For the last few months I have been enjoying my M3 at autocrosses in the area. I recently took some in car video using a Monoprice MHD camera.
I realized that I had not posted pics of my newest acquisition. I sold the 2001 M5 back in July to help finance some house remodeling and pursue my dream of owning one of each generation M3. Unfortunately, I still require four doors, so the E30 and E46 were off the table and I don’t have the money for an E90. That narrowed my choice down to the most accessible M3: the E36. I found a local one owner car for sale from a little old lady. We agreed on a price, but I still had the M5 and could not buy it until the M5 was gone. A few weeks later the M5 was sold and coincidentally, she left a message knocking 2k off our price if I could buy it that weekend. It all fell into place and I picked up the M3 after being without a car for 12 hours!
Here are pictures from the first weekend of ownership:
The exterior of the car was very clean and the interior was very nice. The engine ran strong. The only two issues were the shocks were shot and it had an automatic transmission. Within a week, I received my transmission swap kit and BC coil overs. I put the coil overs on the following weekend. The transmission sat in the backyard for a few months, but over the Christmas holiday, I completed the swap and was enjoying a manual M3!
I took these pics the day after I finished the swap:
Besides the coil overs, transmission swap, and some regular maintenance, I added a now discontinued front lip and a new head unit. The car drives and looks proper now and is a ton of fun to drive. I do not have a ton of plans for aftermarket items on this car, just a set of wheels and some audio stuff. I’ll keep this one mostly stock and work towards getting an E46 M3.
I was pretty busy this past weekend. Picked up a new filter to try out during the day. Took a few shots at the local BMW meet, something I don’t normally do since most of the meets are during the middle of the day.
Later that night I headed out with my friends and took a few shots with some different techniques. The first was just with my normal flash setup.
We then tried some light painting.
Next we tried some light painting using a technique my friend read about. I love how this picture came out.
My friend wanted some pics of his car in the same manner.
My friend really wanted these last three pics. These came out pretty cool as well.
It has been a while since my friends and I snapped any pics of our cars. Perhaps it has been due to complacency with our cars, a lack of inspiration, or new locales to shoot. We had talked about shooting at the Max Brewer bridge in Titusville for a few years and with its construction finished, we thought that it would be a great time to check it out.
So after looking through the pics from January 27, I started editing them again on my desktop.
For reference, here are the two pics I posted previously:
I went back and did a bit more post processing on my images to get them where I had initially wanted:
I sharpened the car a bit, played with the color some, and added a gradient to the sky. This is much more in line with what I was looking for. I will probably try again at this same spot in a few weeks.
First pics of the new year, and I’m not very thrilled. I didn’t spend the time I should have when taking them, and went out about 30 minutes too early. Also, didn’t get to edit them on the desktop, but did them in LightRoom only, instead of in CS.
It was nice to get out and snap some pics though. Also, it helps show off the new front brakes!
Finally getting a chance to upload these pics. Took these about a month ago. I really was enjoying messing with the circular polarizer and GND’s. The sky was also working pretty well that day.
This past weekend was the monthly Space Coast Region BMW Meet. This months turnout saw the arrival of two E36 M3’s by two of the frequent members of the group. After dinner at Cantinas Dos Amigos, we headed off to shoot some pictures by one of my favorite location. The guys were from Orlando and were dying for some pictures by the ocean, so I was more than happy to oblige.
First up was Zach’s E36 sedan:
I normally do not shoot these, but they requested a group shot, since the two of them are good friends.
Next was Marco’s E36 convertible:
I tried shooting higher up since the ocean was not really visible in my previous images. I actually think this was my favorite from the day:
And of course, Alex’s E39:
I haven’t been taking too many pictures lately, but I did have the opportunity to snap a few on two separate occasions. The first was taking some for sale pictures for a friend of mine. The second was at a local BMW meet.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Z33. They always had a very athletic and sporty look to them. My friend has owned this one for about a year, but decided it was time to let go of the fun car. It had the usual goodies on it and was a pretty good looking car. He asked me to snap a few pics for an ad for him. I was more than happy to help him out. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn’t quite right. These summer sunlight hours are still throwing me off! However, he was happy with them, so I guess I cannot be too irritated with them.
These pics from the BMW Meet in Orlando are one of the rare times I’m shooting in harsh sunlight. Thankfully, after taking this overall group shot, we moved to the overhang and were able to snap pics from there.
This wagon is really clean. I love the style of it.
Unfortunately, this was all I could get before the cops came to shoo us away.
The Space Coast Region BMW Group attended the open house at Pierre’s Place on Sunday. It was a fun meet, but it reminded me why I don’t take pictures at car shows. It’s a lot more challenging than shooting a single car. I couldn’t find the angle I wanted to take the picture and get the lighting right. I guess I just need more practice.
I love this car. It just has such a cool, classic style to it.
The organizer of the regional meets:
My car:
Couple of guys from Orlando:
One of Pierre’s customers who showed up:
A friend of ours that showed up in his Porsche (better than showing up in his AMG!):
Another local:
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