Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG
A fun winter photo roadtrip with my own car in the wilderness of California, experimenting with natural light and color grading.
This one's a bit of an unusual spin, as the subject this time is my own car. :)
I've been wanting to do it proper justice since finishing the exterior customization, so in February 2016, I took a long weekend and headed several hours north to the Eastern Sierras in California and dedicated four days to driving 1,000 miles around the area just to shoot my car in beautiful locations. I've never been more at peace than I was during that trip; out in the wilderness doing what I love with total creative freedom.
My aim was to create as many different looks as possible, but only by utilizing available light on location, and with no additional compositing or additional matte painting/scene extension to the world in post. So the color palettes I developed were inspired by the tones I actually captured, just amplified and stylized. Those magenta skies, however, were true to form for winter desert sunrises.
I've wanted the GLA45 since the concept was unveiled at the 2013 Beijing Auto Show, and ordered mine the week they went on sale, having created a render of how the car was to look post-customization, four months before I took delivery. Brushed satin vinyl accents, satin bronze HRE wheels, custom Porsche Mexico Blue calipers, and other subtle details throughout make mine a very unique example; I'm a little proud.
The series is a WIP; my goal is to produce ~30 images in total. I just need the downtime to finish the rest!
I've been wanting to do it proper justice since finishing the exterior customization, so in February 2016, I took a long weekend and headed several hours north to the Eastern Sierras in California and dedicated four days to driving 1,000 miles around the area just to shoot my car in beautiful locations. I've never been more at peace than I was during that trip; out in the wilderness doing what I love with total creative freedom.
My aim was to create as many different looks as possible, but only by utilizing available light on location, and with no additional compositing or additional matte painting/scene extension to the world in post. So the color palettes I developed were inspired by the tones I actually captured, just amplified and stylized. Those magenta skies, however, were true to form for winter desert sunrises.
I've wanted the GLA45 since the concept was unveiled at the 2013 Beijing Auto Show, and ordered mine the week they went on sale, having created a render of how the car was to look post-customization, four months before I took delivery. Brushed satin vinyl accents, satin bronze HRE wheels, custom Porsche Mexico Blue calipers, and other subtle details throughout make mine a very unique example; I'm a little proud.
The series is a WIP; my goal is to produce ~30 images in total. I just need the downtime to finish the rest!
