Santiago Peak 2010 from Oliver Bentley on Vimeo.

Tagged along with some buddies on a leisurely drive up to Santiago Peak. Had a pretty awesome time. Came back looking like I had been mining for dirt, but a good time nonetheless. Kinda makes me wanna throw a lift kit on the Mazdaspeed 3, haha. I think what surprised me the most were people on mountain bikes and the people hiking up the same route we went. Those guys were pretty serious.

We all know it’s an awesome still camera so we can skip that and go straight to the video capabilities. One thing you should know is that Canon does not include any video editing software. Also, if you plan on editing HD video, you’ll need some fairly serious computer hardware. I ended up going with Adobe Premiere Elements 7 for editing software. It’s not bad but I’m not even close to using it’s full potential. I’m probably going to hit up my local library for some how-to books.

I’ve gotta tell you though, video is a whole other animal. I definitely have more respect for videographers. Along with creativity, you’ve got to have the patience of a shaolin monk, unless you’re using Batman’s computer or something. The clip I produced was only 34 seconds but it took me like 8 hours to cut. Granted I had no idea what I was doing but hopefully my editing time gets better. I plan to keep adding to the Mazdaspeed 3 video as I learn more. Keep a eye out for OB-VIDEO.COM, haha.  If you want to watch the video in HD click the HD button.

Mazdaspeed 3 – Canon 5d Mark II from Oliver Bentley on Vimeo.

I was pretty busy bouncing from press conference to press conference at the 2008 L.A. autoshow. I didn’t cover the Nissan press conference but having previously owned a 350Z I had to check out the newest incarnation of the Z car, the 2009 Nissan 370Z.

My first reaction was, “What did they do to the lights?”. It looked like the new Nissan Maxima headlights, which I wasn’t too fond of. But after closer inspection I started to get what the designers were going for. I love the new shape and roof line. It looks just like the old school Datsun 240Z, a car I would love to own if I had the chance to pick up a project car.

The Nissan 370Z gets a welcome boost in power from a 3.7L V6 engine. This new power plant puts down 332 horsepower and 270 lb-ft. of torque. This is about 26 more hp than the previous model. Not bad, but I doubt previous owners will notice much of a difference on the butt dyno. I still think they should’ve come out with a tuner version of the vehicle that has a 4-banger turbo power plant. Take a look at the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe. They’ll be coming in both a V6 and an I4 turbo. Smart move if you ask me.

A lot of 350Z owners are enthusiasts. A lot of enthusiasts like tuning, modifying and upgrading. I’m not sure how this power plant will do, but the old 3.5L V6 didn’t respond too well to modifications. You had to drop some serious coin to put down more power. Granted, it was still fast and a very balanced vehicle. But not tapping into that huge aftermarket is a big mistake. Especially in our current economy. These days, not a lot of people can afford $30,000+ vehicles. So tuners and aftermarket enthusiasts are going to buy cheaper cars that they can upgrade to satisfy their need for speed.

If someone from Nissan happens to read this and a tuner version of the 370Z comes out. You’ll be getting a bill from me Nissan. I’ll also take a 370Z as payment if you would like me to continue my research.

Click here to see his photoshoot

I first spotted his car while roaming the halls of SEMA at 2am, gotta love that 24hr All Access Pass. I recognized the rims first and then the kit. But what threw me off was the new Tokico sponsored vinyl treatment his 350z was sporting. Wouldn’t do it to my daily driver but the vinyl was perfect for SEMA. Mel’s car looked right at home there. I snapped a couple shots and came back the next day to introduce myself to David from Tokico. Great guy, I hope to work with him in the future.

Mike from Motevo Mobile asked me to shoot his car for a poster that Nikita will be signing and handing out at SEMA this year. Not having shot a car in a while, I was eager to get back into the saddle. Not to mention it’ll be cool seeing something I shot printed out poster size and passed out to the masses. Mike wanted to minimize the risk of damaging the car since SEMA is around the corner. We decided to shoot it at their warehouse. Definately not the best place to shoot a black car because it was a bit dim, but I made it work. The white walls did a great job of making sure you could still see detail in the black paint. Nikita did a great job modeling and was very easy to work with. All in all I was pretty happy with the results. Keep an eye out for a full shoot of Mike’s Lexus. Be sure to visit the Motevo booth at SEMA this year for a copy of the poster. Don’t forget to have Nikita sign it for you. Tell her I said, “I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts”, she’ll know what I mean.

I had the opportunity to shoot Tyler’s Daytona Blue Nissan 350Z last week. He drove all the way from Temecula, Ca so the pressure was on again to make his trip worthwhile. I didn’t want him to drive all the way out here just to shoot in a parking garage so we went out into the hills of Santiago Canyon for this shoot. You might recognize the location from a couple of my other shoots but I love how wide open and picturesque it is there. The best part is that the location is fairly secluded and I haven’t been hassled by any authorities yet. That in itself is worth the drive out.

I had originally planned to utilize my strobes while there was still daylight but we started shooting at a perfect time and the light on the car was great. Nothing wrong with a little natural light now and again. I was really happy with how the front quarter rig shot came out.

If you haven’t already skipped my mindless rambling and checked out the photos, Tyler has done an awesome job modifying his Nissan 350z, inside and out. If you were curious, here’s a list of his modifications:

Body:
Nismo V2 Front Bumper
Nismo USDM Side Skirts
Nismo Rear Valences
Nismo Carbon Pillar Garnish
’06 Headlights, Custom Graphite Silver

Brakes/Suspension/Wheels:
Volk TE37 18×9.5/10.5 +12F, +15R
Toyo T1-R 245/275 35/18
SPC A-Arms
SPC Camber Arms
SPC Toe Bolts
BC Racing Coilovers
Stoptech 6-piston Front Brakes

Engine:
Nismo Cat-back
Berk HFC’s
Cobb Stage 2 Reflash
Motordyne 5/16 Plenum Spacer
Color Matched Engine Cover

Interior:
Custom Covered OEM Seats
Pioneer Avic D3
JL 10W7
JL xSI 6.5 Components
Infinity Kappy 6.5 Rear Speaker
JL 500/1 and 450/4 Amps
Wicked C.A.S. Door Pods
RSW CF Window Switch Overlay

The Nissan GT-R is back and I want one. Ask any car enthusiast about the GT-R and the majority of them will say the same. With insane twin-turbo V-6 power, edgy looks, and a cult-like following rivaling that of the Beatles, the 2009 Nissan GT-R lives up to the hype.

A 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6 powers the GT-R. With 480 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque, you’d better have your inhaler handy.

The simple-yet-sporty interior complements the feel of the Nissan GT-R. And just to show you this car was meant to motor, the speedometer was arranged in such a way that the 140-mph tick mark is where you would normally see 60 mph on most cars. I guess the designers figured you wouldn’t be spending a whole lot of time under 100 mph.

The GT-R’s exterior styling causes mixed feelings. Some people hate it and others love it. I, for one, like the edgy design. I think it’s one of those looks that grow on you.

The Nissan supercoupe’s 4-wheel Brembo disc brakes with 15-inch rotors bring everything to a screeching halt when needed, while the gold calipers provide a little eye candy in the process.

Well-bolstered leather and suede bucket seats do a great job of keeping your butt in place on those curvy mountain roads. If you’re wondering about space in the back seat, the GT-R probably isn’t for you. However, if you’re wondering if they put dual subwoofers in between the rear seats, then you’ve come to the right place.

The 2009 Nissan GT-R is rollin’ on DUBS! Not just your regular run-of-the-mill dubs, but super-lightweight, forged-aluminum dubs. 20 x 9.5 inches in front and 20 x 10.5 inches at the rear.

Purists out there might scoff at the fact that there’s no clutch pedal in the GT-R. But the 6-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission is responsive and probably shifts faster than I do. It gets extra cool points for automatically blipping the throttle to match revs on downshifts.

The rear end of the Nissan GT-R is iconic. The dual circular taillights are instantly recognizable. I found this out as I was almost run off the road multiple times by people snapping pictures from their camera phones.

Starting at around $70,000, this car is an awesome deal considering it’ll decimate sports cars twice its price. Unfortunately, $70k is not going to happen on this photographer’s salary. Not to mention dealers are throwing on a pretty gnarly markup. So until my kidney sells on Ebay, or the price drops because they use this car in the next Fast and the Furious installment, these photos will have to suffice.

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8

I initially had a different image on my wallpaper page for the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. But a lot of people have been asking me to make this image a wallpaper so here you go. You can view the rest of my wallpapers here: http://www.ob-photo.com/wallpapers/

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If you looked up Billy Badass in the dictionary you’d find a picture of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8, taken by me of course. You can practically feel the chest hair sprouting every time you mash the pedal. This might not be a desired side effect if you’re of the feminine persuasion but it’s a small price to pay to drive a vehicle putting down 425 horsepower and 420 lb ft of torque. This brute strength emanates from a 6.1L SRT HEMI V8 engine, so you aren’t going to be winning any fuel economy awards. But if you want that old school muscle look without having to worry about old school reliability, the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 should be on the top of your list.

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