Mercedes-Benz 300SL
A moody study of a classic Mercedes-Benz on wet cobblestones, finished in three grades: color, black and white, and faded.
- Brand
- Mercedes-Benz
- Year
- 2023
- Role
- Art direction, rendering, color grading
Overview
A short personal study: one frame of a classic Mercedes-Benz parked on a wet cobblestone lane, finished in three grades. The three square frames read as one image seen three ways.
The challenge
One frame had to carry three moods. It needed to hold up in full color, in black and white and in a softer faded grade, which puts the weight on composition, wet surfaces and light rather than on paint color alone.
Approach
- I set the camera low on the cobblestones so the wet stones lead the eye up to the grille. Rain beads on the paint, a puddle in the foreground catches an orange reflection, and ivy, brick and hanging lamps fill the background in soft focus.
- From the color frame I made two alternate grades: a contrasty black and white that turns the image into texture and chrome, and a lifted, desaturated grade with a muted, filmic feel.
Color
Rain, cobblestones and chrome
Grades
Black and white, then faded
The same frame, regraded twice.
Outcome
Three square frames of the same composition, in color, in black and white, and in a faded grade.
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