First Street Refined Weekly Meet

After quite a bit of "planning" and talk, my university's official car club, Street Refined, held a meet that will hopefully become a weekly/bi-weekly event. The turnout was great. The parking lot of the Culver's we met at, a meet spot that we've used in the past, was completely full with the cars of our club members. It was an amazing turnout, and in addition, a great example of how diverse the car community is. Muscle, European, Japanese, spanning a range from a Nissan GT-R to a Honda Accord to Miatas to Mustangs, we're all one big happy family. 

It was a great night of seeing people again that haven't been seen for a while, and meeting new people who share a similar passion.

Old Main Formal Portraits

On a Tuesday night (I took these last week), my roommate asked if it was possible to take portrait shots of him so that he can upload a profile picture for his research lab he is working with, which he needed by Friday. Luckily, thanks to me changing my major back to mechanical engineering, allowing me to drop a class, I had plenty of free time, so we decided to take pictures the next day by Old Main in the evening. He needed a close up head shot for the profile picture, so we knocked that out first. We decided the plants by Old Main would make for a good backdrop, especially because the green would contrast the colors of his suit and the light from the setting sun. I offered to Photoshop out his bandaids that he forgot to remove, but he said to leave them, so that's what I did.

Just to make sure he had a variety of professional photos to use in the future, I took some more photos of him in different poses. The fountain makes for a good backdrop, although at this time it's shaded from the sun. However, it causes the plants and Old Main in the background to be highlighted. I didn't try it at the time, but I wish there was a way to use a lower shutter speed to make the water behind the fountain look more "flowey". I probably could achieve this by combining multiple shots, but since we were on a bit of a time crunch I didn't try doing this. Maybe some other time in the future, perhaps?

Lastly, I decided to get some shots at angles and that showed more of his full body so that he would have more variety with the photos he has. I felt these images came out well by using Old Main as the background.

I edited his favorites that night so he would have the pictures immediately, and then I worked on the rest over the course of the week. I'm definitely glad he asked me to do this, since I've been looking to do some more portrait shots, also with male subjects to show that hey, I can take pictures of guys, too. 

Elijah's E36

This semester has been interesting for me because I switched from mechanical engineering at the Tempe ASU campus to Automotive Systems Engineering at the Polytechnic ASU campus. While the Polytech campus is far out there (a 30 minute drive from Tempe, with not too much around it), the benefit of the surrounding area being smaller is that there are many empty roads. Empty roads that make perfect photo locations. Since my morning class the next day was cancelled, I decided to test out these spots, and my friend Elijah came along with his brand new E36. I have more photos, however, these were taken before we decided to throw on the other two of his OEM BBS wheels in the rear (the tires were showing chords so he was riding on the ones that came with the car). 

Elijah told me that the E36 is one of his dream cars, and now that he has it, he plans on keeping it until it dies. For a car bought off of Craigslist for $1000, the car is in amazing condition, with functioning everything and a body in good condition. Although, for some reason, in all my photos, the green paintjob came out as blue; I've tried to correct for it in the pictures, but it didn't work for all of them. Regardless, the cloudy headlights are from him wet sanding the headlight covers to clear them up; he tells me that they are clear now. So, with new tires on the way, clear headlights, and other mods in the works, look forward to seeing more of Elijah's E36.

The Apache Trail

Arizona is a jewel. Besides the hot, desert summers, Arizona is home to beautiful sunsets, beautiful nature, and, for petrolheads like me and my local car club at Arizona State University, beautiful roads. One of these roads is the State Route 88, leading up to Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flats, and called the Apache Trail. On a spur-of-the-moment decision, a large group of us decided to cruise up there.  Despite having to wake up at 6am, my God it was worth it. Below in the pictures, I experimented with Photoshop a little, trying to get a "vintage" feel to the photos. The photos taken of driving were blindly done using my camera's automatic mode.

The road up to Tortilla Flats was beautiful, with beautiful views of Canyon Lake and the surrounding mountains. However, as it was the road leading to the lake as well as Tortilla Flats, traffic was encountered, so we took a leisurely pace. After a few snafus involving scraping and car parts, we all rejoined at Tortilla Flats, took bathroom breaks, and snapped a group shot before heading up the rest of the road. With less traffic, we took a more spirited pace up the road before turning back where the tarmac turned to dirt and heading down. We ascended again so we could go and take photos. 

The dirt area by the dirt road was like a Photo Mode scene from Gran Turismo. It was beautiful; the blue skies with wispy clouds, the impressive rock formations behind, and the desert flora dotting the landscape.

After talking and some casual photos, we moved the cars to clear space for one-on-one photo shoots. It was so much like a Photo Mode scene from Gran Turismo I could not believe it. The landscape was so perfect for photos. 

I look forward to the next time we head up the Apache Trail. It truly is a wonderful cruise. 

Schumacher European

Continuing on the tour of North Scottsdale dealerships under the influence of Barrett Jackson, we come to Schumacher European Ltd. This one dealership had quite a few gems on display. I was first drawn to the blue Lamborghini Aventador SV (seen in the gallery later in the post), but as I was walking towards it, this caught my eye: a white SLS AMG Black Series. I've never seen a Black Series SLS AMG before, and I immediately walked into the dealership to look at it closer. As Frank, a sales associate, and I discussed, white is an incredible color for it. Being white, all of the carbon fiber bits added on to the SLS' body can be fully seen and appreciated, from the aggressive, wide wing to the splitter, canards, and diffuser. I just love how aggressive the car looks, matching its exhaust note and performance perfectly. The unique proportions add to its appeal, with its long hood and compact greenhouse tucked in the rear, surrounded by carbon fiber. I'm a sucker for white cars with black body parts, so to me the color is perfect. 

After admiring the white SLS AMG, I finally went outside to check out my original target, only to discover even more amazing metal present. I spent a good while talking to Sales and Leasing Consultant Irving about the cars in front of us, cars in general, and our participation in motorsports. It's always great talking to another car person, especially since every time it's a reminder of how diverse of a group of people we are. But, after the alarm to a Ferrari 458 was set off by another curious visitor and Irving had to find the keys to turn it off, I turned my attention to the three cars that were in front of me: another Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series, a Lamborghini Murcielago SV, and my original target, a beautiful, blue Lamborghini Aventador SV.

Frank was right, while black is a very nice color on the SLS AMG, giving it a very menacing look, it hides all the details of the carbon fiber that could be seen on the white one. While the black makes the rear end of the car ferocious looking, with the spoiler and diffuser clearly visible, the carbon fiber bits on the sides and fronts vanish into the blackness of the body. Still, it truly is an aggressive looking car. I went from having never seen a Black Series SLS AMG to have seen two in one day.

But, most of my attention was on the Aventador SuperVeloce. I've only seen a red one before, and that was in the cramped, crowded confines of Cars and Coffee. Now, I could freely walk around and soak in the liberal use of carbon fiber, aggressively sharp lines, and aero kit. I've always loved Lamborghini's sharp edges and lines, and in the SV, I love how that design philosophy was turned up to 11. Seeing the setting sun and beautiful Arizonan sky reflect off of those angled body panels was truly a sight to see. The blue, especially in the sunset, was so radiant. It just popped. I wish I could summon the proper words that would do it justice, but alas, all I have are the pictures to show. 

And, I can't forget the Murcielago SV parked next to the Aventador. However, with light getting scarce and the time I said I would be home having passed nearly 3 hours before, I did not take too many shots of it. And, in fact, I totally forgot about the two Ford GTs on display at the front of the dealership, including one heritage car, which is painted in a Gulf racing livery like the GT40s that raced in Le Mans. I was pretty upset about forgetting them, but at the same time, I was running out of light. Maybe some other time I will see them again. 

These two pictures deserved their own gallery. As of right now, I think these are the best pictures I've taken. I got lucky with the angle of the sun, my positioning, and the settings I chose to shoot at. See for yourself:

Lamborghini Aventador LP-750-4 Superveloce in the setting Arizonan sun

Generations of Raging Bulls in the setting sun.