So this past weekend I had a fantastic opportunity come my way. The Sundowners Car Club asked me to shoot each car that attended their Mega Show at the gate in a posed format. And then the rest of the afternoon would be spent getting general shots of the show, attendees, etc. It started off a little cloudy but ended up being a superb day for a car show.

Not having done a gate shoot before, I arrived more than 90 minutes before the entry time in order to secure a good location and set everything up. I posed my own vehicle for the test shoot and once everything looked good, I marked the asphalt with a small spot of duct tape to assure similar position for each car. In the end this ended up being only a general rule as drivers weren't very attentive to my directions but overall it went well. Here is one of my favorites, a beautiful Dodge Viper from Fifth Dimension Collision Repair in Champaign, IL.

I finished up shooting the gate around 12 noon and then headed into the show for one of my first attempts at event photography. Cars like to sit still and wait for me to gather my thoughts and ideas. People on the other hand are always moving, and avoiding the camera if they see me. Turns out to be a tricky art getting nice candid photographs at a public show. Helps to have a zoom lens. I brought my Sony A65 with 18-135 zoom to help the cause. It performed admirably despite the harsh sun conditions. 

Here are a few representative shots from the show:

And if you're interested in more of them I have a larger gallery within my portfolio here. 

I hope you enjoy my auto show pictures. Should you need an event photographer or simply interested in a custom portrait session for your ride please feel free to contact me and we can talk.