Category: Car Photography

JDM as Luck is a place made specifically for car photos, videos, and other car related content that I hope to put out some time in the future.

Tongs and Tailpipes: Fast and the Furious Style BBQ

Slow, Savory, Laidback n Lazy

Fast and the Furious is one of those Film Franchises that might not have the highest objective quality, but the film’s cultural impact in the early 2000s catapulted cars and the tuning scene to the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. When I look back, it’s hard to place myself in the shoes of my own seven year old self. In a short span of twenty or so years the entire world changed. Looking at old movies, music, videos, and technology makes me feel appreciative nostalgia for a place and time I’ll never see again.

Fast and the Furious was about tuner cars, nitrious, and adrenaline-fueled action. Upon watching the film every kid wanted nitrous, a supra, and a Honda Civic low enough to traverse under Semis. After the film franchise, we got to experience some of that with the Need for Speed franchise. While kids were content with that, that small taste of octane turned into one of the cornerstones of my life. That stupid low-budget film would send me on a journey that landed me in Japan.

Watching the film now as an adult, it’s easier to be a little cynical about the stunts and all the incorrect information about cars. . . let alone the hundreds of shifts they pull during any sequence on the road. But much like how stories in videogames and why your character’s perform the shoot explody action hero stuff become more important, your relationship with Fast and the Furious Changes as you get older.

Fast and The Furious Lost Touch

While watching the most recent Fast films is entertaining in the way watching a train wreck is, the older films have a relatable charm in them. At it’s core Fast films are supposed to be about one thing . . . FAMILY. . . Oh come on you know the meme was coming at some point in time. Some of the best scenes in the Fast films aren’t the setpieces, but the ones of car people just hanging out, working on cars, or eating together. The word Family means a lot of things, but for me the Fast definition of “Family” reminds me of hanging out with my car buddies.

While I’ve never stolen electronics out of the back of a truck, my car friends and I have gotten into plenty of trouble doing some spirited driving. Sitting around at each other’s houses or at a pho place at 0200AM after some driving are some of my most cherished memories. Falling in love with cars, drifting, and driving put me on a fast track to japan. . . see what I did there.

20 Years Later

More than two decades after that film I find myself living out scenes I’ve seen in a film. Just driving to a spot where other car people bring their rides to hang out and eat together is surreal. In today’s world, we have social media, smartphones, and high-quality video recording right at our fingertips. And while it’s great for taking photos and working with models, a part of me wonders what it would have been like 20 years ago in the Import Car Scene.

At that time it was obscure internet forums, shakey VHS footage, film cameras, and magazines. My cousin had stories from underground street races, hot import nights, and secret meets that would take place if you met the right people. As convenient as our technology is I feel like something special was lost when social media invaded the car scene. Thanks to one of my favorite films I guess I have an idea of what it might have been like. . . minus the heisty stuff and all.

I’m just glad to be able to attend one of these meets myself.

Much Love <3
LaidbackMarco

by Laidbackmarco

The SR Heritage Event Reignited My Love for Japan

The SR Heritage Event Reignited My Love for Japan

Since the late ’80s, grip racers, drifters, and weekend warriors have played the distinct note of Nissan’s 4-cylinder 2.0-liter turbo-charged performance engine. Since then the SR20 seems to have a fanbase that has only grown. The SR Heritage event held at Shizuoka’s Fuji Speedway is a testament engine’s legacy.  The cars and culture surrounding the engine things equally legendary.

Many consider the late ’80s and early ’90s the golden era of motorsports culture in Japan. Initial D, Best Motoring International, and games like Gran Turismo have elevated this twenty-year period of time a mythical status. Nissan’s SR engine was racing in the mountains, on the track, and straight into our hearts.

Below are photos of the event. An article will be linked below once written.

by Laidbackmarco

Fuji Speedway Drift Event: Part 4

Fuji Speedway Drift : Winding Down

As the day winded down crews began swapping tires, relaxing, and preparing to leave as the sun started to set over one of the best days I’ve had. The Fuji Speedway Drift event was coming to a close. I had wished that the sun remain where it was forever and that this day wouldn’t end. This wasn’t just a golden hour of the day for photos, it was one of the golden moments of my life.

by Laidbackmarco

Fuji Speedway Drift Event: Part 3

Seeing The Serious

Drivers make laps around the track was mesmerizing. With their driving ability, stickers, and chassis adorned with aggressive upgrades you could see the hours poured in. The jealousy bug bit me hard because I knew there were people who made a living from driving cars, meanwhile I couldn’t make money off of anything I tried. I imagined myself in the driver’s seat of one of the cars as it made its way around the small track.

by Laidbackmarco

Fuji Speedway Drift Event: Part 2

Arriving at the Drift Event Late

I had missed the rain and arrived to the pleasing sound of engines roaring, tires squealing, and turbos hissing. In the parking area were people relaxing, chatting, and cooling down their cars after their time on the track. The atmosphere calmed me despite the loud noises of all the cars. I’m glad Japanese Drift Events are Chill.

by Laidbackmarco

Fuji Speedway Drift Event

I just returned from

Tokyo Auto Salon so I was a reluctant to want to go to the drift event the following day. Money is getting to be a little tight. Low pay and my growing list of expenses made me hesitate to say yes. The continual debt that I owe my parents hung over me like a shadow as I put gas in my car. Stress stopped me dead in my tracks when I had to pay a tolls. Hungry I was hesitant to feed myself after watching the bills from my pocket drain.

I’ll be more stressed about money moving through the rest of the month. Feeling truly happy was worth it. At the same time it was also emotionally painful to be so close to a dream and constrained to the sidelines. In that way one of the most pleasurable moments in my life cut deep with a poisoned blade.

Pictures!!

by Laidbackmarco

Tokyo Auto Salon Part 3 And Thoughts

Wrapping Up

Some of the “highlights” of Tokyo Auto Salon, were things that didn’t excite me at all. I was immune from the hype surrounding newer modeled cars, exotic cars, and even the new Toyota Supra, but there were some things I was really happy to see. I’d never thought I’d say this in my life, but. . .

I was happy to see a Toyota Yaris

My dad actually owned a Yaris Sedan in 2008 and although it was a cute car, it’s one purpose was fuel efficiency and economy. Even with the SE trim, which came packed with a spoiler, fog lights, and 4-wheel disc brakes, there was no getting around the safe design that Toyota went with. The one exciting thing about it was that its 1.5 liter engine used the same VVT-i technology that the 20v 4AGE, although it’s numbers were well below that of the legendary 4a Engine.

When I saw that Toyota not only had gotten back into rallying(please come back subaru), but won the manufacturers’ championship I was really surprised. I was actually happy to see a Yaris in person, and it gives me hope that Toyota will go back to the ways of making cars for car people as well as continuing to sell cars that the general public can enjoy. My hope is that they will roll out a tamed down version of their rally car, as well as put an inline four cylinder in their 86.

Japan wants the WRC

To those of you who don’t know the WRC is the World Rally Championship, and they used to hold events in Japan. I was happy to see that I wasn’t the only one who wanted to go to an event(although I want to go as a driver even if I’m at the bottom of the standings tee hee). Japanese roads are perfect for rally stages, the touge is where many driving legends are born. One legend that even laymen might know is Colin McRae.

When I saw Colin McRae’s subaru and Tommi Mäkinen’s Lancer, the boy racer buried inside me had been resuscitated. I was reminded of one of the reasons I fell in love with cars when I was young. It wasn’t just because the WRX was one of the main cars in the Colin McRae rally and dirt series. It was because of what Tommi and Colin stood for as drivers as well. In the same vein as Ayrton Senna, to them it was never about driving just for points.

When in doubt flat out

Colin McRae

They drove the fastest they could all the time, because they loved cars and driving. It was weird to be standing next to the cars which were painstakingly realistically modeled in numerous games, and that I had spent countless virtual hours in the cockpit driving, crashing, and racing on roads. I wasn’t sure if life had turned into an game, or games were just getting realistic, because for me it shattered reality a slight bit.

The Last Thing That I Enjoyed

Was seeing the D1 drivers talking on stage with their cars proudly displayed in the same room. Another codemasters game, in GRID I had gotten pretty good at drifting the C-West Silvia virtually, but what these guys were here doing it in real life. I resisted the urge to want to ask them how to be a driver in my bad Japanese, not like I understood much anyway, but what I did understand was the massive ability they wielded. I was a little jealous that they had gotten to live a life that people like me can only dream about as I studied their cars, which resembled fighter jets with all the switches inside of them.

The weird thing is I don’t even really like competition drifting, but the fact you can make a living from drifting makes me a little less cynical about life.

As always Much Love <3 LaidbackMarco

by Laidbackmarco

Tokyo Auto Salon 2019: Part 2

Here’s The Second Round Of Photos at Tokyo Auto Salon!

Now that you’ve seen the shots, here are the mistakes I make.

The First Giant Mistake I Made

Shooting In JPEG vs RAW

The dynamic lighting indoors with the various lighting conditions really lends itself to the uncompressed data in the darks and lights that the RAW image format captures. When making adjustments in Lightroom adjusting the sliders too far on JPEG images leads to some artifacting where the loss information occured.

I thought that I would be using the burst function more than I actually did, so I ended up shooting compressed shots for the faster in camera processing, but that ended up being a really bad mistake!.

The Second Mistake

Was not having a wide angle lens, which made it very difficult to get the kind of shots I wanted with the limited space. Being broke, it’s not like I could afford a wide angle lens, but I really hope to be able to bring one in the future.

The Last Mistake

was bringing my tripod! The camera, extra lens, and my backpack were already a burden in itself. I thought that I might be able to take some cool shots with the combination of the phone app, tripod, and camera. The wireless connection doesn’t work nearly as smoothly as it should so I was left feeling a little encumbered. Especially when I had to do things like pay for my ticket, recieve a map, or the free goodies handed out.

by Laidbackmarco

Tokyo Auto Salon 2019: Part 1

When I was invited to go to Tokyo Auto Salon, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Not a fan of big crowds of people, or really leaving the comfort of my own home on the weekends, it was my love of cars that made me leave my shell.

In my pursuit to make a living from creative work, I often hit walls where it feels like I’m failing to improve at a certain thing. I’m glad I went to tokyo auto salon because I really got my ass kicked.

I Learned So Much In My One day There

There are moments in life where you get destroyed so badly that it sparks a paradigm shift. That day made me realize that I had so much to grow as a photographer as the crowds of people forced me to work my Camera’s controls more rapidly than I had ever before.(I shoot in manual mode) The lack of time,space, and the random strangers who apparently don’t care that you’re taking a put me in a position where I had to come up with more creative compositions.

These are some of my best shots, stay tuned for part two where I’ll write about my mistakes!!

by Laidbackmarco