Transparent Hood Experiment

As a kid, one of the coolest illustrations of cars for me were cutaway diagrams which showed off the internals of the car- the engine, the suspension, etc. Perhaps there already was an engineer in my brain at that time that drew me to those types of images, but it's always interesting to look at everyday objects from a completely different perspective. There's so much more to a car than just its external appearance, hidden away under all that metal and plastic, a whole different world.

Reaching the level of being able to draw those cutaways will probably not happen for me, but with the magic of today's digital photography and editing software, it's possible to achieve similar effects. I've seen plenty of transparent hoods from photographer friends, and I decided that this summer, I was going to try it for myself. Well, summer is basically over, and I hadn't tried out this photography technique yet. So, I put aside the moving-in-and-getting-ready-for-class stress and activities for one evening to take these pictures of my dad's Mustang.

I knew that the procedure is actually pretty simple: take two pictures of the car from the same position, one with the hood down and one with the hood up, adjust each picture accordingly, and then blend the two images together in Photoshop. Luckily, I have an awesome photographer friend who also gave me tips on making the picture look much, much better than my original result (I wanted to focus on the engine only but made the transparency too tight on the engine itself, he told me to make it a more gentle fade/transition). Thanks Alex Schreer for your help! I will definitely be taking more shots like these in the future. Seeing the metal vanish to reveal the engineering below both makes my inner-engineer and inner-child smile in delight.

My favorite from my experiment, and also the picture that helped me get into the hang of making transparent hoods with the help of my friend. There's something magical about seeing beneath the metal to see the heart of the car beneath.

A closeup of the heart that lies hidden beneath the hood, glowing orange from the sunset.

Trying to be more creative with the angles so it's not just a straight-on shot or a close-up shot.

Cars and Coffee Gainey Ranch- August 2015

There's been a trend now for the past three months where the day before the show, a huge rainstorm sweeps through the Valley. Naturally, I was worried about the turnout for Cars and Coffee since rain seems to lower turnouts. Luckily, however, I was wrong.

The morning was cloudy and beautiful. With the sun blocked, temperatures remained pleasantly cool, with the humidity also not too high. I've said it many times before in previous blog posts, but cloudy weather is my favorite weather to take photos in. I feel the results paid off immediately when I saw this at the show, a brand new Mercedes AMG GT. Gotta hand it to Scottsdale and Cars and Coffee to have the newest metal available to ogle at. It's odd how I don't like how cars looks nowadays from pictures, but once I see them in person, I love their designs, e.g. Ferrari LaFerrari, Mercedes AMG GT, Ford Mustang. 

It's amazing how many photographers Cars and Coffee, as well as other car events from around the Valley, have produced. I met and talked to a few local photographers, @forgedphotography and Mike at @desertstreetscene, behind @projectC7's Corvette. After talking for a bit, we split up, Mike and I still talking and exchanging Instagram info. But, the 911 that rolled in earlier lay ahead: a brand new Porsche 911 GT3RS in Lava Orange. Just look at it. The huge wing, the wide stance, the vents, and the color; it just screams at you, even when standing still. I heard that the owner of the Voodoo Blue Porsche 918 that showed up a few times at Cars and Coffee also owns this car. Scottsdale never ceases to amaze me when it comes to the people in it and the cars these people own.

So, because I love the NSX, I have to give this one its own special gallery. Because look at it. It's beautiful. After 25 years, the design still looks fresh, sleek, and beautiful. Timeless.

Speaking of Old School Cool, parked nearby the GT3RS and the NSX was a Ferrari Testarossa. Because the modern European exotics can't have all the spotlight at a show like this. Don't forget to remember your ancestors.

 The diversity of Cars and Coffee showed its true colors, as right by the GT3RS, Testarossa, and NSX was a lowered 350Z, I believe part of a local car club called Stoopid Low. And, amusingly, the police officer that was on duty to ensure the meet didn't get out of hand was talking to the owner of the 350Z about the car and what was done to it. Car people come in all shapes and sizes, never forget that.

And, as far as surprising cars go, one rolled up closeby as well, a BMW M3 (E46) equipped to compete in the NASA GTS class (that's NASA, National Auto Sport Association, not National Aeronautics and Space Administration, although as a fan of racing and space both are awesome). Roll cage, removable steering wheel, headlight delete, etc., it had everything, and it was awesome looking. Too bad I couldn't hear it, though, I wonder if it had that race car snarl, as well.

But the crown jewel of the show lay just a little further in the center of the parking lot. And boy, was I mad that I didn't go to the central area first, before the crowds arrived, because this was waiting for me: A Lamborghini Murcielago with a Liberty Walk body kit. Next to it was a Aventador and Huracan, both wrapped by the local EA Wraps. Let me just say, trying to get these pictures was not easy, given how many people were crowded around these three cars, with good reason. And, given that the clouds were breaking and the sun was now coming out, it was starting to get very miserable. If you didn't have some sweat on your brow, you must have been superhuman.

One detail I loved about the Murcielago that I didn't know all Liberty Walk cars had was the phrase on the side "Imagine all the people living in peace." I've tried researching why this phrase is on every Liberty Walk, but I haven't really found any answers. Either way, it's a nice sentiment to spread around. I'm sure the Liberty Walk kit helps in drawing attention to the phrase. Imagine how nice of a world it would be.

The rest of the LB kit though, is loud, expressive, and awesome. I'm honestly not much of a fan of stanced cars, but this Murcielago looks amazing lowered to impractical levels. The wide fender flares and huge wheels probably have something to do with that.

The Aventador and Huracan are completely different beasts. I'm not sure about any performance mods in either of them, but the wraps done on them are fantastic. The green on the Aventador looks amazing, much better in person (I had a hard time trying to preserve the original shade of green because it was confusing the camera's white balance meter), and trying to get a shot of red and black in direct sunlight was not easy. But, hopefully the skill of the wrappers can be seen in the photographs. Btw, black and red look amazing, I love how the two colors complement each other.

Walking back around after the LB Murcielago left, I spotted a car that I was personally a huge fan of, a Honda S2000CR. If you're not familiar with this car, the CR model was a limited run trim line for the S2000 towards the end of the S2000's production. Only 699 units were produced, which is why I took interest in this one since this was the first CR I've ever seen in real life. And c'mon, you can't blame me, the Apex Blue Pearl just looks stunning on it.

I met the owner of it, too. He is a really cool guy, telling me about the various mods he's done to the car and how he takes it to the track. I'd love to see this car on the track one day, so that I can see it live up to its Club Racer name.

After taking some photos of the CR, I ran into another fellow photographer, @cabanophotography. We talked for a while about the heat, the upcoming Fall semester for school, and cars, while also taking some pics of his friend's cars. After this, I met up with some more friends, but it was full-retreat time for many people, with many of the muscle cars leaving. 

Another interesting quirk of this month's Cars and Coffee event were these mini old Formual One style cars brought in by a local company called Knight Agency. I talked to the owner of the company and he is a great guy, very enthusiastic about the business and a Grand Prix event he's holding for these cars in November. He was even letting people drive them around the now-emptying parking lot (Arizona summers are super hot, FYI), but the lot owner asked them to stop for safety reasons. Which was a bummer because I totally wanted to drive one of these things. 

Overall, the turnout was amazing. There were so many different cars that showed up, again highlighting the diversity of Cars and Coffee. Again, there were rows of Cobras, rows of Mustangs, rows of Corvettes, and rows of mixed European exotics, in addition to the cars highlighted here. Furthermore, I got to meet and talk to a lot of the photographers that I've networked with on Instagram at this meet. It's great finally seeing the face behind the name and getting to know the person. I find trying to write these blog posts and finding which pictures to give their own galleries more and more difficult because the more I go to Cars and Coffee and the more I talk to new people and learn about their knowledge and history of cars, the wider my eyes open. Both the talking with other photographers and car owners and seeing the cars are equally enjoyable. Cars, people, atmosphere, friendliness, what more can you want? What more can you type?

More photos:

A Very American (and Ironically JDM) July Cars and Coffee

This month's Gainey Ranch Cars and Coffee happened to coincide on a very important holiday for us 'Muricans: the 4th of July, our Independence Day. July in Arizona also happens to be very hot (as I'm writing this, my weather app says it's 47 degrees celsius/116 degrees Fahrenheit outside, at 2pm), since summer is now in full swing. So, a combination of a holiday weekend where people are either working a barbecue, swimming, drinking, or all three, combined with killer heat, means turnout for an outdoor car show in the morning isn't the best. Of course, this being the Gainey Ranch Cars and Coffee, "not the best" still means "quite amazing". 

So, 4th of July. I was hoping to see some cool American cars for the occasion, perhaps like the one month where fourteen (yes, 14, one-four, I even counted myself) Ford GTs made an appearance. However, instead, I got greeted by a (literal) JDM surprise: a white R32 GT-R and blue R32 GTS, with a gold R31 GTS, lowered 350Z, and boosted 300ZX alongside. Plus, the Nismo GT-R and Alpha 9 packaged GT-R made another appearance. 

I have to say, seeing the R31 and R32s made me happy. I know of other R32s and ER32s in the Valley as well, plus an R33. It's amazing how these cars have such a cult following, and that they're coming to the States en masse. The JDM scene stateside has found a wonderful new addition now that R32s are easier to acquire. Just imagine what the car scene here would have been like if they were imported from the get-go. But I'm still waiting until the R34 can be brought over, (relatively) hassle free. 2024, here we come!

But, past these JDM gems, the true colors of Gainey Ranch's Cars and Coffee showed: Rows of European exotic cars on one end and a row of Shelby/AC Cobras and other American muscle cars on the other, almost as if they're having a stare-off. Plus, there were even some "oddities", including a Citroën 2CV, which I found appropriate for the day since the French were instrumental in establishing this country.

By this time, I had probably sweat at least a liter of liquid from the heat, direct sunlight, and humidity from the remnants of a late-night storm. I was feeling pretty miserable. But, I was nearing the area where the "star car" of the show usually is. I have to say, Cars and Coffee has desensitized me to some cars. This month, the black Enzo made another appearance. I remember the first few times, I was super excited and pumped to see it and took a ton of pictures. This time though, probably inflamed by how hot and sweaty I was, how my friend said the Dustball Rally 918 Spyder would show up again, and the poor location of it in terms of getting good photos, I thought in my head "oh look, the Enzo, should I take pictures?". Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I no longer think an Enzo is cool or amazing, I'm just saying that because I've seen it so many times the shock-and-awe factor has disappeared and I can stare at it now without having the urge to take photos. It's stopped being that magical object that I will never see in my life to a completely real car that I can see and hear, and I can just soak in its lines and appreciate it at its true level as a car, not at some non-existent mythical fantasy level. And honestly, I like that feeling, because I feel if I'm too busy worshiping a car, I'll miss out on the true nature of it and I'll be unable to appreciate it fully. Now, if only I could get a proper photo shoot with it or ride along in it...

Walking to a second corner in the parking lot, a diverse group appeared. Although it was mostly populated by American cars, like Mustangs (and the very patriotic Mustang) and these two wonderful looking CTSVs, there were also some Japanese cars and even a Veloster. It was neat seeing all of the American cars that showed up that Saturday, which I'm hoping is because of Independence Day. Also, I caught an amusing vanity plate on an Alpha GT-R leaving the show, "GDZIRA". Oh, accents.

Now, you're probably wondering why I took photos of an Accord, and that's for personal reasons. My family owned a 1998 Honda Accord Coupe, a taffeta white V6 automatic, and as a kid I'd play around inside it all the time. Seeing a 6th gen Accord coupe around here is rare, and seeing one modified in a tasteful fashion with pride to show it off just struck a chord with me, one of those feelings you get that makes you smile but you can't articulate into words. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this kind of diversity at Cars and Coffee is what I love; all aspects of the car culture can come together and show off.

Walking back over to the main parking lot, I got a look at some more 'Murican muscle from bygone eras, as well as a Tesla Roadster, fitting for the day since it represents a potential future for automobiles, with an American brand leading the way. But then, an ER32 Skyline (sedan version of the R32 Skyline) rolled in. I started laughing to myself because of how much JDM was present at the meet, ironic since, you know, that thing almost 74 years ago, involving that harbor, named Pearl, with the ships, and the planes... But alas, it was cool to see these two large scenes of the car culture at the same show together.

The whole show was extremely diverse, evidenced when I walked further back in the parking lot. There were Impreza STIs sitting next to Mustangs sitting next to Corvettes. For example, this 2015 Mustang on airbags sat across from this Mk. IV Toyota Supra in pristine condition. And, walking around a little further, some very patriotic Shelby GT500s (all they needed was blue; red and white were covered) sat next to another Camaro and 2015 Mustang GT. It was extremely satisfying seeing a red-and-white-striped GT500 next to a white-and-red-striped GT500 parked next to each other because of how they were each others' opposite in color. 

But, either the heat or the 4th of July festivities got to people, because by 9:30, the entire parking lot was cleared out. I've never seen the show end so quickly before; usually it takes until 10:30 or 11 for the lot to clear. Alas, I hope that as winter comes, more great cars show up as more people can tolerate the outdoors, the snowbirds roll in and all of the students at ASU come back for school...

More pictures:

Coming Soon, A Very American (And Ironically JDM) C&C