Matt's Scion FRS

I've been trying to get back into doing photoshoots again. Unfortunately, this summer was busier than I intended, between getting sick, working, FSAE, starting my honors thesis, and moving out of my old apartment. Admittedly, I also haven't been aggressive enough in trying to secure photoshoots, but alas.

However, when my friend Matt said he was looking for photos, I was down for them. He told me that his Scion FRS is at a steady-state. He'll leave it like this for now until he's ready for the next stage, so he figured he should get photos of it now since he'll be able to use them for a while. The highlight of this stage is the Rocket Bunny spoiler, wrapped in carbon fiber. So, naturally I had to showcase that. Of course, he has a good set of other mods as well, both internal and external. Internal upgrades include the intake, Agency Power headers, front and rear sway bars, and an Invidia exhaust with midpipe. Externally, a diffuser, side skirts, black roof wrap, and Autodipped wheels complete the look. 

Matt's FRS is a workhorse. He's put on thousands of miles on it from daily driving and trips. He actually recently came back from California and 86 Fest before this shoot, and the rock chips on the front show.

Matt wanted to take shots at Tempe Town Lake since he never had any shots here. If you've seen my previous photos, you'll see that this is a main spot of mine since I'm usually in Tempe. This shoot also let me discover that the lake security that usually shows up and kicks you out of the ramp at nights/the evenings aren't present during the afternoon, something I'll be taking a note of for later. 

The cloudy, monsoon weather made for a perfect backdrop of the lake. It also made for some interesting lighting situations. When the clouds covered the sun, I opted to go for a cooler temperature to capture the relaxed mood of the weather at the time (this being an Arizonan summer, the fact we could be outside and enjoy the weather says a lot). Being next to the approach path for Sky Harbor also allowed for some cool shots with planes in the background. 

Meanwhile, when the sun came out, since we were approaching the evening, I went for a warmer color temperature to capture the vibrancy of the desert sunsets that we get treated to when the monsoon clouds roll in.

I also have been experimenting more with HDR. The D750 has what I think is faster continuous-high speed shooting as well as more increments than my D5300. Plus, now that I'm using my tripod more and Lightroom having a built-in HDR function, it's been a no-brainer to try using HDR more. 

I definitely have the itch to shoot some more. As time consuming as it is, I still love taking photos, and having a photo shoot is a great chance to get to catch up with people. It was certainly great to get to talk with Matt for a while, since we're both usually busy and can only exchange a few pleasantries when we see each other. 

Austin's '76 Celica GT

With Japanese cars appearing and sometimes dominating the world stage for the past 30 years, it's always good to revisit roots and see the beginnings of it all. It's a good thing, too, that so much interest is being put into older JDM vehicles now because there are so many gems, including this, the first generation Toyota Celica. 

The Celica, derived from the Latin world coelica meaning "heavenly" or "celestial", is the successor to Toyota's first sports car, the Sports 800, which, at the time, competed with some of Japan's other first sports cars, including the Honda S500 and Datsun Fairlady . Thus, its place in the family tree is quite clear. This car was meant to take Toyota forward as their next sports car. 

This particular Celica, a 1976 GT model, is owned by Austin, a freshman electrical and software engineering student at ASU, who is also a part of our local ASU car club Street Refined. The condition this car is in is amazing, and its no wonder thanks to the attention and detail Austin has put into the car. He first found the car after 6 months of browsing Craigslist, attracted to its rarity, looks, and classic JDM nature.

The car was once lowered with underglow and a front splitter, however, it was raised back up and the underglow was removed. Meanwhile, the front splitter met an unfortunate end when it was ripped off by a water puddle.

The list of fixes and modifications is immense. The whole suspension system has been worked on, with struts replaced and adjustable A arms from Techno Toy Tuning installed on the front. The ignition system has also been reworked, with an MSD Streetfire ignition installed, an upgrade to a Thunder coil, and a conversion from points to electronic ignition thanks to a Pertronix kit. The fuel system was also worked on, with the in-tank fuel filter being replaced. The car now rides on sixteen inch wheels wrapped in Khumo ASXs, and the car has a 1974 "Smiley" bumper. For some extra engine audio, racing long/short headers are installed and hooked up to a 2.5 inch exhaust and a Dynomax muffler with an expansion chamber and no cat. The throaty sound is extremely gratifying to hear, with a deep sound that resembles a beefy 6 cylinder engine, and a pop that resembles backfire due to the extremely low pressure of such a large exhaust. The engine's audio wasn't the only audio enhancement, however. A completely new sound system was installed, featuring a 4x400W Fosgate amplifier hooked up to two 5 inch Infinity speakers by Harmon Kardon and another two 6x9 Infinity speakers. A 1000W Fosgate amplifier powers a 12 inch shallow mount Fosgate woofer. I got to hear the audio system in action with some very dynamic music from Clean Bandit, and the power of the system is clear. The basslines come out tight and strong, and the audio is superbly crisp. Austin plans on dropping in a Weber 32/36 carb in the future, as well as working on a rebuild 20r with a port polish and mid-level cam job.

The weather was perfect for taking pictures due to rainstorms earlier in the afternoon leaving clear and cloudy skies, perfect for the amazing Arizonan sunset. The light really helped highlight the lines, shapes, and proportions of this car.

This car has been on the track before, driven by a club member with two years of track experience. He complimented the handling and behavior of the car. Under acceleration, given the power and weight of the car, it pulls very nicely. The exhaust and headers make the exhaust sound heavenly. The appearance of the car is also excellent; both Austin and I noted that we really like how the design looks Japanese, yet it has US muscle car proportions and stance. In fact, I discovered that there was a liftback model of the Celica that very clearly resembled a period-spec Mustang from the rear. The first generation Celica surely a classic car near the base of Toyota's, and Japan's, sports car roots. It surely is a gem worth looking at and worthy of attention, a true, proper classic Japanese sports car.

Noah's Blobeye Impreza STi

Subarus are a huge thing, as you can probably see from the recent blog posts about Subarus. There are a ton of Impreza drivers here at ASU, including my good friend Noah. Noah and I first met because I was wearing a Honda NSX shirt, and both of us are huge fans of it. With us both being car guys and an admiration for the NSX, we became friends easily. Noah drives this Blobeye Impreza WRX STi with a Cobb exhaust, white wheels that I forgot the name of, and some other various small engine mods that I forgot to ask about again since I forgot that this was also a feature piece and that I needed to ask him about these things.  

As can be seen from the license plate, Noah and his STi are from Oregon, which he tells me has an absolutely massive Subaru presence. For this academic year he drove his STi down from Oregon to have in the desert. The Arizonan fuel, however, has not always matched his Impreza's tastes, as he's told me before how he's had to work on the engine mapping a lot because the fuel didn't agree with his previous maps. But, with those issues over, Noah's been driving this thing- a lot. It serves as both his daily driver to his job and also his track-day toy, and its long, multipurposed life can be seen in its odometer.

The Impreza STi has always been a favorite car of mine because of its rally heritage. Riding along with Noah on the way to the photoshoot location, I became enchanted by the traditional boxer-burble and the wastegate, as well as the smaller details such as the shift indicator (that Noah set to go off at around 3500rpm just so it can be heard regularly, a decision I wholeheartedly agree with). And, being outside looking at the car, I was taken back to when I was younger, playing Gran Turismo 4 and loving how the Blobeye looks. Even sitting still, it looks aggressive and ready to race.

Unfortunately, Noah plans to sell his beloved STi due to life. Even though the STi is a wonderful car, it still screams "boy-racer" too much for Noah's current and future professional career because of all the reasons why a person would love an Impreza STi- the big wing, the loud burble, the bright color, etc. It's a real shame to see her go, but Noah told me that after school is done and a career is in place, he definitely plans on buying another one. Subie love sure runs deep.

South Mountain Portrait Shoot II

If you've seen some of my earlier blog posts, you'll see that a favorite location of mine for photography is South Mountain, since it offers rugged, mountainous backdrops but also a great view of the city. You'll also know that a friend and I were going to take photos at the summit, until I messed things up. But, this is summer vacation, where time is aplenty, so my friend and I went to have another photo shoot on South Mountain, this time with both of us properly prepared. This was also the inaugural photo shoot of my new 35mm f/1.8 fast lens, which I have to say I absolutely love.

After a quick 5 minute hike to the location, we began setting up and figuring out locations. There were torrential downpours of rain the previous night, and the clouds from that storm still loomed in the. So, the initial photos were taken in cloudy conditions.

However, after reviewing photos and teaching my friend a little about photography, the sun poked its head through the clouds. On her urging, we started taking some more photos in a variety of poses, which also included me lying down on rocks with half my body over a 10 foot drop.

After some more photo review, chitchat, setting up, and photography lessons, the clouds covered the sun again, which was starting to get low on the horizon. So, we took some more shots with the available light and then headed back down the mountain without getting arrested.

More pictures, thanks for modelling for me!

Haboob

Living in a desert creates unique opportunities for getting amazing nature photographs. For example, where else will you find a haboob? No, I didn't sneeze; people say "dust storm" or "sand storm", but "haboob" is the correct word, coming from the Arabic word هَبوب‎ habūb. While they look scary (it's a huge wall of dust swallowing a city), they're pretty common since haboobs around here form when thunderstorms collapse, creating down/outwards bursts of wind. So, these happen multiple times on an annual basis during our monsoon season (aren't deserts so exotic with their nomenclature?).

On this particular day, June 4th 2015, I decided to take a hike up to the summit of Piestewa Peak because of the nice weather and because I wanted to snap some pictures of the sunset. At the time, it was just very cloudy; I thought the clouds would make for a striking sunset. And indeed, the clouds created a streak effect with the sun's lighting, like the Arizona flag. How apt. However, as I started my ascent, I noticed dust forming behind the city.

I wondered if a haboob was coming our way, since the amount of dust I saw was way more than the normal amount in the air. Sure enough, the cloud got larger and kept getting closer to the city. Meanwhile, the sky kept the sunstreaks, allowing me to take more photos of it, as well as take some striking photos of the Phoenix Mountains. It always amazes me that pieces of wilderness such as these mountains can still exist while surrounded by a city. It always makes me sad seeing houses built on the mountains since it means more and more of this beautiful desert landscape is disappearing.

It was not long after I first saw the dust that the storm engulfed the central city. This was definitely not a severe haboob since we could still see (the worst it can get is less than a foot of visibility, although that severity is rare; usually visibility is several yards). 

Winds were picking up, and everyone at the summit had to be careful because gusts were strong enough to blow us off balance; falling off a mountain is not ideal. The dust kept moving northwards, creating some striking images. Here, the "wall of dust" image became clearer since we were nearly in profile with the mini-haboob. In addition, the dust gave the sun's rays something to reflect off of and be blocked by, further enhancing the sun streaks to beautiful lengths. It'amazing seeing nature's beauty, and how even in the middle of a city we can still witness it.

Meanwhile, facing the other side of the mountain away from the storm, nature was still being awesome. The clouds had grown extremely dark and menacing from the lack of light, and a double rainbow appeared, with the brighter parts corresponding to where the sun could sneak past the clouds and dust. Later on, the sky even began turning two distinct colors (no, I did not change the colors in the third photo, the sky really did look like that). There were also some very interesting cloud formations, including the 4th photo which I thought looked kind of like a spaceship.

Eventually, the dust rolled through, leaving the clouds behind. As the sun got lower, the streak effect became even more pronounced as the light rays were now more angled towards me and also having to go through the remaining dust in the air. I loved how the streaks looked. 

Finally, with the sun reaching the horizon and the dust settling, the main event started, with the brilliant oranges and reds of the desert sunset coming out. The sun set quickly and soon disappeared behind the mountains.

One last look of the beautiful sky, before the sun disappeared and I headed back down the mountain in the rapidly approaching darkness.

I love the desert.

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