85-BNB-5

I bought a new camera I would like to start truckspotting, I have a highway 5km from my house but I'm too scared to go

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If you find a nice quite spot with good vision on the highway there isn't really anything to be scared of. Do you have a overpass or do you need to find a spot next to the highway?

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This looks like a good place, a quite overpass over the E42 near Huy. I look forward to your highway spots. What camera have you bought?

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Congratulations on the new camera, I hope it will bring you many enjoyable moments in the future.

Highway truck photography is great!!! I have a highway, just 3 minutes walk from my home, and I love going there. There will always be people who are againt having photos taken of their vehicles, but one of the advantages of highway photos vs. other locations is, that it's almost impossible for an upset driver to stop and confront you, so there's not really anything to worry about in that regard. They may make rude gestures or honk, but that's about it... and the honk can also sometimes be a friendly greeting, that's the weird thing: in most cases you'll never find out if you were being greeted or cursed at, unless your photo happens to cath a facial expression as well. To counter the negative responses, you can also expect to see quite a lot of positive response, especially from truckers in nice looking trucks... as a rule of thumb: the more plain, neglected and unmarked a truck is, the more the driver tends to see himself as just a private person doing a job, and your camera as an infringement on his/her privacy. And the better looking and well cared for the truck, the more likely that the driver sees trucking as a lifestyle and his/her truck as a treasured second home - such a driver will tend to be flattered, happy and proud of the attention.

A few more things:
Lighting conditions are very important. I know that some prefer to shoot on semi-cloudy days to avoid too hard shadows, but keep in mind that highway traffic is moving fast, so you'll need a fast shutter speed and if there's not a lot of light, this could be a problem. Also, sunlight on paint really makes it shine and sparkle, compared to the more dull shades you'll get without sun, which leads me straight to...

+4

Photo angles... There's a site called suncalc (www.suncalc.org), here you can find the exact position of the sun on an exact time and location. Use this to find the very best shooting time for your location. In my opinion, the very best sun angle is exactly on the near front corner of the traffic you wish to take photos of - this will ensure full light on both the front and the visible side of the truck, and the shadows will be on the other side, so not interfering with your photo. If the sun is too head on, it will cause the license plate to reflect like crazy. Bridges/overpasses are great photo spots and particularly useful if the sun angles are problemtic, since you'll be pointing down, and thereby reducing the risk of over-exposure. This may be a matter of personal preferences, but I really like to use lower angles, so not from bridges/overpasses, but from the side of the road, maybe even from very low perspective, looking up. You can do this if you're very close to the road and focus on traffic in the near side lane, so moving in from the left, and you point the camera at their front right corner, maybe kneeling or bending your knees to get a low angle. This will make the trucks appear huge and impressive, and since they're so close, details will be nice and sharp (just be prepared for a shock when somebody activates an air horn right next to you! Mostly this is meant as a salute, but man, it's soooo loud! )

If you take DutchPlateSpotter's suggested location as a starting point, try to look it up on Google Earth or similar and search for a nearby location offering a lower vantage point, so you'll have two very different spots to alternate between. Use Suncalc to find the best times to shoot... also keeping in mind, that while international transports are active on all days, other types of trucks may only be active on workdays... oh, and finally: be aware of traffic density on the particular highway you go to. You don't want to wait 5 minutes between trucks, but you also don't want to get caught in intense rush hour traffic, where it's almost impossible to get a single clear shot.

Good luck!

+3

yeah, it's the e42 which is near my home. I know that there are buses that pass nearby. and a motorway bridge a little lost towards amon sotia. it is a highway which passes from liege towards haineaux and france. I think I have to take my courage and try. I bought a really basic nikon d5000 to start with and I'm learning how to adjust it a bit

+1

Thanks for all those tips, I can use them too!

0

Nothing basic about that camera, much better than the one I've got. Very cool! You're lucky with being in Belgium, there are several overpasses for you to choose between. Just try the place you feel the most comfortable with. I haven't gotten any negative reactions yet, only truckers flashing and using air horns, it gives you a mental boost everytime. You'll have to get into it for maybe like 5 to 10 minutes, but after that you can't stop. You'll see so many cool trucks and exotic plates too.

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wow, thanks for the many tips, I think tomorrow or during the week. i will go and try but i don't promise anything

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it is especially your last point that motivate me (plates)

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I spontaneously get the urge to make motorway spots again!

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I'd like to see more of your highway spots!

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And? Did you go to the highway already?

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I think about it every day but I resumed classes and therefore impossible to go. To go there I have to be off on a Saturday or Friday and have nothing to do and the weather looks good. If all are gathered, I am leaving. If I gain confidence, I may go several times but you have to know that it is far and isolated. I asked my brother to come with me but even he doesn't want to

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The best for me is to go by bike and arrive at a gas station which is 6km away from my home. But for that I have to set off my bike again. If I had a car it would have been much faster but I study a lot to have it and with the situation they closed the school so

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Ahh I understand, schools starts tomorrow for me again. Maybe wait for the summer. It was sunny this friday so I went another time, I got loads of cool trucks and plates. Even a new country for me and another Russian branded vehicle. It looks like a cool place to go spotting tho, maybe when I have my license I'll make a pit stop there on my way to Italy and do a spotting day there.

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The weather helps a lot tho, in January I had to throw away more than half of my pics because they were blurred. Yesterday, almost every picture was good quality so I didn't have to throw many away.

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yeah but we arrive at the right time, March, April and May, etc. are the best months to spot.

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for this summer I would like to go with my girlfriend who is Moroccan in her country but with the covid it will be complicated. I would like too much to go in to take thousands and thousands of car photos, i like to do this

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