Lucky! Here, they all have a pic of me and my TT in their cruisers... with shoot to kill orders. No way I would have gotten off. :tup:

im actually very respectful to my local authorities. :) i think he was expecting to see a young flashy smart-arse punk driving. yet im just a middle-aged businessman in casual business attire with a nice courteous smile.

yah, that's quite a drop whoever did that to your LSD... but shouldn't affect functionality, right?

yah, one time i put a DO NOT WASH sign on my dash and yet they still managed to wash my dd at the time and put a world of swirls and halograms in the paint. :eek: halograms is like the horror story of all time for detailers... :icon14: :rofl2: took me 9-10hrs to get it all out and re-waxed.

yah, i just said no to the accusation cause i know for certain i did not blow a red light nor was i speeding. i accepted the fact that my turn might be perceived as 'fast' and he wanted me to tone it down. i nodded with a sophisticated 'you're onto something' look and he seemed satisfied. :) but i think he just wanted to check out my car more than anything. it's happened to me many times..


hahaha, i dont remember the last time i was cited... it was a long long time ago. :)

Hmmm, the last time I was cited was back in '98!

Thanks. I'll have to set something up with them on one of my days off.

I always take my car in clean and the guys at the dealership once said to me "hope you don't mind, but we didn't bother to wash it because we would have made it dirtier than when you dropped it off". :rofl2:

:tup: that's great!

hahaha. :icon18: :tup: awesome.

no Z action for me today... just relaxing and taking more snaps tonight with my DSLR. :p need to buy me a tripod...

After seeing those tripods in the photo thread Im in the market too! Which one you have in mind Ken?

yah, im definitely going to get the manfrotto as recommended by nick and nitex... but im not sure which one's better for me so still searching around.

im still thinking about getting the short table top one first cause even though the large tripods can be interveted for low angle shots, the only time im going to be using my tripod outside is when im motoring my Z... which mean only needed for very low-angle shots. the table top one is like the size of a dollar billl so i'll fit in my gear bag. :p

the crappy tripod i have already will do basically everything else i need it to do... im just not sure how long the thing will last so i'll probably look into it deeper when the thing finally fails. :)

^^ Morning Mr. Kenchan! What are you going to do with the tripod? Self-portraits, perhaps?

If you're going to get a table top tripod just make sure that it(and the head if there's a separate one) can support the weight of your camera properly so it doesn't fall over!

hello, mr.onzede! :tiphat:

no self-portraits, i do not need to be reminded of bad news each time i look at my computer. :rofl2: ;)

im going to use it to get very low angle shots of my cars. :yum:


will do! the one sold at amazon appears to be able to hold wat looks like a full sized DSLR. :D

I would be more worried about the extra weight of a lens if you're tilting the camera though so make sure! :tup:

yah, i will definitely try it on my kitchen floor before taking it out for the shoot. :) i think having one of the legs under the lens at all times will help counter it.

for Z things today, i renewed my plates with new tags for both my G and Z. :tup: i hate going to the DMV because i have to be with people that i dont have to deal with on a daily basis. some folks are just so damn stupid (and holding up the line) it's pretty incredible. :shakes head:

even worse is going to the social security office or immigration office. suddenly you feel like you're with criminals for some reason. :icon17:

Whew, I thought you were going to get a bit self-indulgent there for a minute. Once you have a tripod, you can also start playing around with time exposures -- fun stuff. :tup:

hahaha! no, i like my online friends too much. :tup:

i have a crappy tripod and took these shots of my garage the other day. :)

http://www.the370z.com/members/kench...-11-garage.jpg

this shot i was working on the composition as well... please grade my performance.

http://www.the370z.com/members/kench...e-trashcan.jpg

Mr. Kenchan, I like your garage and the stuff in it quite a bit.

For composition, though, think about not shooting stuff from your normal standing position -- just a thought. It adds interest when your photos are from angles and perspectives that are different than what everyone sees by looking themselves. I hope this makes sense.

Oh yeah, a wide angle lens makes for interesting shots in enclosed areas like garages. My 100 - 400 is supposed to show up today and a wide angle (like a 10 - 22) is next. Stupid wallet-emptying DSLR!

yah, this makes sense. actually when i was taking snaps of my piano's keybed yesterday i tilted the camera about 35-40 degrees to get a werd angle and it made the keybed appear more interesting than if i took it from the side.

the main reason why i want the short tripod is so that i can do exactly that. :tup: i want an ant's view shot of my car. :p i'd have to roll on the ground to see that and 92% of the time you wont find me rolling around on my back in parking lots. :icon17:

wow, 100-400 sounds exciting! :tup: that's a long lens. while i was motoring my z over the weekend i saw a guy with a huge telescopic gray colored lens on his DSLR taking picts of a crane (non-edible bird). if that was me, that would've been a scope on a rifle. :icon17: ;) jk

Tripod????

Monopod FTW. I love mine. Stabilizes my shots, esp when taking them outside of my car...

hummm... i thought those things were used more for video...(?) :confused: not that it matters if it improves your snaps as well. :tup:

^ yeah it just helps with hand shudder... esp when I'm zoomed in with a long lens. In the bright sunlight though, usually there's no need. But when shooting lower light or heck, HDR photos, tri or mono is a must.

BTW, speaking of bright light, I love my Tiffen CPL!!! thanks for advice guys!

yah, i definitely need to practice using 50-55mm shots cause i do shake the camera when i zoom. :)

hey, glad you like the CPL! i ended up keeping my Tiffen set (UV filter, CPL, and ND) just as backup if i ever drop my B+W lens. :ugh2: never know, you know. :icon17: i defintely like using the CPL on bright days. was mr.onzedge's recommendation to me. :)

Concur! I shoot my monopod more than the tripod but neither as often as I can get away with it.

Did nothing with the 370 today! Drove the TT to work. Well, that's not accurate. Parked it in the garage after the wife drove it home from work. Had to wipe the drool off from all the car guys she works with. They hadn't seen it since I did the springs and spacers. :)

Well... I stared at the Z all afternoon while I detailed another car. Does that count??? :) So no Z action for me today... however, I did detail a friends car... more info here:

http://www.the370z.com/lounge-off-to...-mercedes.html

But here is the finished product:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...heelafter2.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ail/after5.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ail/after4.jpg

^^ Nice work! :tiphat:

thx man!!! It was tiring... but very rewarding. I love doing this stuff. Wish I could, full time ;) But I would much rather detail Z's ALL DAY!!! hehe

Very nice! I had one as a rental when I had body work done on an SUV we used to have. I know what you mean. Most people don't get it when I spend 4-5 hours of detailing therapy.:tiphat:

Being lowered means that my plastic undershroud has taken a beating.

I picked up one of these Zspeed aluminum undershrouds from a local dude and will be installing it soon (it's missing a few bolts which are already on order)

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u.../photo-195.jpg

I hear that. The Z doesn't think it's smarter than I am -- like my clients try.

^^^^^ :roflpuke2:

beach- LOL @ wiping off drool from car. :tup:

G2Z - nice work! looks great. i luv that benz too, i want to get a C-series (probably a new one) for the wife next time. :) btw, your lawn impresses me each time. :tup:

mr.onzedge- LOL!!! :D

waizzz- nice looking under shroud! :tup:

i placed my new tags on the plate on the Z today...that's all for today. :D was like a wandering bear walking around in the basement tonight looking for props and background and stuff to use for my RC car shots. i just realized i might have slight artistic skillz for photography. :icon17: slap! kenchan wakes up to reality. :crying:

i gotz a headache now. hahaha. :D

LOL thx ken. What's with my lawn? Am I the only one that mows? LOL. That's all I do... Honest.... ;)

Yeah I think you are a better photographer than me now for sure.

Beach, yes indeed...detailing is therapy for me. One time, I started at 6 am then I came out of my garage at supper. That's how focused I get....

Waizz, though I like that diffuser, wouldn't that also in turn get all scraped up just the same? Just keep the plastic oem one and replace that when it gets all scraped to hell. Might be cheaper too?

^^^ I forgot to mention it -- the lawn is stunning. Please see my "What did you do with your Lawn today" thread, coming soon.

LOL onzedge... Funny stuff

lol, you have to be doing something to get your lawn so green and even (color and height). it's like a pretty girl saying she eats a lot of everything and doesn't really exercise. no way~! :D

naw, im just spending more time on the camera that's all. im a pretty picky guy by personality so i just keep trying and trying and trying until my nose bleeds. (no my nose does not bleed. :icon17: ) it's just the nature in me to keep trying until im happy with what i do.

hahahahahh !!!!!!!!

I actually have one of those flexible Gorilla Pods that I use for selfies and timer shots with point-and-shoot when I'm traveling. I'm often traveling by myself and I have to shoot my own "I was here" shots. I can frame up a selfie with the timer and get a way better shot than what I get when a passerby with good intentions offers to help.

http://www.the370z.com/members/lunaz...797-london.jpg


Ha!
I actually got some of my favourite low-angle shots of my cars while rolling around on the ground. :tup:

http://www.the370z.com/members/lunaz...d3-gt-sale.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/lunaz...d3-gt-sale.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/lunaz...il-12-2009.jpg



Here's a quick and dirty Droid picture of my lawn:

http://www.the370z.com/members/lunaz...36798-lawn.jpg

LunaZ -- excellent grass-cutting and photography technique.

Luna, the self portrait came out pretty good but the first pic of the Mazda is great!!! Great background and composition, though I would love to see it wider. Did you crop?

Drove her in the rain for the first time. RE 11's are awesome!

Can't wait my RE-11's are to be installed end of august :tup:

Luna, nice shots buddy. You really know what you're doing. I still remember that shot of your Z. Like I told ya before, that shot helped convince me to buy my PW Z ;)

RE11's? Hmmmm you guys must all like that. How about Toyo Proxes or F1 supercars???