Since 1999, Dudek, who is based in Hamburg, has been the man behind the lens for many of the world's major car manufacturers. Indeed, thanks to him, the exquisite luxury and style of BMW, Chrysler, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota have been captured and displayed in the electronic shop-window that is the Web. Dudek's introduction to Hasselblad was to use the H1 with an Ixpress CF 528 back, shooting the Crossfire on behalf of Chrysler. The objective was to obtain the images that would enable a visitor to Chrysler's web site to navigate 360o around the car. 
"When I used the CF 528 with the H1 for the first time, I made a point of analysing the aspects in the shots that are really noticeable to the trained eye - such as the gradients on the car, the edges and smaller details - and was very impressed. Once I had taken the first image from the software, I saw the picture and thought it was great - and that was just the preview!"
More recently, Dudek, a digital photographer for the last 11 years, was commissioned by legendary prestige sports car manufacturer, Bugatti, for the online promotion of its latest 'Veyron' model. Dudek used a Hasselblad H3D camera for the shoot, capturing the more detailed interior shots with the 120mm macro lens, which he found particularly impressive: "The 120mm is truly a great lens and offers a level of sharpness that I've not previously experienced - it's unbelievable. You feel as if you are actually in the picture as it contains no technical faults whatsoever", he comments. | | "For the Bugatti shoot, I also used the Hasselblad 50-110mm zoom lens. As with other shoots of this kind, we needed to photograph a fly-around of the car that would enable users to literally 'move' around the car and see it from all angles. To achieve that, we needed very large format shots that we could use for detailed crops. The low level of the roof in the studio presented a challenge in that I was not able to take the shots from the same distance all around the car, but with the zoom lens, I was easily able to overcome the space limitation." Adds Dudek, "We used long exposure times of twenty seconds, which was essential for the look we wanted and the various parts of the picture we were trying to capture. I shot each in turn and then pulled the different images together in one composition. Usually on a CCD with this length of exposure time, you would get noise, but we didn't." For Dudek, the versatility and control enjoyed with the H2 camera makes it a real winner, "In the old days of shooting cars, I usually needed a studio camera on which I could correct everything - the perspective, the focus and the lens - but this was never a quick solution and was always very time consuming." "With Hasselblad's H3D, you have a camera that you can simply pick up and enjoy a much faster, more flexible point-and-shoot capability. It is also far more compact and offers very good control. Because you have the live picture, you can set up the light correctly and just make quick, periodic checks to ensure it remains the same." "As the light intensity varies for each shot," he continues, "I use layer technology to control the light more precisely after the shoot. I take different shots of the same image and then merge them together in Photoshop, adjusting the light as necessary." | | Dudek has also expressed interest in the new Hasselblad H3D-39, "The H3D-39 certainly looks impressive - I mean who wouldn't want 39 megapixels? This increased resolution presents even more possibilities and an even greater level of detail in the image. I particularly like the fact that, with the lens data and capture conditions known, the captured image can automatically be corrected for chromatic aberration. This is a very interesting aspect of the camera for me. I guess this is about the limit of photographic technology right now - excluding anything that the military have!"
Concludes Dudek, "Taking into account its functionality, incredible resolution and efficient workflow capability, the H3D is really the only contender when it comes to choosing a high-end photographic solution."
"Basically as a photographer, you want your equipment to perform, but you also want it to look sexy. It's all about having a balance and the H3D has all the key areas of technology covered, with added sex appeal to boot. As far as I'm concerned, no other camera can match it." |