Tag: Big Mike

Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Nisei Showoff 2012 V.1

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Nisei Week in Downtown Los Angeles; a time to celebrate the Japanese-American culture in the best way; good food, great location, lots of celebration, people dressing up in Japanese attire and of course the Nisei Showoff.  I wasn’t actually planning on attending this year for a few reasons, but because I sort of volunteered my car to help Yuta out, I ended up attending later in the day.  I had work in the morning all the way in Orange County, so I didn’t actually end up getting to Little Tokyo until a little after 3.  I had been driving Allan’s Fit because he had to drive my car to LA that morning to set up at the Wheel Flip booth.  Actually a really good thing because his Fit has great air conditioning, and it was basically the hottest day of the year.  So due to my time constraints, I didn’t get as much coverage as I usually do – which I don’t really mind as I wasn’t planning on going anyway.  The cars I did really want to get shots of, the Loi-Spec Integras, all left a bit early so I never got the chance to photograph them.  Not too big of a deal though as I’m sure I’ll see them at a Raceline event in the near future.  It probably didn’t help that the first thing we did when we go into the show was…leave the show.  I couldn’t help it though; I was starving and in Little Tokyo – I needed ramen and a beer.  If I were to be completely honest, it seems like the turn out wasn’t anything like the previous years; the lot was not as full, and the crowds just weren’t there.  This could be for a few reasons; one being that the Infamous Hellaflush meet was being held on the same day in Long Beach, and the other being that this event seems to always be ‘up in the air’ as to whether or not there will be a next year.  Why the Hellaflush meet was planned for the same day is beyond me.  It seems almost suicide for the ‘scene’ to plan two huge events on the same day, 20 miles apart from one another and tear people between which to attend.  Anyway, most of my shots were from later in the day as people were getting ready to leave, so I apologize if it seems strange.  Click past the break for the first part of the coverage.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: AutoCon 2012 – Los Angeles V.3

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I’m going to try and roll everything else I have left into a third and final, massive leftovers post of AutoCon 2012.  I can only imagine how cool it will be – especially since I’m kicking it off with this fantastic coupe on Panasport G7s.  As far as the timeline goes, it’s still pretty early in the day, and definitely still in the morning.  The show opened to the public at about 12 o’clock, and that’s just around the time I said that I’ve had enough.  I was fortunate to have a good jump on the show without too much foot traffic, so I really got a good look at the lot in it’s entirety before the gates opened.  The lot was so big though, that I think even if I hadn’t I’d still be able to get some good shots.  Recapping the show, I must say the entire roll-in process and media handling was a gigantic improvement over last year.  Thanks to the AutoCon staff for another good show and I look forward to seeing this event gain in popularity over the next few years.  Take a look past the break for a grip of pics that wrap up my coverage.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Wekfest LA 2012 – Long Beach, California V.4

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It’s almost been a week since Wekfest LA, and I’ve just about wrapped up all my coverage.  I’m going to try and squeeze everything I’ve got into this final post – so it’s going to be massive.  I went ballistic on this one so, by far, you’ll see the most diversity in cars throughout this post.  I’ve also included another slideshow gallery at the bottom for the masses.  Hope you see your car!  Also, if you want some special VIP only coverage of the show, check out our friends down under at Street-Cover.  I supplied them with a few shots to help spread the Wek love over in Australia.  You should probably check the site out anyway because it’s pretty rad.  Again, special thanks goes out to all those at Weksos Industries involved in organizing such a massive tour, as well as the city of Long Beach for being cooperative.  Let’s just jump right into the coverage.  You know the drill – click the break for more.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Wekfest LA 2012 – Long Beach, California V.2

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Let’s continue the Wekfest LA 2012 coverage, shall we?  I left off somewhere around early afternoon just before the gates opened to the public.  By this time a line had formed at the entrance that wrapped around quite a ways towards the Queen Mary.  I don’t think it was as profound as the San Francisco show, but it was still pretty large.  The good thing about it being an outdoor venue was the amount of people that could come in wasn’t limited because of fire law restrictions.  Although Fort Mason is a cool location to have a show in the city, it limits the capacity in several different ways.  After I made my first round through the cars, I was getting pretty hungry.  My buddy Jon had ordered a pizza, so I took a break with him and some other guys and ate a little bit.  Sitting in the grass, under the cover of the mornings marine layer was extremely relaxing.  After a good 30 minutes though I decided it would be best to do another walk through before the crowds arrived.  Check the second round of coverage past the break.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: Wekfest LA 2011 v.1

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Up until Friday I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to attend Wekfest LA.  Requesting days off isn’t as easy as it used to be with my new position.  Somehow, last minute, I managed to get my shift covered; so what did I do?  That’s right – I went to Las Vegas.  Good idea right?  I hopped on a flight out of LAX Saturday afternoon, chilled on the Strip for 10 hours, and made my way back to Long Beach in time to shoot Wekfest.  Well, it turns out it wasn’t such a good idea.  I ended up losing way more than I intended, got no sleep, and smelled like cigarettes all day.  I gotta say though, Wekfest more than made up for it.  On top of that, it was probably the most beautiful day in Long Beach this year.  Unbelievable cars, good food, music, friends and great weather; can’t ask for much more.  I’ll  do my best to try and walk you through the show a little before I go ballistic with the pics.  Click past the break for more.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: It’s JDM Yo! 1st Anniversary Meet v.2

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Welcome back to the second part of the It’s JDM Yo! meet coverage.  The sites traffic has been way up recently, I’d like to thank everyone who checks the site regularly.  I’ll be getting some merchandise together soon too, so everyone that’s been interested in it, hold on just a little longer!  Anyway, after we checked out what was in the outside lot, we ventured into the main warehouse building.  They put up a DJ in almost every room in the warehouse, playing different music.  I thought that was pretty sweet.  Check out the pics past the break.

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Automotive by Narita Dogfight

Event: It’s JDM Yo! 1st Anniversary Meet v.1

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Alright, let me just start out by saying that this meet turned out to be way bigger than I had expected.  I had originally planned to stop by real quick, say hello to a few people, snap some shots and jam to Aliso Viejo to the Tamiya RC track.  Despite my attempts to hurry, we ended up staying for about 2 hours.  The layout of the meet was really cool, with multiple doors leading to new warehouses; all packed full of self-built cars.  Some were track inspired, many were heavily VIP influenced, all were cool in their own right.  I didn’t have my 28mm with me, so the majority of these were taken with my 50mm – forgive the lack of full car shots, but at a meet like this, and the lenses I had, it was all but impossible to snatch a frame without anyone getting in the way.  Click past the break to see the first of the coverage.

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