NightLife | Tab Tuesday/OC Food Truck Meet at Westminister

December 22, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

Here's something different compared to how I usually do coverage on a nighttime meet. O wait..'nightlight' meet (^-^). Instead of photos, I'll share the Nlog (NightLog) coverage I did on OC Food Truck Meet held at Westminister last Sunday. If that doesn't sound familiar, then I think Tab Tuesday should ring a bell because both organizations collaborated a while ago to have a Food Truck meet in the OC area since early this year. Out of all the Tab Tuesday/OC Food Truck meets though, this one was a bit special because crews Low Ballers and Royal Origin collaborated as well.

As enthusiasts, we always want the year to end with an awesome meet or event. Event wise, AutoCon pretty much dominated every single event out there for this year. I even ranked it as one of the top events in SoCal, so for someone like me who has been to hundreds of events to pick AutoCon, disregarding the fact that everyone doesn’t have the same perspectives, it was definitely enjoyable and memorable. Because all the major events are now in its resting period, it was all up to which meet would end this year; Tab Tuesday/OC Food Truck meet. This meet always had a great turnout with more than 200 cars in attendance, hundreds of people, foods from unbelievably delicious Food Trucks, and tons of single guys trying to find a cute/sexy/pretty girl to ask out. I have no idea how I didn’t know about this meet, but it was good to know because I had shit to do. Driving to Westminister takes me an hour and you guys know no matter how often you drive for an hour in a week, it is still a long ass drive. But I've been missing out on Tab Tuesday/OC Food Truck Meets for a long time, so Jose and I decided to roll through and see how it was. Check out the video and see what was up! Enjoy!

Recorded with Galaxy S, so watch in 720P!

Random NightLife | Don't Steal, Don't Lie

December 21, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee







Today, I want to talk about an ongoing issue in the automotive community, as well as an incident that occurred few months ago and re-occurred yesterday at OC's Food Truck Meet in Westminister, CA. For those who follow my fanpage, you have an idea about what's about to be discussed, but for those who are new to the site, welcome! and please read this post through because it's something that I personally think is critical. I'm not going to try to keep this post professional because it pisses the fuk out of me when this happens.

Before I start, I want everyone to know that this story was told by multiple people and friends, and because every single story had the exact same storyline, I'm going to assume it is accurate.

Event Coverage | AutoCon 2011 (Pt. II)

December 13, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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AutoCon is back! No no~ I'm talking about my coverage! But~! The next and exact date of AutoCon in 2012 will be announced through AutoCon's fanpage pretty soon so go ahead and LIKE their page. I've been seeing a lot of comments from those who missed out on this event because of work or family plans. That's why you need to mark this event on your calenders as early as possible and make an excuse just to attend AutoCon! If you have finals or something, that's a different story, but work? Come on~ missing only one day won't hurt you that much (^-^). Ok..I think I'm becoming those small Devils you see in cartoons where they sit next to your shoulders and lure you into the wrong direction, so I'll be the Angel and continue on with my coverage.

As mentioned in Part 1, AutoCon was more of a festival + car show. It wasn't only cars that took the spotlight, but also the attendance of more than 15 famous Food Trucks and side activities such as FREE Air Balloon rides all day long! How awesome is that? Have you ever been to a car show like this? I don't think so~~~~ I get a bit too excited after attending such an awesome event, so please excuse my over-exaggerations.

I personally think AutoCon was held at the right time and place because Christmas is coming soon and people will be going on vacations. It was sort of cumbersome to know that HIN was going to happen a week before AutoCon and I had to support both events as much as possible, but my priority was to fully promote AutoCon and that's what I've been doing since day one. I'm not saying I brought the majority of crowds, but out of all the events I've been helping out for this year, AutoCon was probably the 2nd event I fully supported after Sideway Sundays. I was very pleased to see the event packed with spectators and car show participants, and really appreciate those who kept the event threads I posted on forums active. Moving along, because we are all in the Christmas spirit, I decided to use the Domo display Kelvin made in front of his widebody Do-Luck Evo 9 as the cover. Tsuneo Gōda would be proud!

Event Coverage | The Pursuit III by Longo Lexus

October 18, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Last Sunday was pretty hectic. I had to jump by a few places back and forth, do some quick errands, and then finally had some time to cover events. There were two major ones happening on the same day and time, but like always, I managed to take care of both v(^-^)v.
Most of the major ones that go on annually are definitely a must-to-attend and listed on my smartphone because no one has a clue on what cars will show up. This is true because when I attended Bulletproof's 11th Anniversary meet, I found out the Carbon Fiber NSX made its first appearance to the public. To some of you guys, it might not mean anything, but to a blogger who goes to events and meets almost every week and see the same cars more than twice, it's a pretty big deal and a moment not to forget. The Pursuit was one of those events I didn’t want to miss because of having an awesome time last year, but not having enough time to thoroughly look at the cars. This event is the largest Lexus based event here in SoCal, opening the drag strip for competition along with a car show, both held at Irwindale Speedway, CA, so missing such an event is a no no! The Pursuit III was somewhat the same as The Pursuit II, so I arrived at around 12pm, covered the event for about a good 3 hours, and headed toward Race Day Car Show in Burbank. That coverage will be up hopefully by tomorrow, but today, enjoy the beautiful Lexus and other make/models.

Special Coverage | AutoCon Promo Video (Behind the Scenes)

September 4, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Surprisingly, there were no events or meets scheduled for this week, which means I get to stay at home and do jack shit or be a good boy and study for an upcoming exam next year. To be honest with you guys, I should not even be going out every weekend to go to a car show and shoot because I have to face reality and do what I have to do for my future career, but being a blogger in the car scene is like a drug...you know you have to quit at some point if not serious, but something pulls you more into it.. That's pretty much how I felt yesterday going to AutoCon's promo video shooting at City of Industry, CA. I'm pretty much studying 24/7 every single day, but have been going to meets just to let that stress and pressure out as much as possible. There's really no one that's been helping me out with difficulties I'm facing these days, but going to something automotive related loosens everything inside me, which is why I had to go out and see how this filming process was going to be done.
I got invited to this special event by the host of AutoCon because of promoting the event last year when it first launched. AutoCon 2010 was the first underground parking structure car show in Southern California and the turnout was absolutely amazing. Who would have even thought of doing such a thing like Fast and Furious? What might have been seen as being impossible became possible and AutoCon became one of the most memorable events to many automotive enthusiasts.
This year, AutoCon is going to be totally different. With an even bigger and better venue, AutoCon will be held at Irvine, CA where Gymkhana 1 was recorded. You can check all the information through this Event Announcement link or AutoCon's official website, so make sure to click and read it through.

Event Coverage | Nisei Showoff Car Show 2011 (Pt. III)

August 16, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Finally the last part of my Nisei Showoff Car Show coverage.  Please do understand that this partly coverage is to avoid lags and complaints. I like to keep every opinions/advice in mind, which is how it came down to posting certain amount of photos in one part and then to another. Also, I do want to let you guys know that Night-Import is not a formal-college-smart-elite writing automotive website. I'm bringing this up because of comments and e-mails I've been receiving throughout the past months. Most of the contents are written by me and for those who've been visiting my site since day one, I cuss, joke around, and write some random ass shit to make a coverage enjoyable to read rather than a boring and 'scroll down and only check the photos' status. It might change up a bit later on, but the contents are mostly written in first-person so you guys get an idea of what I personally went through at an event. I do not make shit up to give someone a bad reputation! What I write is what happened and I do have witnesses around me to prove it. Enough said.
Additionally, the photos I take of cars at an event or meet are decided by what I favor. Sometimes I might skip a car, either because I unintentionally skipped it or I didn't like the overall execution. There are a lot more things to say about this, but let's just keep it to that.
One last announcement I want to make before I start Part 3. I usually go to an event early but will not always stay till the end to see who won what category at an event. Why? Because I'm usually the only one from my site doing the coverage and get pretty dam tired walking for 4~5 hours taking photos. I'm not being cocky at all but those who see me know how much work I put into when it comes to photography. I'm still an amateur, but try to take photos as professional as possible.
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There was and still a controversy about my Part 1 coverage of Nisei Showoff Car Show because of stating my own opinion/thoughts, which only a small part of it was not positive toward the organization. However, what was written in that article was not a falsified story but true.
I actually want to take this time to write about who I am, how I started this site, and why I'm doing it, just because I dislike those who act or talk like they know me when they don't .
I've been in this scene for about only a year now but have been to more events and meets than you can even imagine. While some of you guys took some time modifying your rides during the weekends, I was out there shooting. When some of you guys were at an event, I managed my schedule to attend 2 or 3. My site was not created to make a profit. No offense to anyone, but I dislike making decals, sell shirts, or other stuffs to make money out of all of this.. So why am I continuing? It's because I love cars and love the people in this scene. Once I go to an event or meet, I try to take the best shots instead of walking around and taking photos like it ain't meant to be. Yes, there are plenty of people who go to events and shoot, but how many sites actually write up a thorough coverage?
If I don't get accepted for a Media pass, I pay my way through. I respect those who create an event and believe they should get paid for what they do.
Lastly, I never expect myself to be placed higher than anyone because I'm an enthusiast like everyone else.

The whole point about the Part 1 coverage was not to talk about my complaints such as not getting into Nisei early or not being highly respected as a Media applicant, but how the small fairness that could have been given was not. I'm willing to face the consequences that will be hitting me pretty hard from now on, but I want to say to all future bloggers out there, don't feel restricted to say what you want to say.

Now!!!! Let's go ahead with the coverage...

Event Coverage | Nisei Showoff Car Show 2011 (Pt. II)

August 15, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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Thinking about what I wrote on our fanpage, I made a minor mistake; our site has not been officially a year old yet. I did create this site back in June of 2010, but that's before I even had the title Night-Import in mind and was posting random contents. In a few months, I'll be announcing our 1 year anniversary and might do something pretty darn crazy, but that's just a thought so don't be expecting a surprise soon. The reason why I'm bringing this up though is because of so many cars I've seen throughout that one year period. Although Southern California is known for car events in the West coast, the cars you get to see at meets and events become repetitive, which isn't bad at all because you get to meet the car owners and build up relationships. I think that's how I made friends in this scene and now, those friends becoming a part of my life. Additionally, Nisei Showoff Car Show made me realize that it was not just the owners but the cars they owned played the same role. I've seen some rides so many times, but to be honest, I'm still impressed with all the work put into a machine that literally redefines the meaning of a car. It's not only meant to be driven, but to be a companion. Am I becoming Emo right now? Maybe because it's 7:15am and I'm tired as fuk, so back to the coverage before I say more random stuff.