Matt Kwok Photography Blog

I don’t usually post behind the scene shots, mainly because I don’t find them interesting enough to show. However, this is one of my first time shooting cars in an indoor studio. Thanks again Whitebox Studios.

A lot of people asked me how I got the car so shinny, and believe it or not, a white car in a white studio is usually the easiest to shoot, but for me it was a challenge. I didn’t want to do the typical photoshoot. If I light the car pointing the light straight at it, it would look bland and flat. Instead, I made use of the white walls around the studio, and pointing the lights at them so it reflects off a bigger surface area. By doing that, it creates a big soft box effect that allows the car to look more reflective and appealing.

image courtesy of Whitebox Studios

This is my third time shooting for MWDesign. This time they are going for a white on white theme. In contrast of the first z4, this z4 is the direct opposite in colors. My goal of shooting this car was to bring out contrast and reflections, and the results are exactly what I was aiming for. I didn’t want to be too conservative so I light the car like how I light black cars.

Thanks again for Mike and Lewis at MWDesign, and whitebox studio for renting the place to us.

Curtis just messaged me one day and asked me to do a shoot for him. Vancouver’s winter weather is never good and I was planning to postpone it to January, but i accepted and went to shoot it on my day off from work. The car looks great. An untrained pair of eyes could not tell this car has been undergone some modifications. A Revo stage 1 tune with an intake for the mighty 2.0 FSI engine is plenty enough for Curtis himself to get around town. Nothing too crazy and a great prevention from all the popo heat.

UPDATED JAN 18, 2011

Shooting in the rain isn’t exactly what everyone’s mind of what they would consider a perfect weather. And when we thought that it would be a cloudy day, it turned out to be wet and cold. Everything I planned out for the shoot was soon sweep aside. To make things worse, there’s a memory card err and it locked the camera up during the shoot. However the pictures still turned out what I wanted.

Earlier this summer, I had the privilege to shoot MWdesign’s BMW Z4 once again. This time however, is featured on Performance BMW magazine in europe. I was quite excited for the shoot since this would be my first ever feature on a magazine. 3 and a half full pages and I felt pretty lucky to be shooting for them. Pick up your copy today at your local magazine stand! Ipod/Ipad version here.Performance BMW magazine, December 2010.

Special thanks for Lewis and Mike again from MWdesign, and Performance BMW Magazine editors and staff!

Tim’s S2K with a lot of Spoon goodies. This is a very casual shoot. I actually met the owner at autocross. We agreed on shooting this car 1/2 year ago but never had the time. Black cars are always hard to shoot with, but I just like doing it again and again lol. It’s not hellaflush or anything but I think it’s still very nice and separates from the group.

Be sure to check out my new facebook page here!

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll find this car familiar. I shot this car just a year ago and the owner wants a reshoot. My approach of shooting this car is quite different than my previous shoots. I shot this on a rainy day with mostly natural lighting.

Like I previously said before, the evo viii and ix are pretty rare in Canada given that they do not sell them there. It wasn’t until recently that they start allowing them to be imported into Canada.

Brendan, the owner of Project Detail located in Vancouver, B.C. has given me the opportunity to shoot his daily driver, a wicked white Mitsubishi Evo IX MR.

This evo IX is pretty much bone stock right now, but he has plans in the next little while. AST, Wedsport, just to name a few. When he showed me the car in person I was expecting what I was going to expect. A clean and spotless evo IX. The attention to detail is just amazing. The wheels, brakes, and wheel wells are like brand new. Even the gaps in between the lug nuts has no sign of dust.

So I have the opportunity to shoot Jeff’s car again. Since last year, the car has undergone some intense track duty, and yet maintains a clean and flush daily driver. With no doubt it’s all go and all show.

EDIT: here’s some info of the owner and the car on canibeat.com

That’s right! I shot my own car haha. I did a quick shoot while the weather is still good and before the crazy weather swarms in.

A little bit of history. I bought this car back in 2007 and the original intention was a daily driver, A to B car. I was planning to get some rims, lower and call it a day. Apparently that didn’t happen, and end up doing more and more to it.

I never thought that this car would saw the track either. I’m pretty surprised what the car became. The goal was to keep the car fun to drive, while keeping it daily drivable without much sacrifices. It’s basically an overhaul with gsr parts and some itr goodies as well. It wasn’t meant to be really fast, but to keep a neutral balance between power and handling.

And no, this car doesn’t attract any girls. That’s right. It doesn’t and I really don’t care anyway. I would’ve picked up something else if that was my intention. It does attract some enthusiasts and that INCLUDES girls. LOL

This was my first car and I learned pretty much everything from ground up from it. Not much big plans for next year but more track time and may be a few little things here and there.