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.

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

August 14, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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I can't believe it's already been a year since my first time to Nisei last year. Probably that was one of the first events I've covered for Just Stance and I remember it to be hot as fu**, but filled with top notch cars from California and even a few from out of states. From what I've heard through friends who've been into the car scene for quite a long time, Nisei Showoff Car Show has a history of throwing the best car event in Los Angeles, CA.
If you didn't know, Nisei is a Japanese Festival happening in Little Tokyo of Los Angeles and this was their 7th annual event. Within this 1 week festival, the Car Show happens right across where all the festivities happen, so it's basically a win-win for both sides. If you are hungry, walk across and grab yourself some JDM food and to walk off those calories, walk back to the Car Show area and check out some cars.

I was expecting this years Nisei Car Show to be as big as last year and because I have a site that lets all of our staffs eligible to apply for Media (not being cocky at all), I sent an e-mail last week and we got approved. I called up 1013MM who covers a lot of events and feature contents for Canibeat to see what time he was planning to go. We arrived at around 10:30am, 30 minutes before the actual event started and was expecting an early access. Now before some of you guys start bashing on me because I said 'early access', you guys need to understand photographers who work for automotive sites actually 'work' at car shows rather than chilling the whole time, so we do need some extra time before an event, especially ones that are known world-wide like Nisei Showoff. That's why for all of those who don't live in the States get to see photos of the whole car rather than photos of only the front bumper and rest of it being covered by people.
1013mm and I asked the security guard if we could get in a bit early, but after he talked with the host or staff, our access got denied. We were a bit disappointed, but waited. In a few minutes, a crowd was building up in front of the entrance. Waiting would not have been a big deal if the staffs were more organized and kept everything on time, but what sort of pissed me off was seeing the host (I'm speculating it was him) or a staff letting all of their friends of friends get in. They were clearly aware of Media applicants waiting, but seems like it wasn't an issue to consider.
What do I think about this? Not good of course. I don't know the host nor staffs and some of you guys who are friends of the organization might dislike me for writing my own opinion, but I'm being straight up and telling the truth. To all future event hosts and staffs, be fair with what goes on inside and outside of an event.