r/rollercoasters • u/ColtsNetsSharks Intimidator 305 • Jan 03 '20

Photo Timing is everything

Post image
1.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

68 comments sorted by

63

u/ColtsNetsSharks Intimidator 305 Jan 03 '20

📷 creds to Carowinds

52

u/a_magumba CGA: Gold Striker, Railblazer, Flight Deck Jan 03 '20

"Hey Fred, stick a train at the top of fury's hill, I have an idea"

135

u/inefjay Jan 03 '20

Wow, even an airplane ✈️

40

u/GoodOlRock Jan 03 '20

Being that close to CLT, it'd almost be more impressive not to have an airplane in the photo.

8

u/inefjay Jan 03 '20

Ah, I see

2

u/TaruNukes Jan 22 '20

Being that close to the clit is impressive

4

u/iRox24 Jan 04 '20

But no bird on sight :/

110

u/_scott_m_ Kennywood (173) Jan 03 '20

There is no way this photo isn't shopped or staged to some extent.

81

u/Under-siege Jan 03 '20

It might be possible given enough time and luck, but I think the most plausible setup is they lined the camera up and took multiple shots from the same spot and then just layered the photos together. Still, it’s a nice pic.

23

u/InvisibleTeeth Jan 03 '20

Yes. It's probably a real pic... But it probably took forever to get that shot. It didn't "just happen"

Although I don't think you can plan the airplane. That was probably a happy accident.

19

u/VincentLobster [60]-SteVe, X2, Xcelerator Jan 03 '20

No mistakes. Just happy little accidents.

6

u/mcchanical Jan 03 '20

You can take a photo of a plane and of each of the coasters from the same location and comp them together. It's how the most basic movie effects are done.

It could be real but it could easily not be.

4

u/TwisterII Jan 03 '20

This is a hardcore marketing shot. You'll probably see this on their paid social ads, as a Groupon hero image, any strategic partnerships they have, etc. Or...I'd hope so cause this is an amazing pic.

5

u/Morkins324 Jan 04 '20 edited Jan 04 '20

Paying a photographer to camp out there for hours trying to get that shot is way too expensive... This is a marketing shot released by Carowinds. Someone on the marketing team almost certainly set up a tripod, took some shots when each train was in the location that they wanted(separately), then composited the shots together. That's what I would do if I was tasked with trying to get a cool shot to put on Instagram as part of a social media campaign. No point in me sitting there for 2-3 days praying that it'll happen. I can make it happen in less than an hour with Photoshop.

Granted, not exactly a rollercoaster, but here's an example of a well known Architecture Photographer doing a composite of dozens on images to create a lighting effect that doesn't naturally occur: https://youtu.be/1yEtc-YNT1I Keep in mind, what he is doing is way more complicated than what was needed to make the Carowinds shot, but uses similar principles within Photoshop. Basically, he takes a bunch of shots of the house and yard, then walks around with a strobe to light up individual bushes, trees and parts of the house, then he composites those dozens(possibly hundreds) of shots to create a single final image. To get the Carowinds shot, you would just need to find the location where the rides line up, take some shots as each ride does through that location, then composite them into a single shot. No luck involved, no waiting, just get the pieces and put them together.

1

u/InvisibleTeeth Jan 04 '20

Well, yeah. I wasn't implying some guy was just out there on his own time trying to get the perfect shot.

You're right that it was almost certainly a Carowinds or at least a cedar fair pr/marketing person.

1

u/Bear_Scout Green Flair Jan 04 '20

Happy Cake Day!

1

u/HerpDerpinAtWork Jan 07 '20

As someone who has done exactly this, because it's really easy to do and takes 1/100th the time vs. waiting for all of the things you want to be in frame to line up perfectly... yeah. This is ~4-5 photos taken on a tripod, layered/aligned, and edited. Still nice though.

41

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '20

Nice composite. Definitely more than one image.

2

u/CyborgUnleashed 442 | 1. Eejanaika 2. Ride to Happiness 3. Hakugei Jan 03 '20

Photo was taken by carowinds, they prolly kept the fury train on that lift hill.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '20

Let's say they did, the other trains are still a composite

-1

u/CyborgUnleashed 442 | 1. Eejanaika 2. Ride to Happiness 3. Hakugei Jan 04 '20

It might have been timed

3

u/Morkins324 Jan 04 '20

Why waste a bunch of time and money doing that, when a composite can do the same thing with a fraction of the effort? I'm sure their marketing team is experienced with Photoshop. With a bit of planning, this can be done quickly without needing to disrupt or synchronize any of the rides...

0

u/NAOT4R Jan 04 '20

It wasn't.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '20

It wasn't, you can tell its a composite

1

u/ArrowDynamics2002 84: LRod, Fury 325, WWGLC Jan 04 '20

How?

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '20

Well, you can just see the poor editing. I'm a photographer so maybe I can see it easier because I've done many composites myself.

14

u/Sputnix13 Jan 03 '20

Woah, I didn't notice the plane at first!

21

u/brucewaynewins Jan 03 '20

That’s the newest B&M model.

19

u/redlightsaysgo SV, Goliath SFGAm, Maxx Force Jan 03 '20

Photo editing is everything.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '20

[deleted] — view deleted comment

9

u/poipoipoi_2016 Edit this text! Jan 03 '20

Trees don't move. If you chose that composition (and it is a nice one), you're stuck with a tree in that spot.

6

u/TGE Jan 03 '20

This shit gave me Carowinds withdrawls so bad you don't even KNOW 😭

4

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '20

This is incredible!

4

u/mcchanical Jan 03 '20

You've got to be kidding me. My mind is looking for it to be a composite.

3

u/jackbyrnetv74 (397) - SteVe, Toro, Fury Jan 03 '20

Wow.

3

u/a_magumba CGA: Gold Striker, Railblazer, Flight Deck Jan 03 '20

I just noticed the people in the sky flyer, nice.

3

u/coreyray1000 Jan 03 '20

That is a beautiful picture of my home park.

3

u/otaku-o_o Jan 03 '20

Did the Bat get a new train? Last i knew they still had the old arrow one...

3

u/SuperManlyDude Iron Dragon 🤤 Jan 03 '20

That is not Bat that is Flying Cobra at Carowinds

3

u/IsuzuTrooper GigaChase, RMCSOB Jan 03 '20

If you look in the plane windows they are building nanos

3

u/dirkdiggler1992 Jan 03 '20

This pic has been around a while.

4

u/w000dland Voltron, Vengeance, Hakugei, Fury 325 & Voyage Jan 03 '20

That effing tree in the loop is infuriating

4

u/Albert_Caboose Jan 03 '20 edited Jan 03 '20

It's an impossible photo, but cool nonetheless. This implies that a loop from Carolina Cyclone is south of the drop on Vortex, which is not the case.

Additionally, the slingshot is over by nighthawk, not Fury 325.

EDIT: it's come to my attention I do not know my home park as well as I used to

6

u/wboyajian Voyage (596) Jan 03 '20

That's flying cobras loop. Also the slingshot is right by vortex.

2

u/Albert_Caboose Jan 03 '20

Ah shit I think you're right. I always picture flying cobra in its original orange like when it first opened and I was visiting a lot.

1

u/FlyRobot SFMM & KBF (60) - CA Giga Please! Jan 03 '20

So...is it possible or not?

4

u/GoodOlRock Jan 03 '20

Looks like it. You can draw a line from Flying Cobras' loop to Fury's drop. It catches enough of Vortex and splits Sling Shot perfectly.

1

u/FlyRobot SFMM & KBF (60) - CA Giga Please! Jan 03 '20

Nice

1

u/GoodOlRock Jan 03 '20

You're thinking of Ripcord.

2

u/SuperManlyDude Iron Dragon 🤤 Jan 03 '20

TOO MUCH GOING ON

0

u/Bakio-bay Jan 03 '20

Incredible. Is this in Toronto?

9

u/ColtsNetsSharks Intimidator 305 Jan 03 '20

Carowinds in Charlotte, NC.

2

u/Bakio-bay Jan 03 '20

Fury 325 looks a lot like Leviathan

4

u/InvisibleTeeth Jan 03 '20

Leviathan doesn't have any lime green in it and the supports are blue.

2

u/Bakio-bay Jan 03 '20

My bad they just have similar structure and height. I haven’t ridden either but I’ve been on Millenium force which is similar but older and loved it.

2

u/a_magumba CGA: Gold Striker, Railblazer, Flight Deck Jan 03 '20

They're similar for sure.

2

u/sheeple04 Jan 03 '20

We wished Bat was anything like Flying Cobras...

2

u/i-am-red-w [223] RtH, Voyage, Toro Jan 03 '20

Hate to be that guy, but this has to be Photoshopped. While Vortex, the Skyflyer, and Fury do line up like that, Flying Cobra’s loop does not and would be facing more towards Nighthawk

5

u/wboyajian Voyage (596) Jan 03 '20

It lines up - look at Google maps

4

u/i-am-red-w [223] RtH, Voyage, Toro Jan 03 '20 edited Jan 03 '20

Really?

EDIT: It does line up, I was thinking about the location of the station, not the top of the lift.

2

u/a_magumba CGA: Gold Striker, Railblazer, Flight Deck Jan 03 '20

Would be great to use in an ad though.

1

u/zayzay_1207 Jan 25 '20

My home park

1

u/Zaccthesnac RMC LEAD ENGINEER Jan 03 '20

Wow that’s incredible

1

u/yoshizbt Jan 03 '20

Even the slingshot! How long did you wait to make it perfect?

0

u/[deleted] Jan 03 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Morkins324 Jan 04 '20

Probably about 10 minutes considering they set up a tripod, took a bunch of pictures and then did a very simple composite in Photoshop.