High-octane sunset shoot
Some evenings in Canberra, the light feels almost deliberate. Its shape. Its angle. Its intensity. That was the scene late on a January afternoon for an automotive-portrait photoshoot on Menindee Drive overlooking Lake Burley Griffin.
Even after 7pm, daylight savings kept the sun stubbornly high. The Carillon stood quietly ahead, Black Mountain anchored the eastern horizon, and apart from the distant rhythm of the Dragon Boat Club preparing for their afternoon training, the place was tranquil.
Isabel arrived with a kind of calm excitement, the sort of presence that makes a photographer’s job easier before a camera is even raised. She wheeled her green Kawasaki Ninja into the late sun, the bike’s metallic surfaces immediately catching the warm edge of daylight. Beside it sat her other object of automotive pride: a sleek, gun-metal Honda Accord.
Choosing between them, she told me, felt like choosing a favourite child. As we chatted, she spoke about how she got into motorbikes, Canberra’s supportive riding community, and the thrill of buying her Ninja after a highly anticipated search. It’s something I can relate to with my own photography obsessions – hunting for a lens (at the right price) for months or years at a time.
Those snippets of passion are the kinds of things that breathe life into a shoot; subjects relax when they talk about the things they love, and that ease finds its way into their expressions long before you press the shutter.
For this shoot, I relied on my workhorse – the Lumix 12–35mm f/2.8 – fitted with a CPL filter to minimise reflections. For portraits, I used the crisp Olympus 75mm f/1.8, one of my all-time favourites for its rendering and tack-sharp precision. The versatility of the zoom let me capture the environment including the trees, shimmering lake and distant rowers, while I punched in for tight shots of wheels, decals, reflections and textures. The CPL filter helped cut glare from the bike’s glossy surfaces, letting the deep greens come through without blowing out in the sun.
The sun, initially, was more of an adversary than a collaborator. Even this late in the day, the brightness made it difficult to balance exposure without losing detail in the Ninja’s green fairings or the metallic surfaces of the Accord. That challenge nudged the Godox AD200Pro II from accessory to necessity. With a beauty dish and honeycomb grid, the flash did exactly what I needed for portraits, adding structure to the highlights and letting Isabel stand out against the background.
My favourite moments came near the end of the shoot.
The low-angle portraits of Isabel on her Ninja captured the power, depth and drama I had hoped. The light skimmed across her helmet and the bike’s bodywork, catching just enough detail to shape the frame without overwhelming it. Shooting at f/11 gave me that starburst effect from the setting sun, while a rear-vision mirror shot provided another creative perspective.
The Accord had its moments, too, with its alloy wheels, deep shadows and subtle glint of the paint as the sun dipped lower. The Ninja, of course, remained the visual star; its sleek yet powerful design makes it feel like it was made to be photographed.
What I enjoyed most was the natural storytelling that unfolded. When someone talks about their passion, their posture changes, their expression softens, their guard drops. Portraits become less about awkward posing and more natural, confident and authentic. Combining that with the visual richness of automotive photography felt creatively rewarding in a way I hadn’t expected.