Author Topic: Factory RGS pictures and Info  (Read 5683 times)

Offline roadrocket

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #30 on: 20.03. 2016 10:34 »
Since the crease runs down the middle, maybe it is a scan of the centrespread? I think it is firmly established both technically and aesthetically that the photo is not period.
Otto in Denmark

Offline BSA_54A10

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #31 on: 20.03. 2016 11:05 »
The photo of the two rockets is a composite photograph, reproduced in a motorcycle magazine then scanned and placed on the web.

When bikes go into a studio the photographer takes a lot more than 1 shot.

Still life photographers shoot things in brackets usually + & - a 1/2 stop because light meters are not as accurate as one would like.
Usually 3 shots but if the stylist is not quite sure they might do 10 going up and down a full stop in incriments,

Then the stylist will want it shot at different angles, different heights and with different lighting.
Nothing unusual to shoot 20 rolls of 36 images and only end up with 1 useable frame..
So yes the bikes were shot in the same studio against a corner which is curved at the join in the walls and curved again between the wall & floor.
And in this case it was a 3 wall cyc, you can see the missing wall in the refections. This is done to eliminate any horizon in the image so a backgrouns can be dropped in latter on of if it is product for a catalogue, like tyres or gloves, just the image of the object itself with clear clean lines. In movies this is the infamous "Blue Wall" shoot you hear about

The reflection of the light in the tank shows a clear white rectangle with a brighter white rectangle in the middle.
This is a box with shinny sides all round and a translucient diffuser in the front usually used to mimick window light on say a table of food and thus it was called a "Window box".
In this case they are illuminating the window box with neon tubes ( second brighter rectangle ) and these arer called Keno Flows , invented in the 80's to eliminate the flashing of a neon tube and to produce a tungsten coloured light as the film industry is standardised on tungsten light. Although they are generally used as back lighting to soften or remove shaddows.

The art director gives a photographer a brief and in this case it was "evoke the feeling of the 60's"
You look at the photo and you immediatly flash back to the 60's in your mind. The image does not say I AM GREAT BUY ME NOW which is what factory publicity photos would evoke.
The number plate is a dead give away.

So the magazine stylist gave the photographer a pile of old BSA catalogues so he could work out the framing.
The art director assembled the page to resemble a BSA advertisement with the bannar slogans and of course the second page spec sheet.

Some on has lifted the images , scanned them , fixed up the page joint & posted it on the web

Why paint in a cable but not photograph it ?
SHADOWS that make the bike look like it is broken or has a crack.
An artist does not need to paint in a shadow but the phtorapher has to shoot it so the shadow does not fall some where that ruins the image.
So the easy fix is to remove the offending cable.
Most bikes that appear in catalogues or publicity photos are not real bikes but preproduction prototypes so the advertising material could get distributed before the actual bikes arrived.
Bike Beesa
Trevor

Offline BSA_54A10

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #32 on: 20.03. 2016 11:31 »
couple of points
I can't see a crease, which photo am I suposed to be looking at.
Secondly computers were in their infancy it this time, I don't know if Photoshop or any other capable programme was around, possibly but would have cost an arm and a leg

Look at where the goldie muffler crosses in front of the wheel.
There is a break in the reflection which makes a grey vertical line.
The wheel rim behind has a flat spot and of course the tyre is a funny shape.
Folow the line in the muffler up to the reflection in th frame tube above the oil tank, again a break in the reflection where it should not be.
Directly above that the white piping on the seat has a little discontinious step in it and this leads to the broad grey line in the seat.
Some one has used the heal function in photoshop to remove a crease line and I rather think that it was not a center spread but an image tht spanned two pages thus the funny shape of the tyre.
When the images were stitched they did not bother to correct the dithering in the seat leaving that grey amorphous vertical blob.
There is also a discontinuity in both the top , bottom and reflection lines in the muffler.
Reflective chrome is one of the hardest things to work with in Photoshop.
Note also the rear chainguard.
It has been lit from the front, you can clearly see the reflections/ shadows of the spokes on it, but the muffler is lit from the top, as shown by the shadow line running along the middle the rear shock is lit from the rear the tank & engine is top lit but you can see light reflected on the tacho drive which should be in the shadow of the timing case
Bike Beesa
Trevor

Online bsa-bill

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #33 on: 20.03. 2016 12:00 »
blew it up and adjusted colour in Paint.net, now I see it

All the best - Bill
1961 Flash - stock, reliable, steady, fantastic for shopping
1959 Rocket Gold Flash - blinged and tarted up  would have seizure if taken to  Tesco

Offline nimrod650

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #34 on: 20.03. 2016 17:59 »
Hi guys, the `Rocket Gold Star`  has a superior sounding name but the A65 that superseded it had everything that was special to RGStar engine, and could dick it for speed every day.
…I love the A10 looking engine and the clubman look build that is why I have a RGStar lookalike build but what is all the hype about, cheers
money  ;)

Offline RichardL

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #35 on: 20.03. 2016 18:22 »
Well, with a couple of 35mm SLRs, a good view camera and Trevor's guidebook I could start my own studio.  ;)

Richard L.

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #36 on: 21.03. 2016 11:23 »
I looked at the picture and what struck me was the " price list for optional extras " or something similar confirmed to me that BSA's policy was the same with the RGS as everything else .... you can have it but at a cost . I'd like to know what the base model came with because my experience 4 yrs later of selling BSA/TRI group bikes was quite a few things you'd take for granted were" optional extra's "even on cooking models but I was surprised that for instance on a Bonnie ( I'll wash my mouth with soap shortly ) you didn't get a dual seat ,pillion rests or tacho as standard plus lots of other stuff I've forgotten ,interesting if you ordered without the "extras" delivery time went up !!  *conf2* .
 So anyone know just what was the starting point for the RGS ie just using one item as a reference point , was the 8" single sided brake the norm whereas you could have the 190mm as an extra or what ? , a list of those extras would be interesting and there prices . 
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Offline nimrod650

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #37 on: 21.03. 2016 18:16 »
i understand that 1584 rgs were produced 61-63 272 were scramblers extras inc 190mm front brake rrt2 gearbox  and siamesed exhaust system adding another 30% to the price in the usa there wasnt a standard bike a such it was up to the owner what speck he wanted 10 specials went to the usa and one was fitted with a watsonian monaco sidecar for the earls court show

Online chaterlea25

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #38 on: 21.03. 2016 22:14 »
Hi Nimrod,
I would like to know where you got this information?

just curious
John
1961 Super Rocket
1963 RGS (ongoing)

Offline BSA_54A10

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #39 on: 22.03. 2016 11:09 »
Well, with a couple of 35mm SLRs, a good view camera and Trevor's guidebook I could start my own studio.  ;)

Richard L.

Not now days you won't
Studios went digital in the 90's
You will need around $ 4000 worth of digital camera gear and about the same in high end computers.
Then you need a fiber connection to the studio so the art director can see what your camera sees from their office, in real time.
This is after you and the art director have spent 1/2 calibrating your monitors so both show exactly the same colour.
I don't even think there is an E6 ( type of professional film ) processing lab left in Sydney any more.

This is the sort of stuff that is killing the Australian film industry and why things like fiber to the home is the only way to go for the future.
I had an avid editing suite in my client lis and that was amazing.
The editor is sitting in there, mixing anything up to 20 channels ( 20 screens ) in real time while the sound crew are adding the music in the room next door.
The whole thing is being beamed via satelite to Hollywood where the director, art director, continuity drector and 1/2 the actors managment staff are watching the cut in real time sending alterations down the line via skype back to the edit booth and that was 20 years ago.
An edit which used to take anything up to 6 months got done in a week without any one leaving home.
The longest bit was digitizing the celluloid which took 1/2 day per roll and there could be anything from 50 to 500 rolls in a 2 hour movie.
The satelite bills in the order of $ 1,000,000 + were not uncommon and then that was if you could book large enough blocks of continious time. Or the whole thing could be done via a fiber network for a few thousand  and funny enough a lot of editing is now being done in Korea for that reason.
Not that this has anything to do with A series twins so I wait for Musky to do some editing of his own.
Bike Beesa
Trevor

Offline RichardL

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #40 on: 22.03. 2016 11:57 »
Trevor,

 If it wasn't obvious, I was being facetious about silver nitrate (although I know there are still traditionalists out there). I plan to respond further, but wrapped in world events this minute.

Richard L.

Offline duTch

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #41 on: 22.03. 2016 13:21 »

Quote
Not now days you won't
Studios went digital in the 90's
You will need around $ 4000 ....
.......>Not that this has anything to do with A series twins so I wait for Musky to do some editing of his own.

 So TrevorTrev, are you saying neither my Dads 'Vest Pocket Kodak-Model C', or my uncles 'SIX-20 BROWNIE C' ain't gonna quite make the cut...?
Started building in about 1977/8 a on average '52 A10 -built from bits 'n pieces never resto intended -maybe 'personalised'
Have a '74 850T Moto Guzzi since '92-best thing I ever bought doesn't need a kickstart 'cos it bump starts sooooooooo(mostly) easy
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Offline nimrod650

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #42 on: 22.03. 2016 18:36 »
Hi Nimrod,
I would like to know where you got this information?

just curious
John
google bsa rocket gold star go to wikipedea site

Offline muskrat

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #43 on: 22.03. 2016 18:54 »
Yes nimrod I found those same figures years ago and think they checked out OK. Then there is the Eddie Dow ones, but can't find a # for them.
Back on subject please fellas.
Cheers
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Online chaterlea25

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Re: Factory RGS pictures and Info
« Reply #44 on: 22.03. 2016 19:39 »
Hi Nimrod
Wikepedia is the source of all untruths  *eek* *eek*

John
1961 Super Rocket
1963 RGS (ongoing)