I have been a special effects photographer for nearly 30 years. Having photographed 100s of cars there is nothing wrong with the paint. It is a metallic silver that was lit incorrectly. The door ground effects are reflecting the ground is all.
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[This message has been edited by infinitewill (edited 07-10-2013).]
Have been a special effects photographer forvnearly 30 years. Having photographed 100s of cars there is nothing wrong with the paint. It is a metallic silver that was lit incorrectly. The door ground effects are reflecting the ground is all.
Dr. W.
OK..... That maybe so, but I would still figure GM would have touched that up to reflect the consistent color stripe at bottom of the car rather than something that looks mismatched.
It could be the lighting conditions, but it could also just be an OOPS... I'm also a Shelby enthusiast and something they used to do in order to save money was take the same car and paint it over and over again for different shows and photo shoots. Looks like Pontiac could have done the same...
I'd blame it on poor use of lighting... you can see the reflections on both front and rear bumper corners from an apparent artificial light source which makes me think they took a large number of pictures at various angles and picked the one which showed a complete profile of the "new for '86" body style while taking advantage of the natural surroundings of the shoot location.
Another light source below the camera could've likely resulted in an unbecoming glare on the body of the car which isn't great for showcasing a new product. But I'm not a photographer; however, I have done a bit of live video recording for archival/broadcast purposes.
Yea, they popped a flash at the front of the car, and a second one at the rear, which was perhaps not as bright. Probably due to the width of the wheels, none got onto the lower rockers (although the rest of the door is well-lit, which is strange...).
Probably just an unfortunate bit with the lighting. Move the light an inch closer and I bet it wouldn't look so odd.
Yea, they popped a flash at the front of the car, and a second one at the rear, which was perhaps not as bright. Probably due to the width of the wheels, none got onto the lower rockers (although the rest of the door is well-lit, which is strange...).
Probably just an unfortunate bit with the lighting. Move the light an inch closer and I bet it wouldn't look so odd.
Even so ....it really does look like the middle is black and the ends are silver. Look at the shadowed area on the back silver part ...and compare it to the middle. They don't look the same. The back looks like silver ...in shadow. The middle just looks black
I don't care how bad your lighting is, you will NEVER get that black in the middle. you can see the red refection off the black paint in the middle there. that is most definitely black not silver there.
the fact that you can see the flash bounce off the edges of the middle black part shows there was more then enough lighting to illuminate the proper color on the side of that car. unless those black parts were under the car and a light was over the car to make a shadow in that area with high contrast you would still see some silver and not totally black.
I don't care how bad your lighting is, you will NEVER get that black in the middle. you can see the red refection off the black paint in the middle there. that is most definitely black not silver there.
the fact that you can see the flash bounce off the edges of the middle black part shows there was more then enough lighting to illuminate the proper color on the side of that car. unless those black parts were under the car and a light was over the car to make a shadow in that area with high contrast you would still see some silver and not totally black.
Explain the rear wheel then... I agree with Will. The low side of car was shadowed due the flash being shadowed by the front and rear wheels. Look how far the light comes forward on the trailing edge of the rear fascia as well as the leading edge of the front. It's just a poorly lit photo during a sunset... thinking about the tools of the day, if it is a real background, that was a REALLY tricky exposure with that much backlighting...
Actually when I look at the rear wheel...it looks obviously silver (but in shadow) ......which is what I would expect to see in the middle section (if it were silver), but I don't. In fact that is one of the reasons I think that middle section is black instead of (just) deep shadow.
** Edit** And as I look closer at the black section (and I am now 100% convinced it is black), I notice that just behind the front wheel it is partially lit and it doesn't look at all silver...it still looks black ...just lighter
[This message has been edited by 92wastheyear (edited 07-11-2013).]
I have to go with a badly lit and exposed picture. I doubt the car is "on location" either. The silver of the wheels will not have the same reflectance as the silver paint, which has small metal flakes in it that can redirect light. This same principle can be applied to the over exposed front where the silver paint looks almost white. Typical 80's camera and lighting tech. I would surmise the car was photographed in a dark building with bright floods for and aft. The background was added later. The whole composition then could have been over/under exposed to balance it out.
eh............I say its black plain and simple. Just the result of an idiot painter and an even more idiot in the fact checker or design reviewer. They probably seen the color of the base model ground effect was black and just assumed it was the same for the GT. They probably seen the aero nose and back end in a picture somewhere was painted silver and went with that, not giving too much thought to the fact of continuity between the sides and the front and rear. S**t like this happens every day I'm sure. I would have figured there would be more of an attention to detail especially since this was the debut year for the fastback that was to take the Fiero world by storm!! LOL
Nothing gets by us "experts" in the field. It only took 27 years to call them out on it. I'm sure the casual car brochure browser wouldn't have noticed or cared about this about this visual oversight. The cars sold just fine despite this. After all, most people make their decisision from the car on the lot, not a badly lit photo such as this!!
Adding my two cents worth, I agree, black on the center, grey on the ends.
I do have to ask, wasn't in 86 and 87 and option to get the two tone color the car to be black? I had a factory red 86 SE with black trip, and I have seen 87 blue SE's with black trim. I don't know if I have seen an 85 that way though. Do you think they were showing the two different two tone options on this car?
Nothing gets by us "experts" in the field. It only took 27 years to call them out on it. I'm sure the casual car brochure browser wouldn't have noticed or cared about this about this visual oversight. The cars sold just fine despite this. After all, most people make their decisision from the car on the lot, not a badly lit photo such as this!!
In 1986 I was all set to buy the new Fastback Fiero GT, but I said there is no way I want car with silver trim on the fascia and black trim on the doors and rockers.
I think this is what caused sales to crater and led to the cancellation two years later!
In 1986 I was all set to buy the new Fastback Fiero GT, but I said there is no way I want car with silver trim on the fascia and black trim on the doors and rockers.
I think this is what caused sales to crater and led to the cancellation two years later!
Adding my two cents worth, I agree, black on the center, grey on the ends.
I do have to ask, wasn't in 86 and 87 and option to get the two tone color the car to be black? I had a factory red 86 SE with black trip, and I have seen 87 blue SE's with black trim. I don't know if I have seen an 85 that way though. Do you think they were showing the two different two tone options on this car?
Chris
86 SEs had dark grey ground effects... beyond that, I'm not sure as I've not seen any later year coupes with any gfx beyond a normal rocker. All of my extra panels are in storage and at least one rear fascia was thrown out when I moved because of a couple really bad tears and some mold finding a home on the part (I'm pretty allergic and didn't want to risk storing any cultures in with my furniture).
They may have tried to make it look like it fit with lighting but its actually black trim in the middle there is no way lighting could account for a tonal difference that great even with highly reflective surfaces involved and the gravel is not.
In 1986 I was all set to buy the new Fastback Fiero GT, but I said there is no way I want car with silver trim on the fascia and black trim on the doors and rockers.
Faced with first-person testimony, I concede the point and slink slowly back to my corner.
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 07-13-2013).]
... but I don't agree with you on this one.
