New site, new blog, new beginnings… – Houston Automotive Photographer

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I’ve been meaning to start a new blog for myself sometime now that I am a full time photographer….  I still feel weird calling myself that because anyone with a nice camera can be a “photographer” these days.  Let’s get started with what I’ve been up to this year. This feels weird because it seems like a end of the year recap post…

In January, I had a few freelance jobs…

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This one was for a friend, Nathan or @natevos, of his Porsche Kremer 930 Turbo.  Shot with a polarizer and natural light during sunset.

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Next project was for The Rice Box. I’ve been doing their media content for awhile now and shooting conditions are tough at times, but if you keep it simple, good results are obtainable.  Lighting for this shot was kept simple with a large window light from up high.

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And another stock photo I shot for The Rice Box of Big Trouble in Little China’s Lo Pan.

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This photo of the Mercedes Benz ‘EVSS550’ was marketing material for EVS Motors/Vossen Wheels/Prior Design in Houston, TX.  This was natural lighting at 9am on top of the Galleria parking garage. The image only has minor adjustments in post for a natural look.

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Another one for EVS Motors marketing team of their recently sold Porsche GT3RS on center lug Vossen Wheels in Houston, TX.  Again, this was shot with natty, or natural light, right at sunset.

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It was that time again when all top car shops hustle to get ready for the Houston Auto Show at NRG center.  EVS Motors in Houston, TX hired me to do their event coverage of the show. You can check out more of Marbella Sandoval from above and the coverage of the show HERE.

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By the end of February, I was doing some work for Rohana Wheels in Houston, TX. This one was shot early in the morning and strobed with 2 Nikon SB80’s.

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This Audi R8 GT was shot for EVS Motors in Houston, TX.  The owner just wanted some simple shots of the car, so I chose the best open spot where I wouldn’t be disturbed. Lighting used was natural light around 10am.  Not bad.

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Another one for EVS Motors in Houston, TX.  My second time shooting a Lamborghini Huracan.  Lighting used was 2 SB80’s with 6 or so exposures into 1 final composite image.  Very time consuming but results are nicer than natty light in my opinion.

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This shoot was probably one of my favorite shoots for Vossen Wheels in Houston, TX this year so far.  Got a chance to talk with Larry Harrison or @the_undrdg during the shoot and he’s just a really cool positive guy.  Loves his car and has plans to change it up.

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Somehow, Johnp had talked me into shooting Tim’s Porsche 993 RSR GT2 at 6 in the morning.  It was worth it to see this car in person. It was built for the business of racing.  Maybe one day, I’ll blog about it on Mayday Garage or even here.

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This was a personal project for a friend and his 2 brothers’ Tesla Model X’s.  Yes his brothers each have one and no this is not the same car. The original photo was light painted in a neighborhood culdesac and then composited in front of the downtown skyline.  Not bad for my second time around. Again, lots of post work involved.

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In March, I got to attend TX2K16 to help out @theJHfilms take some event and promotion photos for Autobanh Motorsports.

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And right before TX2K started I got photo event coverage gig with Front Street Media sponsored by Turn14. So I was shooting for Autobanh and Front Street Media. Grueling 2nd day for me since I ate something bad the day before.

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Some more automotive photography in Houston, TX for Rohana Wheels . Black cars are always tough to photograph because they reflect back like no other.  I was blessed that day while shooting because the weather was cloudy with a bit of mist. To get the car to pop a little more, I used my strobes and feathered the light at different angles.

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In April, @theJHFilms started doing a few more promotional / marketing videos for 44Farms in Cameron, TX. I helped out being driver, AC2, PA, sound guy, etc.  We got a few decent gigs from the 44Farms marketing team and were awesome clients.  You can check out our work HERE.

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Got the chance to do a short France trip with my family.  This was my first time in Europe and I’d like to say I was impressed, but maybe I didn’t get the full experience just because I was there with family.  I will make a separate post one day about the experience so check back later.

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Some more automotive photography for Rohana Wheels in San Antonio, TX.  This was a day trip from Houston to San Antonio and back.  The blue paint on this Dodge Charger pops so much with strobes.  If you’re not into strobing or using artificial light, you’re missing out.

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At the end of April, I tagged along as an assistant for a BTS coverage shoot at COTA in Austin, TX for Mason Bleasdell Photography.  The video was a collaboration between @jimmywithsony and @theJHfilms.  You can check out their awesome video HERE.

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It’s May and I’m doing more automotive photography in Dallas, TX for Rohana Wheels.  I was actually set up to shoot another car, but bad luck struck the owner of the other car.  The side of the car is actually lit by the sunset with a strobe at the front bumper of the car.

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Awesome soft lighting right? This was all day with natural light at Texas World Speedway.  This was a freelance project done for EVO Italy Magazine featuring the 2016/17 Dodge Challenger Hellcat.  Cloudy days are awesome.

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Another photo for EVO Italy Magazine featuring the 2016/17 Dodge Challenger Hellcat.  I kinda failed at this shoot because we spent more time looking for another location instead of shooting.  I don’t think this image made the feature.

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June was such a busy month I’m totally skipping to July. Some simple automotive photography in Houston, TX for EVS Motors.

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One of the best looking wheels for the Tesla Model X so far. Just my opinion. My color choice would be silver or gunmetal though. This was automotive photography in Houston, TX for EVS Motors.

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EVS Motors in Houston, TX hit me up to snap some photos of Butch Hammad Lamborghini Aventador SV on some new Vossen wheels. The shop I was shooting at was Imperial Collision in Houston, TX. For lighting, I used 1 profoto B1 at various angles and composited into one final image.

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And this is one of the most recent shoots for Rohana Wheels in Houston, TX. I call this “The Wait”.  No special lighting was used here since the car is black.

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Appealing orange! This image was from a private Audi R8 release event by Audi Central Houston.  Thanks to @theJHfilms for the referral!

And now I am caught up since it is now mid August. Check back on my blog for part 1 of my journey to the west.

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