Event Coverage | SEMA 2014

Night Import: Photography by Seijin Dootson | Words by William Lee

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How long has it been since I actually logged in and updated my blog? .... I have no idea .... I am truly sorry for all my NI fans. It's not the lack of interest in the car scene guys. I've been hearing from all my friends about the car scene and I always try to keep myself updated by checking out other car blogs. If I have to make another excuse like every blog post I write, I don't shoot anymore and pretty dam busy with my job. O well... but HEY! I'm back again! Let's jump right into what I have to show you guys today.

If you are a fan of my blog, you know that every year, I post up a coverage on SEMA. It's either me going there and covering it alone or sending my guys. Unfortunately for this year, my guys and I couldn't make it :/ So I had to look through my facebook friends/groups/etc. to see who would contribute their work for my blog. Luckily, I came across UCI's facebook group and saw a photo posted by Seijin Dootson. He gladly accepted my request and sent a few photos yesterday for my blog to share with you guys.

The first car you see up there is one of my favorite cars, the Mazda RX-7 FD. It kinda sucks to know that the FD doesn't get much recognition like the old days, but I still love it and will be one of my favorites until I die. What you see is a bit different from other modified FDs you've seen at car shows/events. The widebody is the popular Rocket Bunny kit with a wheel I have never seen by Enkei, the Enkei92. The color combo is a love at first sight kind of feeling.

Event Coverage | SEMA 2013 (Pt. I)

Night Import: Photos by Kain Chau | Words by William Lee and Kain Chau

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Every year in Sin City, also known as Las Vegas, a "premier automotive specialty products trade" event is held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Only those who are involved in the automotive industry are allowed to enter and not only will you be surrounded by a bunch of people, but also with the best modified cars in the world. I don't know where to start with my story with SEMA. I think my first attendance to SEMA was....3 years ago? That time period was when I barley got into the car scene, but I was very active here in California. Probably that is one of the reasons why I got accepted to enter SEMA with a few buddies of mine. I remember how amazed I was when I saw the cars because it was nowhere near to the cars I have seen at shows or meets.

Although I haven't been to the SEMA show since then, I always expected SEMA to get better. I mean...the most issued car for every year gets the spotlight at SEMA. For example, last year, Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ was the car that got the spotlight. Hundreds of modified FRSs and BRZs were displayed, as well as other cars, but I don't remember :) This year, I was expecting the same as last year.

Because of my work schedule that has been getting hectic, I couldn't take a week off to attend SEMA and I was going CRAZY! Getting media credentials was not a problem, but because I couldn't attend, I needed someone from our staffs to cover the event. Luckily, my boy Kain (editor) took 2-3 days off from work, drove to Vegas with his beautiful FRS, and covered the event like a boss. He did not have a camera in hand, so the photos you are about to see was taken with a cellphone.

Random Nightlight | Closer look into RWBs

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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I don't even clearly remember when I first saw a RAUH Welt-BEGRIFF (RWB) Porsche, but do remember I was in awe and couldn't help myself but to wake up every morning and look at Nakai-san's personal RWB, Stella Artois, through photos and videos. Yea yea..I might sound like a total fan...because....I am! Nakai-san's work is absolutely amazing and knowing the fact that he designs and constructs the necessary parts for the car on spot makes me even more impressed. The stunning lines that define a quality built car equates to his work. As many of you guys know by now, Nakai-san and Fatlace joined together to create a RWB shop next to Fatlace's facility in Northern California. Upon Nakai-san's arrival, he worked on Mark Arcenal's 964, customer's 993, and another 964 for a company called Hoonigan, which I'll explain later on. Two of these cars were at SEMA, each car placed in separate halls. I'm pretty sure many of you guys have already seen so much on these beauties and to be honest, so did I, but I want to write up something small for my own and Night Import fans. Let's get into the two RWBs shown in the cover photo; Matte Green RWB 965 'Pandora One' and Matte White RWB 965 'Hoonigan'.

Random Nightlight | Kyoei-USA LS400

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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By now, I'm pretty sure most of you guys saw all the cars that were at SEMA last week through my coverage, but there are still some that I just need to feature. Rewinding the time period when I was present at SEMA, I remember walking around the outdoor area and bumping into my friend from M2-Motoring. We were talking for a bit when I later realized a LS400 on Weds Mavericks lowered with Air Runner, sitting right in front of me. I've seen a lot of VIP cars here in CA, but this one was unique and had an extra touch to it to give it its own VIP flavor. Today, it's this LS400 that deserves a small exposure, built by a well-known VIP shop from AZ called Kyoei-USA.

Event Coverage | SEMA 2011 (Pt. IV)

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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It's been 3 days since I came back from Vegas, but the excitement and fun I had during this past week is still running inside me as if the event was still going on. I'm not trying to over-exaggerate myself because those who did go and had a good time know what I'm talking about. Of course the parties I attended at night were amazing, but SEMA itself was really worth my time and I have to say, the best Vegas trip I've ever been to! Random people I met, cars I've never seen before, and talk about the FOOD! I learned my lesson last year not to go to cheap buffets because not will you only taste the nastiest food ever with horrible choices, but it will haunt you for a year. Even though its a week staying at Vegas where food prices are ridiculously high, you have to go to the right ones and probably go once or twice during SEMA week. Well...if you're rich and have enough money to spend, then this shouldn't be a problem (^_^). Anyways, getting back to the subject, this coverage will be my last (ㅜㅜ) and will cover North Hall and some sections I missed at South and Central Hall. There are a few more random things I want to share at the end, so you'll see them too as you read along. I was debating which photo to use for cover, and realizing how I carelessly decided to ignore models and shoot cars, I posted a photo of Hankook model Kim Ha Eun from Korea I shared with you guys in my Part 3 coverage.

Event Coverage | SEMA 2011 (Pt. III)

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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I'm still exhausted! Walking for 4 days straight wasn't fun at all and the workout with lack of sleep is finally getting back to me. I got back home yesterday at around 12pm and knocked out for about 5 hours and slept again at 10pm and was sleeping till 9am today. One part I really regret during my week at SEMA was not staying a bit longer on Saturday because all of my friends who showcased their cars at SEMA were out of the Convention Center, which meant I had an opportunity to do a group photoshoot. Too much partying and lack of sleep was probably the reason why I totally forgot about this (-_-;)ㄱ Anyways, after waking up and clearing my mind, I was editing rest of the photos and now, finished writing my Part 3 coverage on SEMA. Today's part will be covering South Hall where all the Tire/Wheel/Accesory companies were located.
I decided to start it off with one of the cars I was looking forward to see; 911 RAUH Welt-BEGRIFF (RWB). This specific car belongs to Mark Arcenal from Fatlace and was built by the master himself, Nakai san. I was actually standing here for an hour or so because I heard Nakai san was present and I wanted to take a photo with him. Yeap~ I'm a fan of his work and meeting him would've been a great honor. He didn't show up, but looking at his work in person was a thrilling experience.

Event Coverage | SEMA 2011 (Pt. II)

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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It seems like a lot of you guys enjoyed my first coverage on this event, so I'm hoping this one will be as good as the first. I'm now finally back from Vegas, so I'll try my best to be more descriptive than just dumping in photos. I usually say "there are tons of photos to share" after I come back from an event, but for SEMA, it's not just photos but cars in general I need to share because every year at SEMA, you'll come across cars you've never seen before. If it was the same car as last year, then it probably went through a makeover with new paint or aftermarket products. There is a reason why so many people working in the automotive industry go to this event because of business purposes or to get new ideas. The overall layout was pretty similar to last year's event, so I didn't have a difficult time navigating myself to certain areas. In my part 2 coverage, I'll be covering the Central Hall where all the Performance related companies displayed their products and cars. Get ready because this one will be long and fun.

Event Coverage | SEMA 2011 (Pt. I)

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

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I was waiting..waiting..being patient..and...waiting.. You guys know wsup! Yeap~ the long awaited SEMA finally opened on Tuesday at Las Vegas Convention Center. Last year was totally off the hook except that I had to cover everything in two days without attending any parties. Actually, the night time stuff didn't really matter because the cars at SEMA were enough. If you haven't been to SEMA, there are basically 3 halls, each hall presenting/introducing companies from all around the world. It's pretty complicated, so you should check out the official SEMA page to know the details. Let's just skip to the good part~ I don't want to talk about all the rules and stuff about this event because it's long and for enthusiast like us, it's all about the cars!
So this trip can be pretty costly. Staying for 4~5 days at Las Vegas means 15~20 meals in total, which equates to ~$700. Trust me, if you don't plan everything ahead of time, you are literally fuked! That's why always save up for like 2 months, so that you can have a good time at Vegas instead of saving money AT Vegas. I did sort of make a mistake beforehand because what I thought was going to happen didn't, but luckily, my friend Kelvin (owner of the Do-Luck Widebody Evo 9), thankfully invited me to stay with him and his friend which are also my friends, so big thanks to him.

After planning things out, I woke up at 2am on Tuesday and headed out with excitement. To be honest, it's been a long time since I've been this excited. I don't mind looking at cars that I've seen more than once, but checking out ones I've never seen before at an event is an opportunity I don't want to miss, especially at an event like SEMA which is known for being one of the biggest automotive/industrial automotive show in the US. There were so many cars scattered throughout the hallways and outside area, so I'll try to break things down while keeping the content fresh and original. To start it off, I'll take you guys from the inside hallway.

Event Coverage: 2010 SEMA @ Las Vegas (Part V-Final)

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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Welcome back guys! Hope everyone enjoyed the AutoFashion's VIP Festival coverage.
Such events like SEMA and AF happen once a year so I try my best to do a full coverage and to make you guys feel as if you were there rather than posting random photos and writing nonsense.
Well today's SEMA coverage part 5 will be our final and I'll be showing you some new places within the center and everyones favorite, photos of models.

The model you see at the top was stationed at Giovanna wheels. No one was paying attention to the cars when the model was posing. You can see the group of gentlemen talking to each other but their eyes looking at something else.

Event Coverage: 2010 SEMA @ Las Vegas (Part IV)

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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This weekend was pretty busy with events and should be an overall good coverage for you guys to check out. But before I start on a different topic and daily features, I want to finish off the SEMA coverages, which I think today will be the 2nd to the last one.
Some of you guys might prefer just checking out the pictures, but because blogspot doesn't have the option of setting galleries like wordpress, etc., please bare with us until we change our server to a more organized and professional layout.

If you've never been to SEMA, there is always a special guest or you sometimes see a random celebrity walking around. And of course, known people like Hip-Hop DJ Flunkmaster Flex recording for a show. For some reason, I encountered all the famous guys and girls at the Ford booth.

Event Coverage: 2010 SEMA @ Las Vegas (Part III)

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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Back with the SEMA coverage and now, part 3.
If you guys remember part 2, it was a tour around South Hall, the Wheel & Accessories section.
Today, we'll be checking out a part of North Hall and mostly the Central Hall.
The two girls at the top were pretty spicy~ They seemed a bit irritated with all these guys taking photos of them, but once the camera was up, these girls were in action.
Reminds me of those photos from car shows in Japan with models in front of a car.

Event Coverage: 2010 SEMA @ Las Vegas (Part II)

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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As much as I want to share every single photo with some descriptions for you guys, it took me awhile to write part 2. Huge events like SEMA is overwhelmed with people and exotic high-end cars that you usually don't see too often unless you live in a rich area. I'll definitely try my best to be accurate..if not, Big Abe, wearing the VIP Modular 24k face plate necklace, will beat me up! :D
Abe's a popular guy in the automotive world because he always has a wheel over his neck at events and this time, he went to SEMA to promote SMARTWAX and VIP Modular Wheels.

Event Coverage: 2010 SEMA @ Las Vegas (Part I)

How's it going Night-Import fans!
It's been awhile since I did an event coverage, but finally, here's one that all of you guys should like and probably Night-Import will be the first site to show a small part of SEMA for today.
The event officially started today at 9am and ended around 6pm. This was my first time ever going to SEMA and knowing it's the biggest automotive event in the U.S., I was excited to see the sickest automobiles around the world. Walking for more than 10 hours, I met some awesome people, talked with some Representatives at booths, and took 500+ photos, but today will be a short but awesome coverage.
I was planning to only do a full car-related SEMA coverage, but want to share the travel of how everything went from the beginning to the mid day of SEMA.