Mystique Gets a New Exhaust
One of the more common mods for a vehicle is an exhaust. The purpose is to not only give you that nice rumbling sound, but to also open up the exhaust system to escape more air. The automotive engine in it's simplest form is an air pump. The intake pulls air into the plenum which is where the air collects until it is thrown to the cylinders. The cylinders, (6, if you have a 6 cylinder, 4 if you have a 4 cylinder, etc) then pressurizes the air and gasoline mix and combustion occurs.
The more air (to an engine's maximum efficiency) that your engine can bring in, the more powerful the otto cycle is. Once that air/gas mixture is ignited, it must escape somehow. That is where your exhaust comes in. The first part of your exhaust leading from your engine block is the downpipe, then the Catalytic Converters. The "cats" as they're often called are the most restrictive part of your exhaust in most cases. The diameter of the pipes is small, they're normally bent, and there are filters in these pipes because the main purpose of the cats are to filter polution from the exhaust.
I have replaced my stock cats with Berk Technologies High Flow Cats. The next part of the exhaust on the G35 Coupe is the stock Y pipe. It's given this name because it's, as you've probably guessed, in the shape of a Y. Then following that is the Midpipe. This connects the Y pipe to the mufflers and tail pipe. By increasing the diameter of pipes in the exhaust system, you can potentially increase horsepower and torque as well if backpressure is increased or maintained.
Illustration of the Otto Cycle
Here's how my car sounds with a JWT Pop Charger, 350Z Intake Tube, 1/2" Motordyne Plenum Spacer, Berk Technologies High Flow Cats, and Fujitsubo Legalis-R Exhaust.
Drone G35 Sedan Night Shoot
When I received the text at 8pm on Saturday night from my friend Mark Stefanski, asking me what I was doing, I never expected him to ask me to shoot his car.
I expressed the desire to shoot his car after seeing his 6 Speed Manual Transmission, G35 sedan with its accentuated front lip, uniquely painted gold, coupe 19" Forged rims, expertly painted black grill and gold Mt Fuji emblem. The roof is custom painted black (by him of course) as are the tops of the rear tails to give it that sleek look in the rear capped off by a Top Speed exhaust system. The car is supported by an Eibach Sportline spring suspension.
The next task was to find a location that would accentuate his color and smooth lines. I thought a garage would be excellent with it's similar, yet high contrast tones and rough texture. Also, what better way to show the G's beautiful curves than by putting it in a predominantly square area?
With a little bit of creativity, and some off camera flashes, this is what I captured.. My aim was to capture how unique his build is. You normally don't see such an aggressive build on a coupe, nor these colors mixed together. While unique, I think it makes sense, and he successfully pulled it together nicely. Let me know what you think...
Shot with a Canon 7D
Canon 18-55 F3.5-5.6
Some shots mounted with a Canon 430EX II flash
Some Shots w/ 2 off camera flashes (Canon 430EX II & Canon 550EX)
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DIY Audi-Style Day Time Running Lights LED Install
I normally drive with my lights on all the time. Unfortunately I have a G35 coupe that is unequipped with daytime running lights. One of the ONLY things I didn't like about this car, UNTIL NOW. I found on iJDMtoy.com the Audi-Style LED Daytime Running LED light strips.
I figured this is something that I've never done before, so there has to be others that have never installed these either. Maybe this DIY could help others in the future. I have never done any lighting modifications or automotive electrical work on my own before, so experience is not in my favor.
So let's get on with it... (This is going to be a little G35-centric since that's the car I'm doing this on. You may have to find another light to splice into if your side markers blink. You do NOT want to splice the DRLs into lights that blink on and off)
1. Gather materials - You will need either wire cutters, or a paring knife to retract the wire covering. I felt more in control with a paring knife. I also used a flash light, and straightened a wire hanger for this project. Electrical tape is also used.
2. Remove the side marker light from the front bumper and detach the bulb housing from the plastic light fixture. This will provide you the opening necessary to feed your LED wire through to be close to your side marker light bulb. Let the bulb hang in place while you are working.
3. Determine where you want to place your LED strips in the lower vents of your front bumper. Make sure you have enough room to place the LEDs flat against the surface you plan to adhere them to. The LEDs are able to be cut, but I didn't cut mine I used all 15 LEDs on the strip.
4. Feed the wire through the lower bumper up to the main side marker hole ( in the center, where the light bulb rests). Make sure you're not feeding the wire through the smaller clip holes on the sides of the larger light bulb opening. I used the straightened wire hanger and created a loop at the end. I fed the hanger through the center hole of where the side marker fits into my front bumper all the way down to my lower bumper. I slid the LED wire into the loop of the hanger, and then pulled the hanger back out of the center hole slowly, thus feeding the wire to me. Let the LED wire hang through that hole.
5. Using the paring knife, strip approximately .5"(in) of wire covering from the red and black wires that connect the side marker light bulb. Go all the way around, exposing the copper wire below. BE CAREFUL, if you cut through this copper wire, your side markers will not work.
6. Using the wire cutters, expose the silver and copper wires of the clear LED cables by stripping approximately 1" of wire from the ends of both wires. You will notice one of the wires is silver, and one is copper even before stripping the wires.
7. Turn on your car lights (not your car). Test that your LEDs work by touching the SILVER wire of the LEDs to the RED wire of the light bulb, and the COPPER wire of the LEDs to the BLACK wire of the light bulb. The LEDS should turn on instantly, and all 3 lights should be on (headlights, side marker bulb and LEDs). If this is the case, proceed. If your lights don't turn on, you could possibly have not stripped enough plastic covering off of the light bulb wires. Ensure that you are touching the wire and not the plastic covering. If you still have problems, you could have a defective strip of LEDs. Use the other strip of LEDs to test.
8. Once you have determined your LEDs work, TURN THE LIGHTS OFF. Then wrap the exposed wire of the LEDs around the corresponding (refer to step 7) color of the light bulb wires. Make sure you wrap as much of the exposed LED wire all the way around the bulb wire. When you are complete the LED plastic coating should be close to the exposed bulb wire.
9. Test your lights again to ensure your lights still turn on. Headlights, side marker bulb, and LEDs should all be on at this point.
10. If your lights still turn on, CONGRATS!!! Now TURN THEM OFF!!! You are ready to tape the LED wire to the light bulb wire. Using small strips of black electrical tape, (I cut about 2" of tape from the roll, and then using the paring knife, split that in half) wrap the half strip around each paired LED wire and bulb wire adhering them together. Once this is done, the electrical work is complete.
11. Gently replace the light bulb fixture back into the side marker housing and attach the housing back to the front bumper, taking care to feed the light bulb housing and new LED wires into the main light bulb hole. You should press until you hear both sides click into place.
12. Now you are ready to remove the adhesive from the rear of the LED strip, and place your LEDs on the pre-determined flat surface of your lower bumper. I adhered mine to the lower mesh of my K2 bumper.
Now simply repeat for the other side. (starting at step 2)
I was very pleased by the simplicity of this install having never done electrical before. As I said before, hopefully reading this will give others the confidence to try this install and bond with their car. I definitely got a sense of satisfaction once I saw the finished product. This was also the first install my 5 year old son got to help me with.. He held the flashlight for me the whole time and was my "light tester". He was amazed at the finished product as well and now thinks I'm a master mechanic.
Let me know by commenting if this was a helpful DIY, if you have questions, please comment and I'll respond as promptly as possible.
Here are some finished images snapped right after install..
Photo Challenge Week 1 (G35Driver.com) – Bottle(s)
The theme for the week of the G35Driver.com weekly photo challenge was Bottle(s). I decided to take this opportunity to really think out what image I wanted to portray. What size bottle? Color? Shape? A bottle can be simple and elegant, colorful and elaborate.. Did I want to capture more functionality or art?
Well of course I had plenty of questions in my head but then it came to me. I wanted to take a commercial shot. Like really try and make it look like it was for a magazine spread. I even took the time to make a product box. This gave me the opportunity to really experiment with my flashes off camera.
After tampering with the flashes position, I finally settled on a traditional 1 flash highlighting the background, and my main flash overhead to highlight the product. This gave me that really clean, high-pass, vibrant look that I was after.
I placed the subject to the left of the frame as if it were going to have typography on the right side of the "ad". I also added a bit of allure and mood by splashing some water on the bottle and letting it pool at the foot of the bottle. This was added to give the viewer someting interesting to think about througout the journey down the bottle. The reflection was due to plastic laid down at the bottom of the product box.
I'd say for my first product box shot, this turned out pretty well and exactly how I intended..
Canon 7D
Tamron 28-75
ISO200
F10
50mm
1/200
canon 430EX II (1/8)
canon 550EX (1/4)
onboard flash (-1) exposure comp
Photo Challenge 1 Entry (16Niss)- Hotness
I was invited to participate in a photo challenge on the 16NiSS.com website this week and the theme was "Hotness". Since I've been experimenting with my Hulk action figures and off camera flash, I decided to use them again for this theme as well. I created a composite of the Hulks fighting and also took a long exposure(10 seconds) of one of my stove burners and focus layered to get the most detail in the fire... This was my entry for "HOTNESS"..
Let me know what you guys think..
People Are Naturally Evil.. I Think So At Least…
I was conversing with a friend of mine earlier this week, and he asked me, "Do you think people are naturally evil?" Before even thinking, I told him "Yes." Now before you think I'm saying everyone is a product of Satan or something, or think I'm the largest pessimist there is, hear my logic first..
I start in that proverbial "sandbox" that we all allude to when talking about "blank" or "unbiased" children. Well, in that sandbox, you'll find raw human instinct and emotion, not driven by morals or values or anything else that must be taught.
If I take any 2 children in that sandbox and only have 1 toy between them, you'll see several different things. You'll see anger, possessiveness, might even see violence. By any morals and values that we've been taught, whether religious based or not, aren't those characteristics considered "evil" or not acceptable? If you were an adult in a work environment, and someone came up to you and took your keyboard off your desk, and you slapped the fire out of them, wouldn't you be thought of as "Hey, don't mess with him, that's the evil guy..." We're expected to "know better" right? Well the only reason we know better is because we're TAUGHT to know better, taught to coexist or ignore our natural "human" instincts. I placed quotes around human because there's no such thing in my mind as "human" instincts; that's an oxymoron. Instincts themselves are animalistic in nature. Instincts by definition are:
Instinct -An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli
So, by that definition, if we have to be TAUGHT to become good, then instinctually, or naturally, we're evil right? Can't be both.
The things that make us socially acceptible, able to coexist, and separate us as humans, are those morals and values. Or could it be simply fear of the reprecussions if we don't "play nice." If we aren't defined by our morals and values then we're just the same as animals. That's how we treat those social outcasts in our society, we throw them in cages just like animals in the zoo. We like to that we've effectively changed our chemical makeup or something or that we're "above" primative behavior. I personally think those same human emotions from the sandbox are still there, we're just taught to repress them and not act on our instincts. However, if you put any human in an environment where survival becomes the number one priority, impersonating or attuning ourselves to our animal instincts might be the only thing that can save our lives.
So, now that I've had a chance to think about the answer, "YES, I STILL think people are naturally "evil/animal", I just think we "play nice" so we're not socially repugnant."
What do you think?
What Were You Thinking ?!?!? #6 (Billy Ray Cyrus & Miley Cyrus’s Little Sister, Noah)
THANK GOD I DON'T HAVE GIRLS!!! I have thanked the heavens daily that I don't have female offspring. Not that I dislike them, but I would not be a proper father for them because I'd be WAY to close minded and overprotective to where I'd always be criticized for my fathering style. The following article is but more ammunition for why I'd act the way that I would if I had daughters..
Miley Cyrus's little sister is going to begin a LINGERIE line for GIRLS!!! No.. I don't mean designing them for adult women.. I mean for GIRLS.. And no.. This is not Miley's older sister trying to benefit from her sister's fame. This is her 9 YEAR OLD YOUNGER SISTER. Billy Ray, WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?!
Enough with my ranting, here's evidence..
I'm sorry, but is that a POLE? Goodness.. Someone please tell me I'm either not the only one that sees something wrong w/ me, or attempt to persuade me that this will not cause lasting damage in the future for this child. I think we as parents have to have enforce some kind of level of protection of our children from themselves. I agree that we should support our children in their adventures and ideas, but sometimes you have to remember, "they're only kids." This is a perfect example of LACK of parenting and the inability to say NO.
I'm praying that my blog isn't taken down because I half way feel like I'm posting child porn. This is rediculous.
Johnston Blackhorse – Drawing Under the Influence
Rarely do I come across people that are so engulfed in their craft that they inspire me to do something with myself. I "met" such a person today.. This guy is awesome at what he does.
Background info:
I'm working on a couple websites right now and I've been watching some flash and photoshop tutorials. I was watching a photoshop tutorial and it mentioned a site called deviant art. I went there looking for some inspriation and just to see what the site was all about. It's somewhat a portfolio/social site for graphic artists of all types (photographers, digital artists, animators, free hand artists, etc) I came across Blackhorse's profile page and saw some of his amazing art in his gallery. I quickly messaged him on yahoo and we chatted for a while before he went to get "inspired" for his next comic (I hope).. He's an animator out of Las Vegas, NV, for Global Gaming Group, but does a lot of drawing in his spare time as well. Engulfed in his craft, like I said..
Here's an example of some of his work, for work.. The Germ Terminator, Just Add Water Movie
Here are some of his Random Sketches just to practice his craft..
What I really want to share is his amazing comics that he's drawn for his blog, "Drawing Under the Influence.. I started at the most recent post and found myself engulfed w/ his bio comics. I read every single one of them. They're expertly drawn from a comic perspective of his daily interractions with people in his real life experiences.
I hope you take a few minutes (hours in my case) to go through his work and laugh as much as I did.. Good to know I'm not the only one experiencing some of these things.. He just has to guts to put them on paper.
I'll definitely be adding him to my links section.. REALLY makes me want to crack open my sketch book again..
Checklist For Purchasing A Lens
I've been asked the question "What do you check for when buying a lens?" or "Is this a good lens?" more than once, and the question came up again today when a friend was buying a used lens.. So, I thought I'd share what I check for when buying a lens, new or old. Of course some of the items on the list are for zoom lenses only, but most can be attributed to lenses in general, zoom or prime.
1. Bring your camera body with you so that you can test the focus of the lens.
2. Inspect for dust and scratches on the lens surface and body. Chips and knicks aren't good especially if you plan to sell the lens as well one day. And of course you don't want dust and scratches in your shots, that will just increase post production time later.
3. Check for fungus or debris on the ring edges of the lens. Lens fungs is a BAD thing, you don't want to deal with that. I wouldn't advise buying a fungus infected lens regardless of the price. It only gets worse. Check out the length one photographer goes to avoid fungus.
4. Shake the lens, to make sure there are no loose elements, you should hear NO rattles (if you do, the lens has most likely been dropped or the person has used the lens a LOT zooming in and out) The damage done is normally the lens won't shoot as pin point as it did when it was newer because one of the elements isn't perfectly aligned anymore and the light isn't directed properly.
5. Check for loose switches as well.
6. Make sure the zoom ring and focus ring move smoothly throughout the focal length, and there are no areas where it "catches" or is hard to turn.
7. Hold the lens straight up, zoom at various focal lengths and ensure the weight of the lens doesn't close the lens back down a lot (this is called zoom creep, in cheaper lenses, this is common and unavoidable, it's just the build quality you get with cheaper lenses.) You can also do this holding the lens straight down. Open it slightly, and see if gravity opens the lens all the way or if it stays at the focal length you opened it to.
Then put the lens on your camera:
8. Check for is back focus or front focus issues.
(You'll have to use your LCD on the back of your camera for this)
Focus on something and then check the results in the LCD. If the lens focuses on the thing you expected it to, you're good. If it focuses on something in the foreground, you have front focus issues, if on something in the rear, back focus issues.
9. Focus on something far away and see how fast the lens autofocuses, then do the same for something close up. Do this at the short and long ends of the lens and ensure it's to your liking. In some photography, such as sports, you'll want a fast autofocus, and if the lens isn't quick, you could potentially lose a lot of shots. Also listen to the sound of the focus motor, is it too loud? You don't want to be obtrusive if shooting at a wedding with a loud focus motor.
10. Then I'd shoot at F4 to see how sharp the image is (that's normally the sweet spot for most lenses) It should be pretty sharp all the way to the edges
BONUS TIP: Ask for the box, and any warranty cards for the lens. Ask if there was a lens hood and make sure you get both lens caps (front and rear).
Hopefully this list will come in handy for you.. These are the things that I check for when I'm purchasing a lens. Don't let a slightly used lens scare you. You can easily determine if a lens is "LNIB" (Like New In Box) or "slightly used" as advertised by following this simple checklist. Don't be naive and think a new lens is perfect either.. Sometimes lenses can come defective from the factory, so don't be bashful, use this list on new lenses as well..
HULK SMASH!!!
I've been reading up on several photography techniques and one that caught my attention was "multiplicities".. The idea behind this technique is where you NORMALLY shoot the same subject multiple times, and in most cases interracting with eachother.. Here's are a couple of my favorites..
This is a fun technique but you can definitely tell it's manipulated.. The way this is done, is with the camera on a tripod so the background doesn't change and taking multiple images of your subject in different places then layering those images in a post production program like Photoshop and masking in the multiple subjects to create one composite image.
I, however, being one to normally test boundaries decided to try this technique but apply it more practically. Although I see the "fun" use of it shooting multiple exposures of yourself and then masking them into the same image, I wanted to DO something with this technique but still have "fun".. So I came up with this:
Canon 7D
Tamron 28-75mm
Canon 430EX II and onboard flash (4:1, 430ex at 1/16th power)
f18
iso 640
1/200
Now you know I can't stop there.. I now have the idea of making a "fight scene" between the Red and Green Hulk and trying to create an animated gif out of it.. We'll see what happens..