ZEISS are: Precise manual focus; amazing micro contrast; and, 50 mm is accepted “normal” lens that I use for almost everything.
Disadvantages of the ZEISS are: Manual focus only (but that is my preference); and, only enlarges to 1:2 (or half life-size).
Advantages of the Nikon: 1:1 (life-size macro); autofocus (but see note below); close enough to “normal” focal length; and, less expensive.
Disadvantages of Nikon: Not as easy to manually focus.
Note: When shooting macro images, you’ll most likely have to manually focus anyway, so having a more precise manual focusing ring is a real benefit.

Speaking of ZEISS lenses, four ZEISS manual focus prime lenses make up my work kit: the classic ZEISS 25 mm f/2 Distagon; the ZEISS Milvus 35 mm f/2; the ZEISS Milvus 100 mm f/2 macro; and, the aforementioned ZEISS Milvus 50 mm f/2 macro. I use the latter for 90 percent of my work. ZEISS makes lenses for Nikon, Canon, and Sony mounts. They have unrivaled sharpness and micro-contrast, and such smooth and accurate manual focusing that you’ll forget autofocus exists! Continue reading “Suggested Gear for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing Photography”

December 2, 2017September 15, 2018

Before Safety Standards – Side Windows

Before tempered or other safety glass was developed, older plate glass-based windows were used on most vehicles. One of the downsides was the dangerous ways the old windows would break during a collision. Instead of shattering into pieces, holes or pieces would break out, resulting in a “glass necklace”, which was hardly a fashion accessory, and could often be lethal.

Here’s an example of a hole punched through the side glass window of an old car in the former junkyard of Old Car City USA (Old Car City USA): (Click to enlarge image, then back arrow to return to post.)

No Tempered Glass, at Old Car City USA, White, GA. (ZEISS Milvus 25mm f/1.4 on Nikon D850.)

Another reason to be grateful for modern safety standards.

December 2, 2017September 15, 2018

Before Safety Standards – Steering Column

In November 2017, I returned to a photographer’s and car enthusiast’s paradise: Old Car City USA in White, GA: Old Car City USA. It’s a sprawling former junkyard through trees and pine needles with about 4,000 cars and nearly seven miles of trails. They no longer sell parts there, but it now exists as an outdoor museum to old, discarded, sometimes wrecked cars, trucks, and buses. As an automotive engineer who has spent more than 35 years dealing with tires and automotive safety systems, Old Car City USA is a gold mine for experiencing the history of automobiles. As a photographer, Old Car City USA is a never-ending source of vehicle, abstract, and macro detail shots. The ever-changing light through the trees keeps the photography interesting and challenging throughout the day.

We all know about steering columns that collapse and move so they don’t impale the driver. But that wasn’t always the case. Here’s an example of a steering wheel and steering column that would have pinned the driver in position before impaling him or her as the column was driven rearward in a frontal collision. (Click on image to enlarge, then on back arrow to return to post.)

Steering Column Spear at Old Car City USA, White, GA. (ZEISS Milvus 25mm f/1.4 on Nikon D850.)

Thank goodness for the current designs!

This photo also shows a tire inflation plate for 5.0×15 tires showing recommended air pressures of 15 psi front and 23 psi rear. Even for those old bias tires, those pressures seem unbelievably low compared to what we see today. Here is that plate more closely. (Click to enlarge, back arrow to return.)