Checkerboard Photography

It's about time . . .

2009-08-25T21:10:00.008-05:00

I can't believe it has been well over a month since i posted last, and i sincerely apologize for that. But, i have tons of coverage to show you. That is one of the biggest reasons for the long delay. Hitting as many events as i can, with some travel involved, and sad to say that work has been picking up and kicking my ass . . . and it's only August!

First on the agenda, I present to you the D1 Grand Prix @ Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. One of the biggest highlights had to be was the unforeseen potential my car produced. On the drive down, my 1998 Acura 3.0 CL got from my place in Eagan, MN to the dead center of downtown Chicago on ONE, and I repeat 1 gas tank. 420 miles, 31mpg and 3.5 gallons to spare!

Enough from me, here is some of the action . . .

I also shot maternity photos for my long time friends Erik and Stef Rux. They actually met at ValleyScare's Halloween Haunt, and that is also where i met the both of them. They were recently wed and the baby is due September 14th!

Next was a new show to me, something I am going to call "wheels and Wings. The show took place at Holman Airfield, also known as St. Paul City Airport. The show was put on at a place called Wings Aviation Services. They held the show on their taxiway, which was actually pretty cool to see cars so near the airstrip. As I was shooting pics, their operations manager approaches me and asks if I would take pics of the show from the air for them. 30 minutes later I was in the air!

And this past weekend was filled with 2 big shows. On Saturday was one of the busiest days i have ever seen down at the Hastings Cruise-In. And on Sunday was a new show to me, Wheels of Italy 2009 in Minneapolis. Lots, LOTS of exotics and rare cars I didn't think I would ever experience. Only complaint . . . way too much Milano Red!! LOL!!

Oh wow . . . that was a lot. Hope this doesn't happen again, but with my job right now, there is no telling.

If you wanna see more . . . CLICK.

Formula Drift - Round 4 "All In" Las Vegas (part 1)

2009-07-19T12:40:00.013-05:00

Arrival & Practice

Thursday.

So I had a coworker run me to the airport after work. Thank you Andrew! As you can see, I got to the gate pretty damn early.

And I don't care what they say anymore, but getting to the airport 2 hours before your flight is a joke. I guess I have been flying long enough to know how everything works, but DAMN . . . I was bored having to wait!

Some 3 hours and 20 odd minutes later . . .

I'm here . . . about damn time. The one positive I can take from this flight, is that US Airways parks at the A Concourse, so that saved me from a long walk, then the train, then another long walk, to get to ground transportation. Got off the plane, one long walk and I was there!

So my mom and dad picked me up. My mom drove her new Turbo Beetle Convertible, cool car, although she wouldn't let me drive it :(

Funny, this is the only picture I have of the car. And yes that is the real picture, at almost 9pm it was still 100 degrees!

Friday.

My transportation for the weekend to and from the speedway. My Dad's Chevy Avalanche.

Before practice started, I walked around the pits to see the cars up close, while they were clean . . . and in one piece! This weekend was rough on a few cars which you will see in later entries.

So crazy to see Sam's car without a major sponser plastered along the side of the car. But it's still great to see him competing without one.

Was very cool to see Chris Forsberg's Z in person. Has always been one of my favorite cars on the circuit. DA for life!

I was pretty excited to see DMac's Saturn, but came to find out later in the weekend, that the car couldn't compete. I still haven't read a confirmed reason for what happened to the car.

As the sun began to set, practice began . . .

Tanner Foust and the Rockstar Energy Drink Scion Tc.

Tyler McQuarrie and the Falken Tire 350Z

Ross Petty and the Rossta S15 along side Robby Nishida and the Hankook Tire 350Z

Justin Pawlak and the Bergenholtz Racing RX-8 along side Sam Hubinette and the Nuformz Viper

Daijiro Yoshihara and the Discount Tire Lexus IS.

Lastly we have Ken Gushi and the Rogue Status RS-R Scion Tc, lighting up his practice run with those famous purple headlights.

A bit of a cliffhanger to leave you on . . .Vaughn Gittin Jr's practice run.

Eagan Funfest Firecracker Car Show - 7/4/09

2009-07-06T15:18:00.004-05:00

Was at this show last year, was pretty small turnout. Decided to go again this year since I knew I was gonna be out all day. Was pleasantly surprised at the show, and the weather. The show was put on by the Heavy Hitters Car Club, and they lucked out from the weather earlier in the morning. About an hour into their show the sun came out with some force, my fault that I was wearing a black shirt. Enjoy the shots.

Wanna see more? Flickr.

Cars and Cafe - July 4th

2009-07-06T14:50:00.009-05:00

First Saturday of the month this time around, turned out to be Independence Day. I was hoping for a crazy turn out, but again, it decided to rain, so I'm sure it scared some drivers off. But, there were some big surprises this time around . . .

Anyone recognize this famous fender vent?

Yes, that is an Aston Martin V8 Vantage! We have been talking for months if there were any owners in the area, and finally one shows up.

300 SL roadster, this car has been driven on La Carrera Panamericana multiple times.

Old school and new school.

The engine bay in this Datsun was amazing.

This gave me a good laugh.

Can-Am Spyder. Always thought this were cool ever since seeing them in Babylon AD.

Fun on the way home again!!

See the rest @ my Flickr.

Minnesota Valley Rally - Shakopee 7/3/2009

2009-07-06T14:32:00.006-05:00

This was a first time show for me. Was a decent turnout from what I could tell, especially since it was pretty overcast. The definite cool thing for me, was that there were new cars I had never seen before. I will probably hit this show up again, when it happens again on the 17th, to see if the variety of cars will change. Enjoy.

This El Camino was bad ass, looked to be a total track beast.

I have never seen a Mach 1 in this color combo before . . .stock?

Always a fan of the Hurst Olds, was especially happy to catch him rollin' on the way home.

Catch the rest of the show, as always, on my Flickr.

Hastings Cruise-In 6/27/2009

2009-07-02T16:53:00.004-05:00

After Eurowerks, Jason and James and I hit up the cruise in Hastings. In this post the pics will do all the talking.

Eurowerks 2009

2009-06-28T16:41:00.008-05:00

This was my first show in this underrated style of tuning. Wide wheels, wide tires and slammed on the ground. I was definitely excited to see what the Midwest had to offer this style, and was not disappointed.

The show was held at the old Grain Belt Brewery in Minneapolis. The towering menace of a brick building made for some pretty cool pictures.

A definite favorite in this culture of tuning is the BBS RS wheel.

Some old skool favs.

That brown pickup had a sweet engine bay.

Can anyone tell me why I like this interior so much?

I liked a LOT of these cars. Makes me change my whole stand point on my next vehicle. These have such fun style and character. You can really make your OWN statement.

As always, check out the rest of the show @ my Flickr.

had to share . . .

2009-06-24T16:34:00.001-05:00

clearly not my car, but this picture made my craptacular day so much better . . .

note the AMG V12 biturbo logo :D

Back to the 50's - June 20, 2009

2009-06-21T20:41:00.014-05:00

Not much to say about this show, that isn't already known. A big show at the Minnesota State Fair grounds, 12,000+ cars from all over the Midwest and Canada, and it was HOT. I had to buy a hat, because within 30 minutes of walking around, I could feel my shaved head cooking.

I was definitely attracted to cars with their own form of character this year. And you will see some very interesting cars as the pictures progress.

Enjoy.

Sweet exhaust, was a big fan with this car rolled by.

If you closely at the the piece of paper on the seat, in the Special Features field it says "just try and find some."

Kind of an inverted over spray.

Coolest Nash Metropolitan EVER!!

Mecum Auto Auction, pretty amazing experience, wish I could just toss that kinda green around.

Cannot forget to include just a straight classic ride.

Oldsmobile Delta 88, note the rearrangement and omission in the front grille, "SOME DOLL."

And to close out the post, I had to show the amazing combination flame paint job on this car. I easily could have taken 20 pictures of this car to truely appreciate the paint, but was on my way out at the time of this shot

Check out the rest on good ol' Flickr.

Paul Bostel's 2004 Subaru Impreza STi

2009-06-18T20:29:00.010-05:00

What we have here is not your run-of-the-mill scooby. I feel this is one of the more unique STi's I have ever seen. Besides the black powder coated stock BBS's (many people lust over the stock gold mind you), this car looks stock. But I kid you not, this car has many subtly hidden upgrades.

UPGRADES

Perrin:
-inlet tube
-subframe lockdown kit

Group N:
-engine mount
-tranny mount
-pitchstop mount

Can't forget to mention that those flat black BBS's are rollin on 235/40/R17 Nitto NT05's

And of course, like any modified car, there is never enough. Just today Paul ordered a cat-back Vibrant TPV exhaust system. He doesn't quite have all 4 corners yet, but soon he will be stopping with cryotreated Power Slot rotors.

Watch out for this car people. Paul is a driver! He told me the other day he took down an '08 STi. And this man is looking to get into the Rally world, and trust me, he will hold his own.

Featured Car teaser . . .

2009-06-14T17:35:00.004-05:00

Here is a teaser shot of a shoot I did today with my friend Paul. Full feature to come this week.

All Ford Show

2009-06-07T17:04:00.004-05:00

So this was kind of last minute thing to do. This was the 26th annual All Ford Show at the Apple Valley Ford dealership. Still chilly like Saturday, but no rain in this equation. Amazing turnout and some awesome Fords.

Check out the other 80+ pics at my flickr.

Cars and Cafe - June 6th

2009-06-07T08:10:00.005-05:00

The day started being very wet and very cold, when I left the house at about 7:30AM, it was 49 degrees . . .IN JUNE. Can't complain too much though, because the weather will never stop a determined car guy, and in this case it didn't. There was surprisingly a very good turnout.

And yes, this is a 7:22 Nurburgring Viper ACR.

Check out the rest on my Flickr.

Hastings Cruise-In 5/30/2009

2009-05-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

The weather could not have been any more beautiful than it was . . . little breezy, but once in downtown the buildings blocked a lot of it. So I met up with my best friend's dad around 3:45pm. His name is Mark.

And we rode down in his 1965 Ford Falcon Ranchero.

We got to the main drag in downtown Hastings around 4:30pm and it was already packed. I guess since it was the first one of the year a lot of people were ansy to get down there and enjoy themselves.

Last year there were a lot of repeat cars I saw at the couple shows that I attended. This first cruise of the year, yielded a lot of new vehicles I had never seen before. Which is always a plus in my book. It's such a great time down there at the cruise, awesome people and awesome cars.

This Javelin looked like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Paint, body and interior were all perfect.

This Falcon had GIGANTIC drag slicks.

My first Gasser in person.

This wagon was bad ass!

This bike is called a Boss Hoss. It had a 600+ cubic inch Chevy V8, putting out 1000hp, and yes that is a nitrous bottle.

I love Panteras.

Yes those are weights on the brake caliper . . .odd right? Anyone know what new vehicle sports this oddity?

The 2010 Chevy Camaro SS!

I'd say the turnout was good!

The ride home was fun, but I wish I would have turned off the flash.

To see the rest of the cars, check out my Flickr.

Until next time! Look out for a complete coverage of the Cars and Cafe gathering next Saturday.

Creativity and boredom at its finest . . .

2009-05-26T18:39:00.006-05:00

I absolutely despise the Prius, but this was funny . . .

Car find of the day

2009-05-25T21:58:00.003-05:00

Found @ the St. Croix Marina parking lot in Hudson, WI.

Got CF?

2009-05-24T20:48:00.003-05:00

The side of a Bugatti you never want to see up.

What's this blog all about?

2009-05-24T12:21:00.005-05:00

This is me in one of my many forms:

I decided to start this photo-blog, because I feel like my event photography might be taking off. What i enjoy most is automotive event photography, but that is not what I am limited to. I have shot a theme park opening, a concert or two and other cool things i might see. This year I have lots of events planned to attend and shoot, so please stay tuned! Lots more to come!

Top 21 Car Show - May 23, 2009

2009-05-24T12:08:00.005-05:00

It was a little overcast in the morning, but before I left the house, I checked the radar and all the rain was south. So I headed out the house hopped in the car and hit the road to Burnsville, at an O'reilly's Auto Parts, where the show was taking place. I thought it was little odd for the show to take place in such a small parking lot because it filled up very quick. There was an awesome turnout too, especially since it had rained earlier in the morning, but it didn't scare anyone off.

A few personal highlights from the show . . .

To see the rest, please visit my Flickr!