|FTC| RECEPTOR 17's Vehigallery: Nov 17th - #FCN30 Challenges

Croeso and hello one and all! I marvellously caved into my racing desires and nabbed the Ultimate edition yesterday for some racing nonsense and Forzatography in one of my favourite game series to date with Horizon. Now we’re in my home country of the UK, I cannot be more excited than I am now to race my beloved British cars and more through the glens and roads of Scotland and taking photos of them for your consumption.

So a little about me, I’m your average insanely random, randomly insane Welshman who likes to take a few snaps in Forza’s games since Horizon 2 came around, despite having played since 2007 with the original Forza Motorsport. I started the whole Screenshot/Picture taking thing in the Halo series, but decided to move onto Forza as well, as the established community here is awesome and the challenge to take great pictures is much greater.

I’m a proud member of the FTC (Forzatography Collective), who’ve helped me improve my pictures over the past year or so in FM6 and 7 and also in FH2 and 3 but I’m still a little less well known for quality images, with with just the one winning screenshot to my name in FH3, but I try to be active and add more to this community whenever I can, just need to keep the creative juices flowing.

Anyway enough of all that, let’s get on with the pics below!

17 out.

Winning Photos in Competitions

WINNER HORIZON 3 - PHOTOCOMP 21:

Nightbridge:

So then, after dealing with a very badly behaved Router with my BT HomeHub, here’s the first batch of photos! It feels so surreal driving around familiar sights from the UK, whether it’s tje sign posts, the scenery, or even the plastic giant ice cream cones outside the Scottish newsagents!

So to start the Set, I used the WRX 2005, in the livery I made that is a replica of the Hot Wheels’ Track Stars toy model of this very car from 2007 in the autumn:

And next the Hyundai Veloster in the melting snow of winter:

The first group’s a little short, but there’s more to come, including some R390 shots and experimentation with night.

Thanks for stopping by!

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I like this sooo much… kinda makes me miss winter

Many thanks! I was really happy with how that turned out as well. At least niw you can enjoy Winter on demand with FH4.

And I am back after a few more days of playing (and contending with a very temperamental HomeHub…), this time with some experimental shots and a few scenery ones too!

So to kick it off we’re going to start with a car that is very close to my heart, the Ford Capri. My dad owns a Mk III Laser version of the model and I made a replica of the livery for it back in FH2 and have carried it over ever since through the editions of Horizon and Motorsport (incidentally, if you want the livery, just search for my GT or “Dad’s Capri” in the livery bit for the car.) This time it’s a typical sunset photo as the rich colours of FH4 are just too good to pass up for some photorealism:

Next we have a host of shots featuring the stunning Jaguar CX75 form Spectre. I love this car’s design to bits and with the metallic flake green I did, it looks even better in monochrome and in colour with some experimental action shots:

I wasn’t too sure if this was too stark in the style I did, but I’m happy with the look of speed centered on the car itself. Next are some more orthodox photos:

And a pair of monochrome shots too close this set out finally, the rear just looks gorgeous with its lines:

Next we have some shots of another Bond car, this time a more brutal looking muscly Aston Martin, with another paint job of mine. I went for a little humour with the position of the car outside the Taxi place near Derwent, as if it was a posh unexpected luxury Taxi for someone.

Finally a 390 set after the Wheelspins were kind enough to donate one to me. I’m not sure which one I like better out of these two, as I was experimenting and framing the streetlamps:

Aaaaand finally (yes, finally) here’s a scenery shot I took, as you cannot get more british than the giant ice cream cone outside a corner shop in a touristy area!

And that is everything for now. Once again, thank you so much for popping by and seeing my work, any comments/critiques etc are as always, welcomed.

Thanks again!

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I like the second black and white jaguar shot!

While the first few updates are not a bad start. I would like to see a bit more variety in the composition department. Now what is my overall favourite. It has to be the following shot

Nice pictures. Really like the Veloster ones.

What car is in your signature?


The lighting you happened to capture in this shot is great!

I agree here, lovely work! I also really like this one:

Thanks BV! Was a little worried I clipped it too closely at the bottom, but I think it just about worked out. I might try some more B&W shots in that style with some other angular cars in various seasons too.

Always appreciate the critiques you give Pebb, I’m looking into maybe trying some new compositions, I’m just having some trouble trying to find one that just feels “right”, but I did experiment with my next batch below. Glad you liked the darker 390 shot, I was really happy when I framed the streetlamps up.

Thank you Vaillant! The car in my signature is the Jaguar F type from FM7 in one of my solar stripe liveries. I’ll likely update it soon with an FH4 photo I like and can adjust. The Veloster worked so well in the snowy winter. Can’t wait to get that season back next week to make more.

Yes I was so glad I got that one just right and with the exhaust flames, considering the new photo mode button selection makes it much more difficult. Thank you very much, I’ve stuck it into Photocomp1 to see how it fares.

Alright and with that, time to sort out my newest batch of photos, which I’ll be posting here later on tonight after some well earned food.

Thanks again for stopping by peeps!

Well it’s been a while with real life being an absolute bar steward. But I’m back with those piccies I promised as Storm Callum bears down on my outside my humble abode.

So let’s start off with an NSX set, when I was working on completing the Autumn Forzathon challenge. I tried to follow up on the advice Pebb gave me on some composition changes, so I did experiment a touch with some new angles and a close up, but I do need to expand further from my comfort zone in the future.

It’s not often I do close up shots as I always have trouble framing them right, but I’m really happy with this one of the NSX’s rear:

And finally a just as rare vertical shot:

So after all that Autumn Forzathon nonsense, I started to play about with a classic Austin Healy 2000 Mk III, with a cheeky Autobot symbol included as I was using it as a photo reference for a fellow TF nut friend of mine:

I wasn’t too sure if the next too were a touch too washed out, but the inability to switch of headlights didn’t help. I hope they do patch that in the future, I miss it a lot.

Next, after winning the frankly gorgeous Alfa 8C FE in a Wheelspin, it was rude to simply not drive it around and try out some photos with it:

And finally one of my favourite shots thus far up on the hills overlooking the Forth:

And finally, a pair of bonus ones using a wonderful little dirt buggy:

And that’s it, thank you once again for stopping by! Now, back to the photo taking and tryign my hand at the Photocomps…

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When some people see this shot, they might think it is basic. But in my view that is far from the truth. Reason being if someone just focuses on one part of a car, basic shots can be captured. But once more parts of a car are included into a shot that focuses on an area. Then the shot starts to become a bit more complex.

Now how do I feel you have done on the whole. First let’s talk about the vignette. For such a choise of car cololour and how much exposure has been used. I think you have chosen the right vignette mode and amount of vignette. Next what about the aperture.

As I have said in the past, shots can turn out well with no aperture in some cases. However for the shot mentioned by me, you have chosen the correct amount. Not only does it mean enough of the background is out of focus. It also allows people’s eyes to be drawn to the correct parts of such a car.

Last but not least, it’s time to talk about the lighting and saturation, so here I go. For such a style of shot, your choice of saturation and lighting allows the shot to be soft on the eyes. And to me that is a good thing for the choice of car colour and layout.

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Well, words nearly fail me, thank you very much indeed for that in depth analysis and compliment on that NSX shot, I think it’s up there in my top 10 of shots I have taken, especially from the technical standpoint you wrote above.

But I am back again with a literal bucket load of photos from the past 3 weeks dipping in and out of the game and toiling with whatever illness my work colleagues have graciously donated to me…

So let’s start with the most recents during Winter’s Season a while back, this time running with my old favourite in the game, the Audi Quattro (I seriously squee’d out loud when I realised that this was DCI Gene Hunt’s Quattro from Ashes to Ashes when the guy described the bullet holes etc.). I tried going experimental with a few shots, including some sepia/mono shots and a vertical one as well:

Framing the car and church with this vertical shot was a tricky business, but I think I framed it well in the end. For some reason the snowy surroundings always makes me think of the live action 101 Dalmatians film, for some weird reason.

Couldn’t decide which was better for this particular piece, the colour of the sepia to give a classic feel:

And finally, something very popular with the UK in winter is “Gritter Watch”, where we track the gritters out of the road we have come to love with their superb publicly voted names. I was rather disappointed that the Turn10/Playground teams failed to add some of the nicknames on the trucks. Itsy Bitsy Teensy Weensy Yellow Anti-Slip Machiney may have been a bit too long, but David Plowie deserved to be added!

With the photo itself, I tried to add just a teensy smidge of colour to the shot, to add a little extra feel to the shot and help divide the Quattro from the Gritter

Next into the winter came my beloved Mini rocking a new wintry livery I improved upon from my old FH2 concoction, the metallic blue flake seemed to before the snows perfectly in this rally-esque run and look:

I think this one might be my favourite form the triple set. The snow being kicked up over the brow of the hill just captured the fun compacted into that car when designed to Rally:

Aaaand finally to round it off with a touch of Spring is a double photo of the VW Corrado VR6, which was my first ever car in FH1, so it holds a special place in my heart and camera lens. It was fun to try a fresh rear shot and I think I caught this one perfectly with the muted colours and angle.

And that’s everything for now! I have a Summer set featuring a Porsche for later, but until then, thank you once more for stopping by and as aleways, any and all Comments/Critiques are welcome.

17 out.


Definitely framed well! While I get where you with going with having the church in focus, a little aperture to blur it might have worked better. I say that because the shadows on objects tend to fall off at a certain distance and look weird, so if the object (church) isn’t in focus, you don’t notice as much and the photo presents better (I’m talking very minimal aperture, maybe 10-20 in this instance)

Thank you very much for the advice and critique peeps! I’ve taken that on board and tried to go with a little more aperture in a [(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4883/45802497891_35264a18fe_c.jpg)]similar shot](![) as part of this photodump today.

Thanks BV and Pebb!

Glad you liked the NSX shots BV, the read photo I think is one of my best in any Forza title.

Pebb, I’m happy that one gave you a smile, it was a lot of fun to do in the snow and to frame it up.

So onto a fresh batch of nonsense as I catch up with it all before my trip to the US for Thanksgiving to meet my future Outlaws. This one is another eclectic photodump mix, as it includes photos from the #FCN30 challenge being done with new themes each day throughout November. But first, some fun I had in summer with a bright yellow Porsche.

Next are some Lotus Exige shots, I’m trying some closer shots again now with the side photo of the Exige in the 2nd photo, this was from the first theme of #FCN30, choosing my favourite car. Whilst I have no singular fave, the Exige has been a car of choice throughout the Horizon titles, taking on every Goliath:

And now for some singulars in an #FCN30 mix with each theme listed above the corresponding photos:

Macro:

I very rarely try these kinds of shots, so I was very happy to frame this one well.

Scenery:

American Muscle:

Black and White:

Sepia:

High Contrast:

And that’s it for the moment, got a few more to post before I fly, but until then thanks again for stopping by! As always any critiques/comments are welcomed!

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Loving all the shots!!! Those NSX shots are amazing !!!

Nice job! but I will have added a little bit of aperture for the background, a little bit; Otherwise the photo is beautiful as it is!

Seeing this shot brought a smile to my face.