To be honest, I was thinking of skipping Hot Import Nights this year. But, after some convincing by friends, I decided to go. And man am I glad I did.

I got to hang out with some photographer friends for the first time here, and it became a place to see a lot of other people that I haven't seen in a long time. It was great getting to catch up and hang out with these people since we were all committed to staying for a long time and we were all here to hang out and have a great time.

It's always welcome seeing the One Auto crew. I actually hadn't seen Eddie's GT-R in its Mermaid V3 guise until this show, and man is it spectacular. Furthermore, it was the unveiling of Taylor's new wrap on the GT-R. It's an awesome, striking design that perfectly embodies her handle of @f7lthy_samurai. I also finally got to see Austin's Rocketbunny V3 FRS in the flesh. This Rocketbunny kit is definitely great. Sure, I'm not entirely sold on the aerodynamics of it, but the aggressive strakes and body panels look fantastic. I'm not sure how, but I don't have any pictures of Aaron's Camaro, but I love what he's done with it since I last saw it almost a year ago.

It was also great seeing a lot of familiar cars, but unfortunately not the faces behind them. For example, I see @huratron's awesome wrapped Huracan everywhere, yet I've yet to meet him in person. Nor have I seen Paul since first seeing him at the EA Wraps grand opening a year ago. The same with Matt Haugen's cars, of which he brought the Malboro Genesis Coupe, drift Genesis coupe, Rocket Bunny 350Z, and Liberty Walk Murcielago. I've also yet to meet @j30_6speed, yet I see his Accord everywhere. Being an 8th gen Accord owner myself, and coming from a family that has owned 5th, 7th, and 8th gen Accords, I love seeing his car around. Despite being Facebook friends with Mike, I've still never met him in person; I only see his immaculate blue NA1 NSX around at various car shows. I also got to see the Skyline Z again, a RB26 swapped Z32 300ZX. I remember always seeing it back when the Drivermod meet was at Tempe Marketplace. It's a work of art how clean the engine bay is. And that turbo. Mmmm.

Of course, there were other cars there with missing persons behind them. I haven't seen Elizabeth in a long time, but I see the amazing Vorsteiner R8 everywhere. I remember seeing that car at the very beginning, and it's amazing to see the final product. I also saw the Static Motorsport FRS, in a new color from last year, but I didn't interact with any of the folks from Static Motorsports.

It was great catching up with fellow photographers and showgoers as well. Furthermore, it was great being in a different car show environment. At Cars and Coffee, while of course it's open to all types of cars and modifications, the focus mainly ends up on supercars/exotics and rare, vintage cars. Here at shows like HIN, the focus is all on "What have you done to your car?" And while there are American and German cars present, it also focuses a lot on Japanese steel, and as a JDM fan that's most certainly something I can appreciate. Widebodies, lowering, engine mods, custom fabrications, fresh ideas, all of it runs wild at shows like these. It has more of a festival/party atmosphere, no thanks to the lit up, musical stage. Vendors are everywhere and showcase their best works, and crazy custom cars, like @carbon_brz's custom, full-carbon fiber Subaru BRZ convertible (yes, convertible, also custom built) are the stars.

Of course, the import scene is also home to import models. It's was great talking to Sunny Fae and Mhaye Monti again, two import models that I talked to a lot at last year's show. I think it's become a yearly tradition now to go to HIN Phoenix and talk with the two of them.

In addition, models were walking around in front of the cars and posing. Since it was something new, I decided to sneak in with the people they were modelling for to try my hand out on it. Unfortunately, I was usually at a bad angle, or someone's light would ruin my picture, so all I have to speak for is a photo of Nikki Darling. But, it's definitely something new that I would experiment with more. Something I've been dealing with recently is feeling that my photography has stagnated. There's nothing wrong with finding a style and sticking with it, but I don't want to be restricted to that. I want to grow and explore, so I've been seeking out new subjects and compositions to try to mix things up a bit.

Overall, it was a great night with great people. Being able to chill and talk with so many friends and aqauintances is refreshing when life is hectic, busy, and full of drama. You get to remember that there are always people around that makes things great.

To be honest, I originally never planned on going to Import Face Off because a) I was still suffering from laziness of starting winter break and b) the $20 entry fee, which considering all the money I already spent previously in the week, was rather significant. But, I am so glad I did.

For example, I got to meet @f7lthy_samurai in person, the owner of a VF Supercharged E93 M3, a Nissan Nismo GT-R (the one posted here before), and the once Alpha 9 GT-R, now a Liberty Walk Alpha 9 GT-R, the first in Arizona. And boy, do I look forward to seeing more of it. The GT-R was always a big car; the large wing and widebody kit just perfectly suit the car, and the Alpha radiator sticking out the front reminds us that this car is equal amounts of go as it is show. It just looks amazing.

But this being Arizona and Import Face Off, one Liberty Walk isn't enough. @haugenracing's Liberty Walk Lamborghini Murcielago was also present for the show, as well as his Rocket Bunny Nissan 350Z (which I did not get any satisfactory shots of due to people/angles/yellow car in blinding sunlight with shadows everywhere), and his drift Genesis. Both of these cars were at SEMA 2015, and they were both spectacular looking. I always like wide body kits on wide cars, and the Murcielago fits this bill perfectly. I especially love the wing on it, too; rather than being massive in all dimensions, its size complements the sleek profile of the car. Both cars are certainly sights to see.

Being such a large show with huge prizes, it was also neat to see so many car clubs in one location. For example, Stoopidlow had a huge turnout, with around a dozen cars or so showing up. I thought I had pictures of every member's car, but I guess in my excitement I overlooked quite a few of their cars. However, I have photographed them before, and these include @tovar's NSX featured in Super Street, @atovar93's S2000 CR, @amrod86's Scion FRS, and @kdot_rx7's RX-7.

I also saw Team SWAT (So What Any Time) bring out a large number of their cars. Because of my family's history with Accords (two 5th gen sedans, a 6th gen V6 coupe, a 7th gen V6 coupe, and an 8th gen V6 sedan, the one that I drive), Accords will always have a special place in my heart. The Toyobaru siblings will also never get old; they look so good in so many ways. And, the Impreza is a classic, you just can't go wrong with one (as long as you don't, say, snow drift it into a pole).

In addition to cars like the Liberty Walks, there were real show stoppers everywhere. Brain McCann brought out his amazing 350Z out, trophies and all, for us to admire, and man, it is a beautifully done Z. In addition, there was an ER34 Nissan Skyline parked nearby, causing many to stop, stare, and wonder how it even got there in the first place (because, you know, 25 year import ban).

Of course, there were so many cars present I couldn't possibly photograph them all and know the owners/teams they're associated with. But man, was there selection. For example, Bourbon Street Wraps brought out their Maserati Gran Turismo S for display, and a group that hangs out at the local Fit Mob meets was also present for the drift events. This amazing Mercedes SL65 AMG, which won the award for best European car, I think, was also present to add variety. @asiantoretto's amazing 240Z was also present, and aptly parked next to the Liberty Walk GT-R.

There were so many prizes, I couldn't keep track of all the winners, otherwise I'd list them here. Furthermore, I didn't even mention the drag racing anywhere above, there was just so much to take in in the few hours I was present. I can't wait for the next Import Face Off, because I'll definitely be there for the whole day for it.