It was never meant to go this far. It was just supposed to be about the car…

/rant

So I’ve somehow managed to deplete my AlienBee fund without actually buying an AlienBee, LOL. I don’t really need it yet – I was just going to get it because I had the money for it. But since that’s all gone, I guess I’ll stick to my trusty hotshoe flashes for now. With that said, I just bought a Manfrotto Heavy Duty Boom and Stand – $356.80. Shipping isn’t cheap on this sucker because it weighs over 35 lbs!

It should be here this Friday so I can play with it this weekend.

Onto what I’ve been up to, which isn’t much.

I went out a couple weeks ago with my buddy, Martin Kane, to shoot the SD skyline. The weather was perfect as it had just rained and we got some awesome clouds in the sky.

With that I created this:

Also broke out my lighting for some scenic portraits.

^^^This actually gave me idea and inspiration for my shoot next Friday with my old friend, Angela Vamos. Can’t wait for that!

And here are some quick shots I took of my buddy Mike’s 335.

This lens, as with most macros, is RAZOR sharp; it makes a great portrait lens, too. In fact, this is now my primary go-to portrait lens.

Anyway, here are a couple sample shots.

Kobe Zoom V

Tissot PRC-200

In retrospect, we should have shot somewhere else. I need to be more mindful of what’s in my shot. How did I not notice the fence behind her?! Oh well, what’s done is done. And it seems to really only affect the above shot.

But here is what I’ve been up to over the last few months.

Labor Day weekend – spent it at a beach house with my roommate, Brandon, and friend, Joey. Life was good.

G35 Sedan Showcase 2009 – drove up to LA with friend and fellow photographer, Grant Plummer, at 4AM for an exclusive shoot with some hot G35 sedans from all over the west. One guy drove all the way down from Washington for the shoot/meet. Hoping to see some of these in the next issue of Nissan Sport magazine!

^^^setup shot

My favorite picture of my car to date.

Rene Manatt took 1st in her class at the 2008 NPC Pacific USA Naturals Bodybuilding & Figure Championships. She currently runs Bay Park Fitness and needed some photos for her website, so friend and fellow photographer Martin Kane and I helped her out.

And one of the reasons I’ve been “out of the game” for so long: my car. New exhaust ($600), modded headlights ($60), new shift knob ($55), sway bars ($160), microsuede headliner ($500).

Self portraits – finally picked up a black backdrop (black curtains from Target for $10) to hang around the apartment.

I haven’t picked up my camera as much as I’d like to this summer, unfortunately. I’ve been distracted with modding my car, again. I know, poor decision. But it’s so addicting! Anyway, I figure I would compile what would normally be separate posts into one post with what I’ve been up to lately.

Here is a 3 exposure hand held HDRI of an ice cream stand at the Del Mar fair. Tried a different post processing technique here. Not sure if I’ll use it again, but I think it sorta works for this shot.

This shot took a couple tries because I didn’t feel like lugging around my tripod around the fair for 3 hours just for one picture. It’s a hand held 3 second exposure. Not bad if you ask me!

These were after a buddy, Martin, and I tackled the famous Krispy Kreme chicken burgers, fried White Castle burgers, fried Snickers, and funnel cake. Needless to say, we gained about 8 lbs that day.

This next shot was inspired by a member of G35Driver, blindg35. Big thanks for sharing your behind the scenes info!

bare 285HV camera left, 580EXII in softbox camera right. triggered w/ CyberSyncs.

After 2 years I finally had the chance to shoot Joe’s APS twin turbo 350z! It was a pleasure to shoot!

Big thanks to Jose at Ionic Dynamics for getting me his new emblemless OEM style grille for the G35 coupe! This is a great alternative to those that do not feel comfortable with tackling the DIY version. As promised, I snapped some pics for Jose to show off the new grille!

580 @ 1/2 in a softbox camera right, 285hv @ 1/6 bare camera left

It was an overcast day with light rain. Great day to be shooting, less the rain, as it was basically a huge softbox outside. But that wasn’t enough for me, and I got to use my own softbox that I just received a couple days earlier. I picked up the Lastolite 24″ EZYBOX from BH and couldn’t be happier. I used it with one 580EX II and triggered it with the CyberSync system.

I also haven’t done any rig shots with my new wheels, so here are a couple. Would have had more but the shoot was cut short due to rain.

*note: images were processed on my dad’s uncalibrated monitor and color/saturation/exposure may be slightly off.

1/250, f/4, iso100
580 camera left @ 1/8, diffused through lumiquest promax system, silver reflector camera right

Anyone want to buy a camera? Hahaha. No. Seriously, though.

My trusty iPod Mini!

Check the EXIF for the last two shots. The strobe settings are the same.

larger version

hi-res

The picture of the Joker from the Dark Knight was lifted from Google Images.

Trying to create fire with smoke.