Category: Testing

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SAE Class on Automotive Forensic Photography, 09/17-19/24, Anaheim, CA

What’s the one thing you do on EVERY scene, vehicle, or vehicle component inspection? Photography, of course. If your photographs are accurate and of good quality, they will be important pieces of evidence in depositions or trials. After all, you can’t cut out a giant section of the highway with all the tire marks and gouges to bring into court. Nor can you bring a couple of wrecked tractor trailers up the elevator to the courtroom. But if your photos are good, you can have them entered into evidence in place of the physical evidence, and make them even more useful to the trier of facts (judge or jury) than the actual physical evidence itself would have been.

Tire marks without polarizer: (Click on image to enlarge, then click on arrow to return to this post):

Tire marks without polarizer. (Nikon 24-70 mm lens on Nikon D3s.)

Tire marks with polarizer: (Click on image to enlarge, then click on arrow to return to this post):

Tire marks with polarizer. (Nikon 24-70 mm lens on Nikon D3s.)

By good, I mean your photographs need to be consistently accurate, well focused, have good depth of field, and be well exposed and well lit with good shadow detail. And we don’t get to choose or change the lighting and weather conditions we face during our inspections. We have to adapt and still create quality, useful images.

Through SAE International, I’ll be teaching another three-day class called Photography for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing (SAE C1729). This class qualifies for SAE’s Accident Reconstruction Certification and for ACTAR credits.

We’ll get hands-on practice with the three most important tools (besides your camera and lens): a tripod, a polarizing filter, and one or more flashes. Flash is typically the tool most folks are afraid of, but you’ll learn the difference between full and fill flash, and how straight forward flash really is. We’ll even practice with two flashes, which let you capture details you can’t otherwise get.

You’ll receive a ton of information, and be able to apply what you’ve learned and practiced during your very next inspection and onward for the rest of your career.

If you’d like (need?) to make better automotive forensic photographs, please join me September 17 through 19, 2024, at the Anaheim Hills Business Center in Anaheim, CO. For more information or to register, please click here: https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c1729/.

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SAE C1729 Automotive Forensic Photography Class – Anaheim, CA – 09/17-19/24

SAE International has scheduled my next Photography for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing class (SAE C1729) for September 17-19, 2024 at Anaheim Hills Business Center, 5140 La Palma Avenue, Anaheim, California 92807.

Here’s a link with more details and for registration: https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c1729/.

We’ll include such topics as: how to consistently expose image; what gear really works; using flash, polarizers, and a tripod—the three most important tools; the importance of proper perspective; and night photography.

We’ll see many before-and after images demonstrating what to do and what not to do. We’ll also spend time practicing with tripods, polarizers, and single and multiple flashes, so you’ll be comfortable applying them right away.

Here are some examples of what we’ll discuss:

•Using manual exposure and creating accurate night photos. (Click on image to enlarge, then click on arrow to return to this post):

Manual exposure mode with ISO set at 100. Made with Nikon Z 5 with Nikkor Z 24-70 mm f/4 lens at 49 mm in raw mode. f/4, 1/3 sec, ISO 100.

• Using a tripod, using follow focus, and setting proper exposure to capture moving vehicles during inspections or testing (Click on image to enlarge, then click on arrow to return to this post):

Photo made by panning with vehicle moving at 55 mph during tire testing. (Made with Nikon 300 mm f/2.8 lens on Nikon D800E at f/6.3, 1/640 sec, ISO 400.)

• Using a tripod (for composition, leveling, and stability), a polarizer (to control glare), and a fill flash (to bring out details in the shadows) like in these before and after images (Click on image to enlarge, then click on arrow to return to this post):

Front end damage with no flash used. (ZEISS Milvus 50 mm macro lens on Nikon D850. Exposure: f/11, 1/160 sec, ISO 100.)
Front end damage with fill flash used. (ZEISS Milvus 50 mm macro lens on Nikon D850 with Nikon SB-910 flash. Exposure: f/11, 1/60 sec, ISO 100.)

Please call or e-mail me if you have any questions or would like more details.

I hope to see you there!

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SAE C1729 Automotive Forensic Photography Class – May 2024 in Orlando!

It’s been a few years since my SAE automotive forensic photography class has been offered in the Southeast—or even in the East, for that matter! Now it will be offered May 14-16, 2024 in Orlando, FL.

Anyone working in accident reconstruction, product liability cases, vehicle testing, or other forensic, evaluation, or testing investigations knows the importance of creating consistent, quality, and useful photographs. You’ll be glad to know that you can (probably) do that with the camera you already have! Just think of how much money you’ve already saved! You just need to understand and use that camera and just a few essentials such as a tripod, flash(es), and a polarizer.

In the classroom, we will learn the fundamentals of making good, consistent photographs with lots and lots of good and bad examples. We will do hands-on sessions—both indoors and out—with tripods, polarizers, night scenes, and the big one—using one or more flashes. While it will be most useful to bring your own camera gear—including flash(es) and tripod—I will bring various tripods, tripod heads, flashes, polarizers, and neutral density (ND) filters for you to evaluate during the hands-on sessions. Those will help you determine if your gear is what will serve you best, or if you need to upgrade a piece or two.

Here’s a link to the class description and registration: https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c1729/

Please contact me if you have any questions or would like more information about what to expect from the class.

Hope to see you in Orlando!

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SAE International’s Accident Recon Digital Summit 2024

On Tuesday, February 6, 2024, I will be presenting One Flash is Great; Two (or More) Can Be Better! at the third annual SAE International’s Accident Reconstruction Digital Summit 2024.

One flash will both balance the exposure and bring out details that would otherwise be hidden in shadows. A second (or third or…..) flash is sometimes essential to show textures or to reveal information hidden in remaining shadows. While some people fear using even one flash, you’ll see that it’s actually quite easy to use one or more flashes to add light where it’s needed, making your images even more useful. [Click on image to enlarge, then click on back arrow to return to this post.]

Tire and wheel inside semi-trailer. (Made using Nikon D850 with ZEISS Milvus 35 mm lens and on-camera Nikon SB-910 that also fired two Profoto B10s.)

The Summit is a free online event over two days. My presentation will be first out on Day One at 11:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, February 6.

Both days will feature presentations on a variety of current topics that accident reconstructionists are facing now, and that will be even more prevalent in the future.

Registration is free at this link:  https://www.sae.org/attend/accident-reconstruction-digital-summit

Hope to see you there.

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Focus Stacking Close-up Images

The closer you get to your subject, the less depth of field (DOF) you have. As you can imagine, when you photograph close-up or macro or micro subjects, you get progressively even less DOF.

In close-up—or closer—shots, even stopping down to your smallest aperture won’t give you enough DOF to make much of a difference. Besides, if you fully stop down your aperture, any small gain in DOF will likely be negated by diffraction, which softens the entire image.

Focus stacking blends multiple images with increasingly further focus points into a single image. This allows you to create an image with the specific DOF you want for your subject . You might not need everything in the foreground or background sharp, but you control what is or isn’t in focus by how many images (called slices) you use.

For this example, I wanted the entire broken lug stud in focus, but wasn’t concerned about the hub surrounding it. As shown below, even stopping down to f/16 didn’t give sufficient DOF to show the entire fracture surface. [Click on image to enlarge, then click on back arrow to return to this post.]

Single image at f/16 made with Nikon Z 8 with Nikon Z 50 mm MC macro lens. One Profoto B1x studio strobe on either side with Godox T365N II flash mid-left. f/16, 1/200 sec, ISO 64.

Notice how the focus quickly falls off toward the farther end of the broken lug stud fracture surface. Both the foreground and background of the hub are out of focus, but that’s okay since they’re not the subject of the photograph.

To get the entire lug stud to be in focus, I made nine separate photographs of the fracture surface with each one focused slightly further from the camera. [Click on image to enlarge, then click on back arrow to return to this post.]

Each individual image from closest focus upper left to farthest focus lower right, each made with Nikon Z 8 with Nikon Z 50 mm MC macro lens. One Profoto B1x studio strobe on either side with Godox T365N II flash mid-left. Each component image f/16, 1/200 sec, ISO 64.

In Photoshop, I brought all of the raw frames (slices) into a single image as separate layers. I aligned the layers, then stacked them using Auto-Blend Layers. As shown below, using layer masks, this function blocked the out of focus areas on each slice. Only the sharpest parts of each layer, or slice, remained. [Click on image to enlarge, then click on back arrow to return to this post.]

Screenshot of Photoshop layers with their focus stacking masks.

I cropped the image back to its original size and saved it with all its layers as a PSB Photoshop Big) file. With ten 45 megapixel layers, the file was over 2 GB, which is larger than can be saved as a PSD (Photoshop Document) file. I then flattened the image, resized it, output sharpened it, and saved it as JPEG. Note: I still always keep the PSB file with the layers and layer masks to be able to show what I did, if asked.

Below is the result of the focus stack blending of the nine layers shown above. [Click on image to enlarge, then click on back arrow to return to this post.]

Focus stacked in Photoshop from nine images, each made with Nikon Z 8 with Nikon Z 50 mm MC macro lens. One Profoto B1x studio strobe on either side with Godox T365N II flash mid-left. Each component image f/16, 1/200 sec, ISO 64.

Note how the entire face of the fracture surface is now in focus. Note: I used to also use Zerene Stacker and Helicon Focus for focus stacking—and both are excellent—but now I almost exclusively use Photoshop.

Takeaways:

-1- The closer your camera is to your subject, the less depth of field (DOF) you will have.

-2- Most forensic images require the entire subject to be in focus to show all its details.

-3- Even stopping your lens down to its minimum aperture won’t give you sufficient DOF, plus you risk losing detail from diffraction.

-4- Focus stacking requires a series of photographs (slices) be made with the focus increasingly distant from the camera. These slices are blended into a single image where only the sharpest elements of each slice will be kept by the software.

-5- Only combining images through focus stacking allows you to get sufficient DOF for many close-up, macro, and micro images.

-6- The closer the subject, the more slices (individual images) you need. For some micro images, more than 1,000 slices need to be blended through focus stacking.

-7- Focus stacking can also be used for large subjects including landscapes, buildings, accident scenes, and vehicles. Those larger subjects require fewer slices—often only two or three.

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SAE Photography Class December 5-7, 2023, in Irvine, CA

I will be teaching Photography for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing – C1729 in Irvine, CA, on December 5-7, 2023. Please check out this link for more information or to register:  https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c1729/.

Night photo of intersection with traffic light. (Made with ZEISS Milvus 50 mm f/2 macro lens on Nikon D850, at f/6.3, 1/60 second, ISO 1600.)

[Click on photo to enlarge, then click on back arrow to return to this post.]

In addition to the class presentations and materials, I will be bringing various tripods, tripod heads, and accessories, along with a lot of Godox flashes that we’ll use to practice multi-flash and off-camera flash techniques.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the class.

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New SAE Photography Class Scheduled October 17-19, 2023!

SAE International has just added another of my photography classes (Photography for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing – C1729) at their excellent training center in Troy, MI, for October 17-19, 2023. Please check out this link for more information or to register:  https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c1729/.

Melted aluminum on lug stud. (Nikon D850 with ZEISS Milvus 100 mm f/2 macro lens.)

[Click on photo to enlarge, then click on back arrow to return to this post.]

In addition to the class presentations and materials, I will be bringing various tripods, tripod heads, and accessories, along with a lot of Godox flashes that we’ll use to practice multi-flash and off-camera flash techniques.

Mid-October is still a great time to be in Troy, with daytime highs about 60° and lows about 42°.  The SAE Troy facility is just off I-75 at W Big Beaver and is surrounded by hotels and restaurants, so is quite convenient.

Please contact me if you have any questions at all.

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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!

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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!

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New SAE Photography for Accident Reconstruction, Product Liability, and Testing Class Scheduled!

After having four of the five classes canceled last year, I’m really happy to announce the return of my SAE automotive and product photography class: https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c1729/. I’m glad to be returning to the site of my first class in 2018 at the great facilities of Mecanica Scientific Services in Oxnard, CA:  https://www.mecanicacorp.com/. Many thanks to John Steiner, CEO and Principal Scientist of Mecanica, for hosting this upcoming class from August 30 through September 1, 2021.

Important note: This class is an elective choice for the SAE Accident Reconstruction Certification (https://www.sae.org/learn/professional-development/certifications/accident-reconstruction-certificate/courses). It also qualifies for PE continuting educational requirements and ACTAR credits. Best of all, what you learn in this class can be applied immediately, and every single time you’re doing an inspection afterward.

Whether your primary job is accident reconstruction, product analysis, vehicle or component testing, or other technical area, you will need consistent, quality photographs to both document and analyze your subjects. These photos need to be made regardless of ambient lighting or conditions. Your camera on Auto isn’t going to do that. [Click on image to enlarge in new window, then click back arrow to return to post.]

Photo made by panning with vehicle moving at 55 mph during tire testing. (Made with Nikon 300 mm f/2.8 lens on Nikon D800E at f/6.3, 1/640 sec, ISO 400.)

Not only are good photos essential for documentation and useful for analysis, they can be critical for use in lawsuits, insurance claims, recalls, and design and testing evaluations. Both in-house analysts and independent consultants will be counted on to routinely produce accurate and reliable photographs as part of their professional work. Did I mention that your camera on Auto isn’t going to do that? [Click on image to enlarge in new window, then click back arrow to return to post.]

BMW in sun at tow yard. Fill flash and polarizer. (Nikon 24-70 mm f/2.8G lens on Nikon D810. Exposure: f/10, 1/60 sec, ISO 160.)

This class is designed to give you the tools and knowledge you’ll need to consistently create professional photographs by proper use of focus, depth of field, composition, lighting, polarizers, tripods, and close-up/macro tools. You’ll see how flash is essential for capturing all the data, and how it’s not as intimidating as many believe. We’ll also cover the two types of night photography as well. [Click on image to enlarge in new window, then click back arrow to return to post.]

Night photo of intersection with traffic light. (Made with ZEISS Milvus 50 mm f/2 macro lens on Nikon D850, at f/6.3, 1/60 second, ISO 1600.)

There will be more hands-on sessions than in previous classes, so make sure to bring your camera, lenses, polarizer, tripod, and flash. Course information and registration are available through the link in the first paragraph, but if you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to e-mail or call me directly.

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