car photography

The weather in Seattle from late November to March is great for skiing and having fun in the Jeep off-road, but not so great for sports cars, mountain drives or car shows. So what is a 45 year old car enthusiast that still acts like a 12 year old suppose to do when not skiing…play with models of course!

First up is a 1:43 scale model of the 718 Spyder that I’ve ordered and other than the caliper color, it is a perfect match for my spec.

Next, Shep and I finally got around to building one of his Christmas presents, a complex 1700 piece Porsche RSR race car. We got a freak snowstorm with over a foot of snow so while the kids were playing and Meg was busy making a huge snow family, I had some fun taking photos of the model.

The last model was a Lego build as well, but this time I bought it for me! When it arrived, Shep got all excited thinking he got more Legos but he quickly learned that this one was all Dad’s. Okay, he got to help build it and helped me find some pieces along the way…my old eyes need the help. This lego build allowed you to create an early 911, either a 930 Turbo or the 911 Targa. The Targa build is a near perfect match for my first Porsche so the choice was obvious. The only struggle was whether I should buy two kits and build them both!

I love cars. I love the way they look, how they smell, the incredible sounds they make. I love old cars, new cars, American muscle, European exotic, old gas guzzlers and modern electrics. As long as it isn’t boring, I can find a reason to love it. That being said, what really makes this materialist obsession of mine truly rewarding is the people that I get to meet and the passion for cars we share. Car people are everywhere. Blogs. Forums. Facebook. Instagram. TV shows. You can’t go anywhere in the summer without running into some car themed event…we just can’t get enough! I learn so much from the people I meet and its nice knowing that I’m not alone in my obsession.

Pre-covid, at the Lake Washington Cars & Coffee event, I happened to meet Dallas (@dm.lens on Instagram). Data Analyst by day, car photographer by night. We talked about cars we’ve owned, cars we love, car photography and then connected on Instagram. We recently had the chance to meet up (masks on, 6 feet apart) for a photoshoot of my car and it was fun to watch him work. He found a very cool spot with a great mix of direct sun and shadow to play with and the late day light was perfect. At car shows I’m typically stuck taking pictures in the harsh mid-day sun and it was such a nice change of pace to be using early evening light which is so soft by comparison.

Here are some of my favorite shots from Dallas, I love the detailed shots and how he captured the last few rays of the sunlight:

Here are a few of mine as well. I like the warmer tones in his photos and it is a good reminder that I don’t always need to crop the car to be the only thing in the frame. His use of light and incorporating more of the surrounding environment is something that I’ll work on as well: