About The 7-52 Photo Blog

Hello! I'm glad you could drop by.

This site started as somewhere for me to post pictures of the vehicles in Stargazer's Garage. The 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI and the 2006 Honda Odyssey Touring, were replaced with a 2007 GMC Yukon XL Denali and a 35-ft Keystone Premier travel trailer. The 2005 Suzuki Burgman Type S is no longer my commuter vehicle but my brother still has his VW R32. My other blog is over at Stargazer's Garage so please come for a visit and leave a comment when you get a chance.

I've never taken photography lessons or classes and everything that I've learned has been from experimenting on my own. I started with a Nikon D50 in the summer of '06 and primarily shot with one lens, a 50mm f1.8. Before that I had a Toshiba point and shoot. A Nikon D90 with a few more lenses came next.

I have used Rawshooter to convert the RAW files, Photomatix to create HDR and tone mapping on the older pictures you see here. But being a father of 5. I grew tired of carrying heavy, bulky equipment and the extra time to process pictures. So now I shoot primarily with the iPhone 4S that I got in December 2011.

Thanks for visiting!

Thru a Convex Mirror in the Hello Kitty Lounge

 

Self-portrait taken in the Hello Kitty Lounge at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Baby Enzo

Baby Enzo, originally uploaded by istargazer.

Specs:

• Gender: male
• Weight: 7 lb 0 oz.
• Length: 19.5 inches
• Build date: 4 December 2008
  
• Production number: 005
  

Always and Forever

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! 2008, originally uploaded by istargazer.

TGIF: Love.

Love., originally uploaded by istargazer.

It's official! My picture made it in the USA Today full-page colour ad for Subaru of America, Friday April 25, 2008. It will be republished on Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

"Love driving roads so bad you get them all to yourself. Love using every part of the odometer. Love being proud of the plant your car was built in. Love that the baby in the backseat may end up driving it to college. Love having people in crosswalks know you'll stop. Love knowing it would give it's life to save yours. Love thinking, at least once everyday, that you may have gotten more car than you paid for. Love. It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru."

Over Saturated

Over Saturated, originally uploaded by istargazer.

Snow, again?!

Surprise, snow!, originally uploaded by istargazer.

Well, the snow that we got this weekend is so rare it's supposed to only happen twice a century. Because of that, I'm re-posting this picture from last year. Boy, was that fun!

The other reason why I'm posting it again is because that picture has now become my very first picture ever to be published for money :biggrin:

Look for it as part of a Subaru of America ad campaign appearing on April 25 and April 30, 2008 in the USA Today.

Detailed with Autoglym

Freshly washed and waxed in Thunder Bay, ON.

KrustyO's Cereal and Buzz Cola

Kwik-E-Mart opens in Canada.

Import Tuner - Ride of the Month contest

I got this invite in my email today. Check it out.

Hi,

Just wanted to let you know about our ride of the month contests:

Importtuner.com and Truckinweb.com are holding a “Ride of the Month” contest where visitors can enter their cars. Winners will receive a T-shirt from the site, as well as the possibility having their car be featured in its own article.

This is a great way for enthusiasts to get their car the attention that it deserves! The contest entry forms can be found here

http://rideofthemonth.importtuner.com/

http://rideofthemonth.truckinweb.com/

Feel free to let your readers know about either one (or both) of these great contests.

Thanks,

David Cato
http://www.automotive.com

Armin’s Quick and Dirty Tips and Tricks to Automotive Photography

Armin’s Quick and Dirty Tips and Tricks to Automotive Photography - I found this posted on NASIOC and it has some great advice about taking pictures of cars. There's also some beautiful shots and more advice from other professionals. Make sure you check it out!

NOS Energy Drink

I love the NOS Energy Drink! I went out and bought 3 more bottles for this weekend. I read the warnings on the label and it said I shouldn't drink more than 1000 ml per day....

Racecomp Engineering sport springs

RCE Super Sport Street/Track springs are being installed on the STI today!

Baby Aston

Arrived last night and pictured at the age of 7.5 hours - 7 lb. 13 oz.
Mother and baby girl are doing well.

New for Fridays: T.G.I.F.

Starting today and continuing every Friday, I will be starting a new feature called TGIF. This is where I will showcasing other vehicles owned by fellow car enthusiasts. It was so hard to choose what cars to start with and since there are only 52 weeks in a year, I couldn't limit myself to just one car--I'll start with three!

So for your viewing pleasure I present TGIF....

A new regular Friday feature

Being a motoring enthusiast first and a Subaru owner second, I really appreciate all types of cars and motorcycles and boats and airplanes, etc. It doesn't matter what era that it's from or what shape the condition is. Basically, if it has (or had) an engine in it, if it can (or could at one time) go fast, if you could race it (even just in fantasy) I can dig it.

So because of that I've decided to add a regular feature on Fridays by showcasing a vehicle from other owners. I'll be starting this Friday by featuring cars from the local Vancouver Impreza Club, but I don't plan on limiting myself to just Subarus, or to just local cars. I'd love to see vehicles from all over the world.

If you love your vehicle as much as I do, feel free to send me a picture and I'll host it on this site and give you credit.

Check out my contact info in the sidebar.

Thanks!

The camera I use

I got a PM from someone on NASIOC asking what camera I used. I have a Nikon D50 that I bought last summer that I'm very happy with. Most of the pictures are taken with that camera. I was able to buy it across the border for quite a reasonable price. The nice thing is that only the standard GST/PST applies when you bring it back into Canada--there is no additional duty on camera equipment bought in the US.

That being said, a few of the pictures that you'll see here (like this one from Cypress Mountain) were taken by my old 3.2 mp point-and-shoot, a Toshiba PDR-M71.

Unless there is a demand for it, I won't post the shutter and exposure values for each of the shots like I've seen on other photoblogs. Most the exif data is available on my Flickr page where these photos are hosted, if anyone is interested.