Imaginary BMW Ad for Older 5 Series

As I was walking downtown last week, I saw a lonely BMW sitting in an empty parking lot between two buildings. It looked like a magazine or a billboard ad to me. I ran across the street and accidentally took a low rez shot at high iso (I was shooting some low light images previously and forgot to change the settings back).  I hate when I do that.

Do You Give a Hoot about Truck Graffiti?

I've been noticing graffiti on white trucks lately, and I don't know if it's true graffiti, or if the owners are allowing random artists to spray their trucks.  This one looks like a commissioned job.  I thought it was cute. Owls are pretty cool. Big headed birds. Although this owl can actually change his face to look like a bat when it senses danger or competition. Insane!!

Very Clean & Translucent Fiat 500 Ad

I enjoy creative advertising.  This one isn't spectacular, but it was really clean, and since it was on glass, you get double the exposure for the same price!!  Look at these other really creative bus stop ads.  I like the last one by 3M with the stacks of money!!

Old Beetle, New Beetle, Blue Beetles

I happened to notice two blue VW Beetles parked across the street from each other, 30-40 years apart in age. Even the blue is pretty close in tone isn't it? The major difference? The yellow stained mags of the old Beetle.... reminds me of old tea stained teeth!!

Motorcycle vs Bicycle: Off the Line!!

Off the line, I was sure the motorcycle would be faster than the cyclist, but as you can see, human power is still faster than machine power. Perhaps the motorcyclist was more concerned about the straightness of his back than beating the cyclist!!

Backwards Portrait of 1959 Impala

Look at the back of this thing!!  the 1959 Chevrolet Impala 2 door coupe was an amazing car, but it only lasted 2 years.  The next generation wasn't as cool, as upper management wanted a more conservative look.  One thing they changed was the rear lights, thinking the '59 was too bold and futuristic! 

This was truly the golden age of the American auto industry.  Think of the '59 Corvette, '59 Bel Air, '56 Thunderbird, all beautiful pieces of art.  Even the Europeans were coming out with amazing cars: 1958 Lotus Elite, MB 300SL, Porsche 550 RS Spyder.  I wish car manufacturers had the same sense of aesthetics and inspiration and boldness that they expressed back in the 50's and 60's. More 2 doors, more curves, and more convertibles please!! Stop making SUV's and cross vehicles!!

Don't Park under a Japanese Cherry Blossom!

Vancouver is famous for its Japanese cherry blossoms.  Vancouver's 37,000 cherry blossoms all originated as a gift from Japan many years ago and we now have a festival to celebrate them as well.  Other famous N.American cities with these beautiful trees also received them as gifts from Japan at one time, such as Washington DC, New York, Newark, Seattle. 

Although very beautiful, it's not fun parking under them as you can see by this picture.  It literally snows under these trees!!   You'll need a blower to get them off, since wiping it with your hands or a brush doesn't work so well.

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1978 Toyota Celica

I saw this great condition (considering it's over 30 years old) 2nd generation Toyota Celica this morning while I was out and about in my neighbourhood.  It reminds of my childhood, as I remember seeing these babies rolling around new on the street.  My grade 1 teacher Ms. Kitagawa had a white one, and I remember how cool it looked compared to the other ugly, utilitarian vehicles in the staff parking lot.  Everyone else had 4 doors, and station wagons with wood paneling, but not Ms. K. She had a two door sports car!!  All those memories came rushing into my head as I took this shot.  I colour isolated this image and sepia toned the rest to give it a 70's feel.  The pinstripes down the side look factory (notice the c-shapes just behind the front fender?), so this car must have been garaged stored for years!! Nice........

Complex Canvas for Corporate Graffiti Art

I noticed professional graffiti art on the side of a building next to an empty lot, nothing special.  Looking closely, I noticed it was Corporate Graffiti, for Scion cars.  

As I backed up, I noticed the random wall was actually the side of a small, boutique Scion dealership downtown.  Makes sense.  But I noticed something unusual about the building wall.....

The wall is totally uneven!!  The bottom is almost 2 feet out further than the rest of the wall!!  But from the side, you would never no it.  Pretty good job corporate graffiti artist guy or gal!! Even the red brick was coloured in (see other pics).  Notice the complex brick pattern that makes up the main part of the car drawing!  That's not easy to do. At least I don't think it is........

Orange and Green

I've been seeing orange and green in combination everywhere lately.  Even my recent post of the whale painting on a dumpster; if you notice the company logo, it's orange and green.  Many sports teams from basketball to hockey use these colours in combination as well.  It works most of the time. 

The picture above, at first I didn't notice anything weird about the matching colours. But then I realized even though the colour scheme is similar, the truck doesn't belong to the retail store that it's in front of.  The truck is carrying fruit, and the store sells meat. It's just a coincidence that their colours match.  The next building over also happens to be an even brighter and deeper orange. The building next to it? Yes, a faded green.......

Then, on my way home at the end of my bike riding afternoon, what do I notice near my house? Yes, of course! An orange and green house!!!  

What's next?! We shall see....

Anti-typical Dog-and-a-Pickup-Truck Picture?

I was shopping at a Trader Joe's in Bellingham Washington and noticed the oddest looking truck (an old military looking Mercedes flatbed truck ) with the most striking husky dogs sitting in the back.  I didn't realize how big these dogs were, especially their heads!  They were so passive and very friendly with everyone that stopped by to pet them, which was everyone who passed by!  It was difficult to get a clean shot of the truck and the dogs without people surrounding them. In fact, when the owner got back to his truck, he had a crowd of people (actually, all women) wanting to talk to him about the dogs. I was trying to talk with him, but about his truck!!  Oh well.  If he had to choose between a group of women or one guy, I know what his choice would have been anyway.  These pictures show the inherent weakness of an iPhone camera (super grainy and fuzzy in low light) but at least I had a camera on me.  Thank goodness for my iPhone.  Thank you Steve Jobs.

Old Back Road Gas Station?

This picture looks like it was taken in the 1970's, and when I took it, I sure felt like I was back in the 70's. But it was taken today, and it wasn't too far out from Vancouver. Marine Drive in West Vancouver, near Horseshoe Bay. Cool car, and you gotta love that 76 logo......

Nissan Figaro vs QR Code

I did an install on my customer's imported Japan only Nissan Figaro in Bumble Bee Yellow. It gets a lot of attention where ever it goes, so she decided to decal it, including a QR code. I thought it was cool that both the Figaro and the QR code were imported here from Japan, and both from around the same era, mid 90's!! We're impressed from things from Japan from over 15 years ago folks!!

For those who know how signs are made, the sign is not a digital print, but vinyl cut, which includes the QR code.... it wasn't easy to weed!!

Taken on my iphone Hipstamatic app, Watts lens, Black Keys B + W film

Mopeds are Cool!!

After watching all the horrifying videos of entire villages being picked up and swept aside, I wanted to see something that put a smile on my face. Something to remind me how awesome Japan is, and no matter how bad things are now, Japan has always bounced back from disaster, usually to the wonderment to the rest of the world.

I'll start posting some older pics the next few days from Japan. Fun pics. Cool pics. Interesting pics. This picture is awesome. There's so much going on. The guy with the star on his helmet, is he checking out the cute girl in the yellow top that just happens to be spotlighted by the sun at that exact moment? The other guy on his moped has his eyes fixed forward, so what's he looking at? The girl dressed like a hippie, does she notice me taking pics, or is she looking at something else? The woman with the umbrella shielding herself from the sun..... in the shade!! I don't know why, but I even love the guy on his bike with his back turned to the camera..... his posture is so straight!! I love the trees that line the street as well...... okay, 'nuff said.

4ft Screen Laptop in Your Trunk?

I just had to take a picture of this..... if only Intel advertised like this in Canada.....to be honest, it'll probably get stolen or vandalized.......parked at the bottom entrance into Times Square just outside Takashimaya in Shinjuku......

SR Auto Group

I love cars. Unfortunately, I also love photography, music, musical instruments, watches, fashion (especially shoes!!) and books, and bikes and on and on. Because I have so many other interests, I've never had all my "play money" in one pot and be able to afford a fancy car.

But I do love cars!! My attainable dream car would be a Honda S2K in Honda racing white and red leather seats. A difficult but still attainable dream car would be to import a Honda NSX-R (yes, in Japan the label Acura doesn't really exist as it was made for the N.American market) in Honda racing white. My over-the-top dream car? Porsche 959 in white...... so nice!!

I'm way off topic here......A friend of mine's friend owns SR Auto Group and as you can see from the link, they have nice cars..... just recently I took my brother (who was visiting from Japan for the holidays) to SR Auto and he got to sit inside a white Lamborghini LP640 Murcielago with a carbon fiber accessory kit. Sweet car. My wife got to sit inside a custom matte vinyl wrapped Aston Martin DBS. We just missed the Ferrari 458 and the Lamborghini Reventon!!

This picture was actually taken through glass one night when they were closed. They had one of their mags on display at a weird angle to an Aston Martin DB-S so I thought it'd make a good picture out of it.... and in black and white of course!!

It's a car.... it's a planter..... it's a piece of art?

Impromptu Fisheye Lens

A new car that's well washed and polished, a beautiful day, and interesting buildings close together make for a great reflection shot..... taken in Osaka in 2009 while visiting my bro and his wife...... in case you're a car buff, it's the equivalent to a Lexus RX350 here, called the Toyota Harrier........

Day 8: Matte Vinyl Vehicle Wrap

Today was a rainy morning and I thought it would be a struggle to get a good shot of anything. After a morning out and on my way home, in a parking lot I saw the perfect subject, a perfectly wet and glistening VW Passat. Vehicles actually shoot well in cloudy and wet weather. This particular vehicle was matte vinyl wrapped by my buddy, and you can tell he did a pretty good job, considering it's his first vehicle. A roll of the vinyl costs about $1000, so a job like this would cost in the 8K range.
I shot at medium telephoto (so step back 20 feet from the car and shoot, so as not to get that fisheye effect when you shoot too closely at wide angle) to isolate it from everything else around it. In post production, I converted to black and white to keep the green vegetation in the background from distracting the eye, vingette the edges to focus the eyes to the centre of the image,and finally colour isolate the rear of the car to draw the eyes to where I want the viewer to focus their attention. I know its a similar effect I did with yesterday's flower. I'll try not to repeat the same photographic tricks 2 days in a row.......

Day 6: Hot Wheels Gone Wild

I rode past this car on the way home, and it just happened to be all by its lonesome in a big empty parking lot. Either everyone else was too scared to be parked beside a car that who knows who is driving, or the driver wanted the most attention, not wanting to be stuck between two big trucks, so he parked far away for the most exposure..... either way, the vehicle is a poster child for vehicle decals and how it can go so wrong.....

Either way, it makes a great photo. This picture has some pretty heavy handed post production work. Focus blur, colour isolation, shadows increased, and increased contrast. It was fun to shoot since it was so isolated from any other car, but I do wish I could have shot it in an alley against a more grey and boring background. This is the main reason why I used the post production techniques to isolate the vehicle from its surroundings.......I love how even the yellow parking lines act as sort of a border for the vehicle, and how it sort of fades away....