When I originally set-up CarShowz.com in 2009, I had no aspirations to include Automotive Photography into our content and to be honest, I still don’t. However, several hundred albums later and hundreds of thousands of photos, here we are. There is something about photography that intrigues me, maybe it is the tranquilty of taking photos, almost like doing yoga (which I have never done.) I can almost relate photography to being on the gun range shooting a gun. Especially while photographing track events, focusing on your breathing (to reduce movement) and following through with your shot.
I have personally taken photos since the early 2000s, I would say during that time is when I really got into, “capturing moments.” To this day, I still do not consider myself a Photographer. I am a guy, who enjoys capturing a moment, that has the ability and the know how to click-a-button and slide some sliders around to edit a photograph to get to my desired end result. I don’t think I will ever consider myself to be a Photographer, but this short feature video by Gears and Gasoline of Larry Chen from the Speedhunters is certainly motivating me to take more photos. I have followed Larry’s work for awhile now, his work is amazing. However, I have realized something; being located in SoCal presents itself with amazing backdrops and you have access to an endless amount of amazing builds. Larry says it best himself, you have to get out there and shoot, you cannot do it from your couch. I don’t want to take away from Larry’s work, as I said, he is amazing at what he does and not only does taking great photos make you great at being a Photographer; the personality is what makes the person and brings out the willingness of others to want to work with you.
The CarShowz platform is meant to help promote the local events in and around your neighborhood, in addition to supporting industry events that help make our scene thrive. Instead of throwing together a social media page, I decided to create a brand where individuals can come together to form a team and to give them something to be proud of. Through Automotive Photography, our team is able to express themselves and allow for CarShowz to act as a platform to present their work to the world. In order to grow the brand you have to produce content and that’s the tricky part when you have full-time jobs and other responsibilities. After reading Speedhunters “About Us” section here:
Speedhunters is an international collective of photographers, writers & drivers with a shared passion for uncovering the world’s most exciting car culture stories.
…and checking out the Gears and Gasoline feature on Larry, I have learned getting out there and choosing the right subject and capturing the right event is what will continue to drive my motivation and also help me produce quality content.
My goal is to get out there more and shoot, I love track events (mostly racing) mainly capturing moving subjects. Of course events like SEMA, which we are heading back out there again this year. So we will see what the future brings and maybe I will earn that “Photographer” title before I know it or at least accept it. Hopefully the above video of Larry Chen will motivate you as well and inspire you to continue or get into Automotive Photography!
