Start of Summer

So the attempts yet again to continue a 365 have failed. Not so much of a big deal as I ended up feeling that I was taking a picture for the sake of it. In short it felt it was becoming quantity over quality.

However with that said, I attended DC14. New venue was awful. A field near the famous Silverstone race track. However the drive there and back along with the people always make it a cracking show.

Rolled down with the guys at Custom Cars. The attention to detail for each and every car on the stand was nothing short of inspiring.

This e46 m3 had the perfect track prep mods including a tasty set of recaros.

Richard's M3 sporting a new set of wheels. Fittment is sport on and it works so well.

Even had a chance to take a good look at this 2002. Fuel cell in the rear, stripped out interior and a single wiper. Aside from being ridiculously clean this was an example of pure perfection!

As usual for shows, prep was required. Usual rinse, snow foam, soap, dry, polish, and wax routine happened. Not bad for about 5 hours

Next comes updates to the car. I've been meaning to 'tidy' up the front end in the form of black kidneys since the car came, but never got around to it. At least now I can proudly say that progress has been made!

eBay replica parts instead of the BMW Performance grills sufficed. I did consider painting the OEM ones but the issues with paint chips and resale made new grills the easier choice.

Thankfully the world cup resulted in empty roads so after a nice drive, I ended up taking this.

Learnt an awful lot from taking this picture. I did try and attempt this with my Brabus but I didn't take enough and it ended up being a mess. To the point I abandoned it!

This shot comprises of about 6 images, each with the camera on a tripod and an off camera wireless flash. In an ideal world it could be taken like this (if not better) first time and in one image with more wireless receivers and flash guns. But given the cost, multiple pictures and merging isn't too bad. Mistakes have been learnt from for this attempt, so I will be trying this again in the near future, hopefully with a better final result.

Progress has been made on the track car, but is currently halted while I find a company to supply the new suspension. It's amazing to think that seeing so many companies fold over, there are retailers out there who openly will admit they will not price match as their profit margin is too close to cost. Surely making a profit at all is better than none at all?

Either way next week, the new kit will be ordered, new coolant fitted and new brake fluid installed. After that, insurance and MOT!

Exciting advancements...till the next update!

BMW F20 1 Series

Having a courtesy car is usually good for one thing...making you appreciate your car even more.

With that said, I had the opportunity to sample two different variants of the F20 chassis 1 series.

The first was an F20 116d M sport.

First things first, when the new model was released, I was a little unsure of the front nose. Having the opportunity to play with it a little more, it's certainly grown on me and in the M guise, it's certainly not ugly.

Impressions of the car, well the list is close to £30,000 with a load of options added and that's the biggest downfall of this car given it's gutless engine.

Yes it's a 1.6l diesel with about 114hp and 192lb of torque, but I found that the engine really needed to be pushed to get anywhere.

Aside from the lack of power, the car handled really well, be it attacking country roads aggressively or about town. Certainly had more than enough stopping power (courtesy of the M brake upgrade kit). The gearbox was fantastic, smooth and seamless and when in sport mode, the whole car overall was pleasing to drive.

Another bonus was the eco mode and this is where the car came into it's element. Driving sensibly yielded great mileage while pottering about daily driving (indicated an average of a little over 50mpg)

The cabin reeks of typical F series BMW build. Nice chunky M wheel, comfortable driving position and conveniently placed controls and all that boring stuff.

Seats, sufficiently supportive, however the whole interior feels let down by the choice of materials on the dash. Plenty of plastic, which cheapened the experience. (The estoril blue trim on the dash as well as the key was an incredibly nice touch!)

This model also had the premium audio, not something I'd personally want given the price tag, though easily understandable why some would certainly be happy to pick this option!

All in all, this car, with the current spec felt like it was crying for more power. Having a less efficient engine in favour of a more powerful one would be a no brianer for most to really enjoy the car but I'm still left on the fence for owning one.

The next, an F20 114i se. The best thing about this car for me was that it was a manual...and that's about it. Gear changes were incredibly smooth and unlike my Z4, the clutch incredibly light.

Aside from that, the rest of the car was well...a bit boring. Even less power and torque than the 116D. The colour wasn't as special as Estoril blue, candles would have been better than the halogen headlights, the seats weren't as comfortable however the ride was incredibly comfortable (obviously at the expense of a decent handling car).

The stop/start I managed to get used to, stick the car in neutral and release the clutch. It's nice to see how fact the technology has moved. Compared to my old Smart which had stop/start, BMW have managed to make the car restart much faster and less invasive. By the end, I had gotten so used to it, it didn't even feel the car was starting up. The best bit was moving the gear lever even from side to side would cause the car to start again. Very cool!

The purist inside of me is crying at the state of these engine bays. It seems long gone are the days of classy engine covers (when they were used of course) to now be replaced with big plastic things covering everything. Boring. At least the snail is on display.

Like with the M sport I drove before, plasticy interior but a nice driving position with great visibility. The little things such as the red stitching complementing the red accent on the key was certainly a nice touch.

However, with that, the contrast to the outside where it seems BMW has gone through all the effort of the little touches as seen below, but still opting for halogen bulbs. Sure it brings cost down to the buyer but the lighting is so bad as a result that it boggles the mind why one wouldn't opt for xenon headlamps!

Well to conclude, I could see myself driving a F20 as a daily, however it would have to be a 3 door model and have plenty of power (cough M135i). Considering a base M135i is £32,350 on the road without any options, I know I rather dabble in the used car market for something that offered more.

Week 11 - New tunes and Silhouettes

Day 69 - Sound

Ordered up a new speaker for the kitchen. Needed to be cheap and hassle free.

The USB port on the back is a nice touch too for devices that don't have the lighting connector.

For its size, it definitely packs a punch! As to be expected, the lower frequencies are somewhat lost but it isn't too bad for the price.

Day 70 - Sweat

Eight plus months waiting for this tune to drop, it's finally here. Skit and Tijani have created an absolute banger, and released right in time for Summer.

Quite happy with the tune on the car and this was a nice way to really test it out. Check out the video and buy the EP!

Day 71 - Present

Had a visit from my neighbour bearing another gift. This time for my e36!

Day 72 - Magic

Ended up in Covent Garden after stopping at Byrons for dinner and this guy had a considerable sized crowd gathered around.

Sure it's all fishing line and plenty of hours of practice but the guy was good. Very good.

Shots like this really do wonders for the argument that on a crop sensor body, a 30mm is all you need for street shooting!

Day 73 - Spring!

The winter wasn't overly cold/snowy, but any and every sign of spring is always welcoming and for no reason other than show season! I can't wait!

Day 74 - Playing with Silhouettes

Tried something different by using the wireless triggers and the flash. Caught the bug for silhouettes and will definitely be shooting more over the summer!

Ended up using the 24-105 f/4 and zoomed in.

Day 75 - Lens

More of the same really, this time however slightly wider focal length and I tried a different colour temperature (yes, it's meant to be a red background)

Week 10

Day 62 - Scale models

Thought I'd shake up my editing a little as opposed to my usual workflow. So I wanted to start with a simple image that I could replicate should I choose to scale up in the future!

Easiest option was the Lego model of the VW T1. The shooting style was mimicked from that of the photographers at Stanceworks opting for an incredibly shallow depth of field when shooting such that literally the front portion of the car is in focus and everything else blends away.

Pulling the image up in post was a simple combination of a 16:9 aspect ratio and then adding a letter box to restore the original aspect ratio for a cinematic effect.

Desaturated and brought the white levels down as I did use a flash (in order to enable a darker background). A lens correction profile and basic sharpening was then applied.

Day 63 - Sparklers

Following from the previous day's accomplishments I thought I'd try my hand at the shot again but change it up a little. I opted to take the shot when it was dark and there was no external light source. This initially posed issues for focusing as the camera had issues locking on to the subject, so with the help of my phone's torch the focus was set.

The exposure was set for 13 seconds and I then lit a sparkler. Light painting with something other than a flash was the goal here.

The first two shots weren't quite right, the first exposure was far too lengthy resulting in a lot of clipping and the second didn't have a visible light trail.

With the final shot (third time lucky) I circled with the sparkler above the van to illuminate the front and then went behind for a light trail. Thankfully the length of the exposure made for a pretty cool effect!

Day 64 - Retuning

My social media feed was full of people preparing for Ultimate Dubs (One of the first car shows of the season, VAG only and we'll leave it at that...) So I did some summer preparations of my own.

Since slapping the audio in last year, it had a tune but over time I've found the highs to be a little too bright. Not a bad thing, but when I initially had my system, that's how I liked my music.

Putting off this simply easy job was a bad idea I think, literally taking half an hour to do, the difference is night and day.

Day 65 - Test shot

Made a short clip last week. Enjoyed it so much that I will be doing more in the summer. So I've started to put together stills of the shots I would like to use.

This below is one. Super shallow depth of field and turning on of the halo light which BMW's are famous for having (often imitated too by others, similar to what Audi LED's are today).

Post was approached with a summer vibe to it, warmer colour temperature as well as some split toning to really add warmth.

Day 66 - Present

My next door neighbour is a publisher. He saw the track car and came over for a chat. After expressing my initial desire for an e30 we got talking over one of my favourite BMW chassis. Shortly after leaving, I was presented with one of the books he had helped publish.

Incredibly well written and for anyone considering restoring an e30, this book is certainly one that should feature as part of the collection!

Day 67 - IT Tech Support

Not had to do a job like this for a while but was left with a computer claiming that it would restart on its own. Few minor issues that could be causing the problem such as power supply issues and so forth so I ended up taking everything out and fitting everything back, cleaning all the components as I went.

After that, the software was looked at such as a different antivirus software used (Avast!) in addition to a browser upgrade as Chrome wouldn't update itself, and ran a few different extensions such as HTTPS everywhere and Adblock plus. 

Was surprised to find how untidily the auxiliary fan wiring was left from the PC builder when I first opened the computer. I won't name names here, but it was something that could be of a concern given the potential thermal issues being a cramped case.

Day 68 - Tools for the Job

So yet again, I'm reminded of the obvious fact that using the right tools makes a world of a difference. For anyone who has tacked a brake disc change on an older car will know that the disc retaining bolt has a tendency to seize. Of course being my first time attempting to change a brake disc, the simple procedure wouldn't be so simple...

As documented before, there was a lot of pain and suffering that was endured to attempt to get the screw out but eventually I threw in the towel of trying to hammer a screwdriver in to the screw and ended up getting a screw extractor.

Again a huge task even getting old of them as 3 of the staff at my local Halfords didn't even know what it does; useless!

Well, once getting home, it was as simple as offering up the different sizes to find the right one, drilling a pilot hole, and within literally a minute, the screw was out.

Hopefully the other three are just as easy now.

Week 9

Day 55 - More car parts bring much excitement.
Ended up actually needing an air temp sensor for the car as one of the many previous owners thought the car would somehow be better without it.

I'm sure it probably doesn't affect the way in which the car operates, but as the 18 button computer is able to display ambient air temps (something that might be useful to know once I wire my aux fan override on) I figured I should get it working.

Day 56 - Fitted

Actually managed to get the sensor fitted. Really quick job to do as I had previously removed the foglight and the wheel arch liner.

The only issue was I fired up the car too soon as the computer was still displaying -37° C. Shit.

Tried removing the battery connector and left it for 5 minutes and reconnected it. Same issue.

I then disconnected the sensor and attacked the search bar on a few forums and found that I needed to leave the sensor plugged in  to allow it to get up to temperature.

Bingo.

Ended up taking the picture in the dark of the night so there was a need for the flash gun. Quite happy with how the picture turned out at a plus!

Day 57 - Trying something new.

It's a 365...for pictures, yes I'm aware.

However, for those who are familiar with DSLR video, there is a somewhat different look to videos shot with an DSLR and its something I've always wanted to experiment with.

Cue the steep learning curve with both capturing the shots and editing it all together. I somehow managed to cobble together this 'teaser' and I'm incredibly pleased with it.

The music choice was pretty much set from last year and I had a fair few shots in mind, drawing from other videos that I had seen. Took me long enough to get my act together and actually make it happen though!

Day 58 - Stripping

And the work continues on the track car. Simple enough job to do. Unplug the looms, run them on the underside and plug everything back and hope it doesn't spontaneously combust.

After reading a few articles on Speed Hunters, I became entranced by the idea of engines, cars and garages all shot in B+W. So I thought I'd pay more attention to the loss of colour to really highlight the subject.

Day 59 - Finished class early (9-11) and spent the rest of the day roaming about in London. Specifically Canary Wharf. As it is a private estate there, obviously, is an emphasis on security and this pertains even to parking and stopped vehicles.

The last time I was there I was in a car (and consequently being ushered to move along quite quickly. This time I had a camera in my possession and was on getting around by foot.

I will still maintain that it's a bit of a maze for those who are not quite familiar with the layout. Ultimately, would I want to work there though? I'm not entirely sure if I'm honest.

Day 60 - Bokeh and Brakes.

Finally started on the disc and pad swap for the track car. Plenty of WD40 was required, and even then, there was blood, stripped retaining screws and some swearing.

Oh and plenty of rust fell from the brake disc too. Clearly showing the need for new discs.

Day 61 - Heritage

Sure I've taken this picture many a time, and I would probably continue to take it a million times more. Utterly worth it and I'm always left walking away with a huge grin on my face.

Popped a flash as it was slightly gloomy and managed to capture the water perfectly. Just to add the car hasn't seen much detailing this year at all yet still beads beautifully.

Week 8

Day 48- The pain of another courtesy car. The good point is that you feel all high up like a 4x4 whilst (according to the trip computer) averaging 45+ mpg (when you drive sensibly...I found that hard given the lack of power)...and that's the list of things that are good about it over and done with. Oh and the ambiance lighting that all the minis have.

Aside from that, the engine is slow and lacks any punch, gear changes are clunky, there's too much plastic  for the price of the car and it's incredibly cramped on the inside. The seats themselves can't tilt leaving a gap between your thighs and the edge of the seat (incredibly unsupportive) when compared to the lovely seats we had in the 1 series.

I know the 116d we were given was close to £30,000 specced up, and this is as poverty spec as a mini clubman can get but as a basic car, it's truly awful (to put it kindly). I'd have a basic one series any day of the week!

Day 49 - Always refreshing to have a new subject to photography. Went to a dimly lit street close by and armed with a tripod and a flashgun, I went around the car manually triggering off the flash. Sure having more flashes, wireless triggers and a light stand would make things much easier and allow to really kill all ambient light, but a few more lights and wireless triggers is a little out of budget at the moment.

Continuing with my recent theme however, I've continued to use my 30mm f/1.4 Sigma lens (effective 48mm focal length) and I am really chuffed with the results. The lens can be a little slow to the focus when paired with my 60D, however when shooting a set scene, the results are, well feel free to make your mind up on them for an decently priced lens!

Day 50 - I'm beginning to feel that I am eating my own words here. Sent the wheel off to BMW for a refurb due to severe corrosion, and well, when I had the finished wheel back, I did prepare myself to be disappointed (plan for the worst and all that).

As expected, they fucked up. The factory finish was diamond cut and the wheel came back with paint on it. Hardly acceptable given they've only offered to act on one of the wheels. Will be complaining

Day 51 - Strolling home from class to spot this genius numberplate. Needless to say the Landy wasn't as filthy as I would have hoped, but it certainly wasn't spotless.

Would love to see this off road getting incredibly filthy.

Day 52 - Early morning 9am starts are painful to begin with. The fact there's ice everywhere certainly doesn't make it easier. At least the several layers of wax on the car allowed the water to freeze into droplets, looks pretty cool.

Ended up shooting the image fairly open to really hone in on the frozen water droplets resulting in another image that adds to the reasons why I absolutely love my Sigma lens. Sure it does have it's flaws but the quality vs value is remarkable!

Day 53 - Ran the track car up to temp and for a while longer to get all the fluids flowing through the engine. Considering it has not been touched all week it started without any fuss or drama and held it's temperature as it should have.

I'm incredibly excited to get the car on the road, probably with plenty of cheap tyres and mad burnouts and skids all over the place. I would like to upgrade the suspension of the car at some point too, namely a thicker rear anti roll bar and some ability to dial in the camber a little better to really help the car be glued to the road.

Day 54 - Normally I'm quite against dutch angle images, however I thought I'd try something new for a change. Pretty happy with the outcome though I could have used a polarising filter to get rid of the reflection on the car.

Well as it is, that's a week!