It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to just shoot a car without any time constraints, deadlines, or expectations.  Alan and I caught a break in the weather on Sunday night and despite having my SB-600 and umbrella on stand blown down by the wind, the photos still turned out great and Alan was very happy with the outcome.  I also used this opportunity to test out the Nikkor 85mm ƒ1.4G that I rented from BorrowLenses and it definitely proved the sharpness of Nikon’s pro portrait glass.  Here’s actually a good example of the testing, with the apertures going from ƒ1.4, to ƒ4, and finally to ƒ8:

Except for one of the photos below, each photo was taken by simply using the ambient available light. Perhaps the wind blowing down my flash and umbrella was a sign that I just wasn’t destined for strobe automotive photography?  Maybe, maybe not, but nevertheless I’m happy with how everything turned out:

2011 proved to be a banner year in terms of the sheer number of photos I’ve taken and how I feel I’ve grown as a photographer. I shot a variety of different subjects, helped mentor and advise a great group of photographers, and helped NWMotiv establish itself as a major media player in the local automotive scene. Rather than bore everyone with a long write-up on everything, I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves, starting from the beginning of the year. Be sure to click the caption under each photo for the full gallery.

J A N U A R Y

The Mendozas

F E B R U A R Y

Philippines

Singapore

PROPS! Vitamin D and International Mo at Rock Paper Scissors

M A R C H

Nikkor 135 ƒ2 DC Lens Testing

Erica at Discovery Park

Nikkor 24mm ƒ1.4G ED Lens Testing

A P R I L

NOS Citrus Launch

Sakura Con 2011

M A Y

Fast Five Premiere

Erica for NWMotiv.com

Erica for the Subie Girls Calendar

Finegold-Pham Wedding

UW Street Fair and Gasworks Park

J U N E

Brianna

Seattle at Night

Blue Scholars Cinemetropolis Appreciation Party

Cheeky Cafe

Forum Fest 2011

Alan’s FC3S

Lee’s Triumph Daytona 675R

J U L Y

Independence Day 2011

Big NW Subaru Meet

Evergreen Drift Extreme Night

Kaylee at Coulon Park

Formula D Seattle 2011

Hoops206

KP’s Seattle Adventures

A U G U S T

XDC Seattle 2011

DeadMau5 at the Paramount

Hagen and Natalie’s Engagement

West Coast Subaru Show 13

S E P T E M B E R

San Diego Trip 2011

Wence and Jo’s Court Wedding

Matt’s Dodge Magnum for the Falken Tires 2012 SEMA Calendar

O C T O B E R

Erica Potter

N O V E M B E R

Stephanie and Travis Maternity

Wence and Jo at Volunteer Park

D E C E M B E R

NWMotiv Toy Drive and Winter Meet 2011

Just a little Halloween fun with Miss Erica May.  I shot each photo with my Nikkor 24-70mm ƒ2.8 and the 100% natural lighting worked great inside the University of Washington’s Suzzallo Library.  We timed it perfectly with just a few bystanders giving us strange looks, and we made sure we weren’t too big of a disturbance in the quiet areas.  Erica’s always a pleasure to work with and I’m glad she didn’t get too nervous about the location!  Link to all the photos:

 http://photos.arminausejo.com/People/Erica-Potter-10-22-11/

And a few personal favorites:

I miss the Seattle Supersonics. After being stripped away from my beloved city of Seattle by a number of forces (be sure to watch Sonicsgate for the full scoop…it’s free and won a Webby Award), I have sorely missed professional men’s basketball since 2008. Thus, once I heard that a charity game bringing NBA players from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest was being organized, I stopped everything else I was planning to make sure I didn’t miss it. I even missed out on the main event of Formula Drift to attend the game. In any case, it was great to watch NBA players in Key Arena once again, and thanks to Wence’s connection, we had some awesome seats. I definitely look forward to the day when Seattle gets the Supersonics back again! Here is a link to all the photos:

http://photos.arminausejo.com/Events/Hoops206-2011/

And a few of my personal favorites:

]]> http://www.arminausejo.com/2011/07/28/hoops-206-charity-basketball-classic/feed/ 0 http://www.arminausejo.com/2011/06/22/cheeky-cafe-food-photos/ http://www.arminausejo.com/2011/06/22/cheeky-cafe-food-photos/#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 06:32:00 +0000 Armin H. Ausejo http://www.arminausejo.com/?p=720  

Pasta Carbonara from Cheeky Cafe

When my friend Kiyomi asked me to take photos of the food at her restaurant, Cheeky Cafe, I simply could not say no.  She told me to come hungry, so I brought Wence, Carlos, and Erica with me and we all left with a food coma that would last the entire weekend.  I cannot praise the food at Cheeky Cafe any more; if you live in the Seattle area, you absolutely need to stop by and enjoy some comfort food.  I took each of these photos with my Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D Micro lens, which means that clicking on each photo to see the larger version will totally be worth your while.  Once you’re finished drooling, be sure to check out Cheeky Cafe on the web at www.cheekycafe.com and in person here.  Onto the photos:

Meatloaf Sandwich from Cheeky Cafe

Meatloaf Loco Moco from Cheeky Cafe

Cheeky French Toast from Cheeky Cafe

Pancakes from Cheeky Cafe

Fry Bread, Chili, Cheese and Fried Egg from Cheeky Cafe

Grilled Spam and Cheese Sandwich from Cheeky Cafe

Pasta Carbonara from Cheeky Cafe

Blue Scholars are undoubtedly my favorite hip-hop artists.  With roots from the University of Washington and made up of just “one DJ and one MC,” they’ve always made music that speaks to me, not just through the beats and lyrics, but also through the connection I have as a Filipino American and University of Washington alumnus.  To raise money for their latest album, “Cinemetropolis,” they used Kickstarter to “sign a record deal with the people.”  I gladly pledged money to help produce their album, and as a pledger, I was able to join Blue Scholars for their album appreciation party on June 15th.  I brought my cousin Wence with me and it was a concert we both would never forget.

The night started out very chill.  We were welcomed into the Theater Off Jackson by a full bar, couches, chairs, and a white sheet in the middle of the room with a video playing on it.  As it turned out, the video being played had people overlaid onto it from the room next door.  Everyone who decided to brave being projected into the middle of the room would be recorded and replayed during the premiere concerts over the weekend.  Not long after Wence and I settled in, both Geo (the MC) and Sabzi (the DJ) came out from a back room and just went around to everyone, introducing themselves and conversing.  Not long afterward, a line formed to talk to Geo while Sabzi just did his own thing walking around the room.  After meeting most of everyone there, they said down for a question and answer session about the new album, specific songs and lyrics, and the duo’s future.  Blue Scholars then ended the night with one of the best concerts I’ve ever witnessed in person.

I rushed to get the photos processed and was able to submit a few to be published on the Seattle Weekly’s website.  You can find these photos here:

http://www.seattleweekly.com/slideshow/blue-scholars-vip-party-theater-off-jackson-33576391/

I met a ton of people that night, and unfortunately ran out of business cards.  Hopefully those who did get my business card are reading this now!  I also received a lot of requests to put these photos up on Flickr, so here are the links to both my SmugMug gallery and Flickr set:

http://verdugo.smugmug.com/Events/Blue-Scholars-Cinemetropolis/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arminausejo/sets/72157626987127616/

And finally of course, some personal favorites of mine below.  Big thanks to guest photographers who graciously took photos of Wence and I with Geo and Sabzi!