Highway shield "photoshoots"

[Ian]

I'm loving the photos in this thread! As for me, I'm more of a fan of those shallow depth-of-field photos...

[KEVIN_224]

Unless the signs have changed from GSV's 2013 imagery, THIS gantry in Bangor has got to be the fuzzy collections of signs in the background:

https://goo.gl/maps/Exgz2UJ3QKn

[Ian]

Unless the signs have changed from GSV's 2013 imagery, THIS gantry in Bangor has got to be the fuzzy collections of signs in the background:

https://goo.gl/maps/Exgz2UJ3QKn

You are correct sir! And here's the shield in question:

https://goo.gl/maps/zG1MgPBpxfT2

[KEVIN_224]

I'm pretty much lost on Bangor. I've only been that far north once. That was 20 years ago, no less! All I remember is that we went past the building for MPBN. The bus I was on stopped at the terminal with the entrance for Bangor Airport across the way. The furthest north I've been since then is Augusta. I went to a big shopping plaza on the hill with Red Robin, etc. I saw the Augusta Civic Center down below in the distance. Usually, I'm just in and around Portland. I was last there this past Tuesday to (early) Thursday morning, crappy weather and all!

[Alex]

Taken yesterday on the newest section of the Wekiva Parkway. This shield, manufactured by National Traffic Signs, Inc. out of Clearwater, FL, is posted far to the right of the pavement edge. Sure beats the unsigns posted on the John Land Apopka Expressway further south.

[busman_49]

Rather than post all of the ones I have, here's an album of my sign photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/busman_49/albums/72157632094093334

Despite the poor lighting, this is one of my favorites:
P1010564 by Ryan busman_49, on Flickr

[jmd41280]

St. Augustine, FL

St. Augustine by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Greensburg, PA

Road Signs by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Near State College, PA (not a shield, but the background is nice nonetheless)

I-99 near Port Matilda, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Cumberland, MD

Cumberland, MD by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Near Lock Haven, PA (not a shield, but still a nice background)

I-80 near Lock Haven, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

[jmd41280]

Several more from the collection...

Cleveland, OH

US 6, US 20 & US 42 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Kingwood, WV

WV Route 7 descending from Kingwood by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Jacksonville, FL

I-295 East Beltway @ US 90 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

St. Augustine, FL

Seawall by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Geneva, OH

US 20 @ OH Route 534 - Geneva, OH by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Hershey, PA

US 422 @ PA Route 743 - Hershey, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Taneytown, MD

MD Route 140 @ MD Route 194 - Taneytown, MD by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Sorry for the excessive amount of photos.  I just have a lot of them in my collection...

[SignGeek101]

This one isn't really special, but it's one of my better ones:



Taken 11-13 August 2015 in the evening. Shows typical Prairie highway in the summer.

[Takumi]

I'm pretty sure I have some photos that would fit here. I'll have to dig through my archives.

Edit: here's one from a blog post I never finished. VA 165's south end at US 17 Business.

[Ian]

Took this one today on a trip up to Bloomsburg, PA for work.

[D-Dey65]

They were taken while driving in car. I like the junction spelled out.

Oh, me too. And I'm so disappointed NYSDOT Region #10 took that one along westbound NY 25 in The Village of the Branch down, before it approaches NY 111 and the east end of the NY 25A overlap.

For the record, that one was white with black lettering instead of what you've got here.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Trying to catch the magic of the deep woods, especially the wind in the tall trees and the smells of fresh pine that pervade rural northern Minnesota.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

This one's not so good because of the weather and lighting conditions I took it in.

Into the rain and mists we go.

[jmd41280]

State College, PA

US 322 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Rimersburg, PA

PA Route 68 @ PA Route 861 - Rimersburg, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Burnside, PA

PA Route 286 @ US 219 - Burnside, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Hershey, PA

East Chocolate Avenue - Hershey, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

McConnellsburg, PA

PA Route 16 shield - McConnellsburg, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Greencastle, PA

PA Route 16 near US 11 - Greencastle, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Prospect, PA

PA Route 488 - Prospect, PA by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Lisbon, OH

US 30 @ OH Routes 45, 154, 164, & 517 - Lisbon, OH by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

[paulthemapguy]

This one's not so good because of the weather and lighting conditions I took it in.

Into the rain and mists we go.

In the spirit of this post, what are some tips you guys have for taking sign photos when weather conditions are less than optimal?  How do you adjust/position your camera to get good photos when it's overcast or rainy?

[noelbotevera]

State College, PA

US 322 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

I recognize that scene...what date was it taken, cause I swear that funding sign is gone now.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

State College, PA

(clipped all)

Wow! I love these, especially how the springtime elements fit into all the shield shots.

[jmd41280]

State College, PA

US 322 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

I recognize that scene...what date was it taken, cause I swear that funding sign is gone now.

I took it way back on 10/26/2008.

[AsphaltPlanet]

This one's not so good because of the weather and lighting conditions I took it in.

Into the rain and mists we go.

In the spirit of this post, what are some tips you guys have for taking sign photos when weather conditions are less than optimal?  How do you adjust/position your camera to get good photos when it's overcast or rainy?

Probably the easiest thing to do on an overcast or rainy day to improve your photos is to increase your camera's ISO sensitivity.  This is particularly relevant from a moving car.  Increasing the ISO reduces the amount of light that you need to expose your camera's sensor, which can allow you to maintain a fast shutter speed and hopefully still get a clear photo.

Specifically, in the rain, the shiny roads can cause trouble for a lot of cameras to find focus with the camera's autofocus system.  You can always try to manual focus (leave the camera at focus infinity, for example), but there isn't an easy solution to always guaranteeing good photos in the rain.  Similarly, in a snowy environment, on an overcast day where there is a lot of salt on the roads, the camera will also have trouble finding focus, as there might not be a lot of contrast for the camera to search for.

One other note too, in general from a moving car, you generally don't want to set your camera's aperture (the f-stop) to an overly low value when taking sign photos, unless you are deliberately going for that effect.  Setting a low aperture, say at f 2.8 or f 3.2 will narrow the depth of field for you camera.  In my experience, from a moving car, it's better to use a higher aperture (say in the f 7.1 range) and a higher ISO, than it is the other way around.

All that said, the best photos will always come from the days when the light is the best.


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/Ontroads/407_ramp_400_west_sign_Sep15_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/Ontroads/A85_sign_sud-Nouveau-Brunswick_lg.jpg

[KEVIN_224]

Quebec Autoroute 85 SOUTH for New Brunswick...in that area north of northern Maine, I assume?

[AsphaltPlanet]

^ A-85 is always signed north/south.  I think this photo was taken about 30km north of the New Brunswick Border or so.

[jmd41280]

Red House, MD

US 219 @ US 50 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Fayetteville, PA

PA Route 233 @ US 30 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Fort Loudon, PA

PA Route 75 @ US 30 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Biglerville, PA

PA Route 234 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Kirtland, OH

OH Route 306 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Garrison, NY

NY Route 9D, US 6 & US 202 shields by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

Jacksonville, FL

FL Route 211 by Jon Dawson, on Flickr

[froggie]

PA 234 photo shows some useful context.

[paulthemapguy]

I have learned something from this thread...Include more context in the sign pictures.  Now when I take snapshots, I take two pictures of each sign.  The first is a close-up of the sign that centers the sign in the frame, so I can crop out the shield as a separate file (I collect these).  The second is a photo that puts the sign off to the right side so that the left and center sections show the road/scene itself.  This makes it more enjoyable for watchers (patrons?) because it's more a of a landscape shot.

Note:  I almost wrote "crap out" instead of "crop out"