Here are some pix that I took from a trip up to Cambria & Monterey Bay this past weekend with the WCM (West Coast Mini club based in San Diego). There were 19 MINI's on this weekend event. I took several hundred pix, but these are the best of them.

Camera was a Nikon Coolpix 4300 Point and Shoot (handheld). I like this camera, especially now that I'm using an external Powerpak battery that lasted all weekend without recharging, but I still yearn for a digital SLR!

I posted these here instead of the SoCal forum since this is really more about the photography than the event itself.



I love this low angle, but I wish that I hadn't cropped the right edge of the MINI. Because of the fixed LCD screen, you can only guess at the framing since the camera is so low and I didn't want to lie on the ground.


This kind of angle doesn't work for all cars though. Take a look at the following pix. I think the 2nd higher position worked much better for this car.










I like how the following interior pool shots turned out. Looks almost like stock photography. This was a long exposure shot where I rested the camera on a low hand railing to keep it stable. There were tons of people pushing and shoving and I didn't really have time to take more than 1 shot from each angle. The guy next to me kept getting in my view, and there was nothing I could do to crop him out.




Here was an opportunity to use this tree as a background for all the MINI's. I got low to the ground and tried to use the road stripe for perspective. The people in the shot look like giants over the MINI's.










Rest of pix HERE

 

Nice work. The pool shots are great. It looks like you guys had a great time.

 

Great pix - thanks for sharing them...wish we could have joined in on the fun...next time...:smile:

Donna
02' CR/W MCS (gone to MINI heaven - burned up)
05' Cool Blue MCSC "Ariel"
05' HB/W MCS

 

AwwwwMannn, I missed you guys. I was in Monterey last weekend and saw you guys all parked at Fishermas Warf, but was riding one of those four wheeled bikes and by the time I came around later in my car you were all gone . Thought I recognized a few of the cars from AMVIV. Would have been great to hook up with you guys. Oh, well I had a great trip, its a beautiful area.



Nik

 

Xsmini:
We arrived in Monterey Bay at 12noon and stayed until 3pm, then we had to head back to our rooms in Cambria, where we had stayed the night before. It was such a great trip. Met lots of MINI owners along the way. We did the 17 Mile scenic drive after leaving Monterey.

Donna/Mike:
OMG, you missed a really great trip. All the people were really wonderful and fun to be with, and the drives were amazing. I was driving with the MCS's and JCW's out in front, and keeping up was a blast--lots of downshifting, but I hung in there. Poor Jeanine, Matthew, and Reggie took an alternate route on the way back that the rest of us were too tired to venture into, and they ended up off the map, and lost for 3 hours, and Jeanine's new MC got pretty beat up as they got deeper and deeper into the woods.

DiD
Thanks buddy! I took 300+ pics over the 3 day period and 4 hours of VacuCam footage!

 

Here's a higher res version of that indoor pool shot

 

What kind of lense did you use on those exaggerated MINI shots? Fisheye or wideangle or something else? I really like the look. Great shots!

 

Thanks! It's a Nikon Nikon WC-E63 Wide Angle Converter. I pretty much left it on the camera for most of the shots, unless I wanted to get close or needed to use the flash. It's really wide without all the distortion from a fisheye, but when you see it on my camera, most people think it's one.

It's how I got these pix as well
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...06&postcount=1

I googled my lens and here's another persons take on it
http://www.bythom.com/wce63.htm

 

All the interior shots are awesome. I think it is due to the really vibrant colors that aren't usually seen indoors, as well as the interesting lighting. Don't you hate when one little thing gets in the way of an otherwise poster shot!

Can you give more details on that FRS holder pictures at the link? I could really use something like that!

 

Thanks! The indoor pool shots are the sharpest cause I was able to use the hand railing to stabilize the camera---no room or time for a tripod. The other indoor shots were hand held, and I did my best to keep them steady, but wasn't perfect.

re: little things in way
Oh absolutely!!!

re: FRS holder
Hahaha, it really isn't a holder. I was driving around Big Sur with the group, and got to some twisties and wasn't comfortable putting the radio between my legs since I've dropped it on the floor before. Then I got the bright idea of seeing if it fit in the slot behind my tach/speedos, and sure enough it did!

Nice benefits--antennae pointing up for maximum signal, it's behind the steering wheel, so no fear of getting pummeled with it if the airbag goes off, easy to access, and speaker is in front of me. Only downside is I tried putting it there on another MINI with the OEM nav and it didn't fit. Not sure if it works on all MINI's. It's possible though the reason mine fits is that I removed the plastic cover behind the instruments a year ago for another project and never put it back--so possibly that gives it the extra room to fit.

 

Well I'm always searching for a place to put the FRS during runs. It usually ends up in the center utility box--too hard to reach while driving...or in the door pocket, too hard to hear. I'll have to see if I can do something there on the steering column, that is a much better location. Maybe some good ol' rubber bands and a speaker/mic!