A look back at 2010

One of my first blog posts from 2010 was during the snowpocalypse in January when I was stranded in my house. Oddly enough, I’m writing my (probably) last post for 2010 in a similar situation – drink in hand of course.

Above: Steady Freddy Girard at Autodrome Montmagny

2010 was a very exciting year for me and a great year to get this site off the ground. I was traveling on average once every two weeks while somehow still remaining a student (had to make up some pretty creative excuses to get out of class, but it was well worth it). I got to spend a lot of time with some of the greatest people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, and got up close and personal with vehicles that most people only get to dream about seeing/driving/shooting.

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My first subject of 2010 was a perfect Aston Martin DBS out in Phoenix.

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Next stop was Club Loose Spring Moves with Matt Waldin and his 350Z for some superfun drifting time. Cool vid by Kenny Cano from that event below… 10 points if you find me.

On Board X Matt Waldin from Kenny Cano on Vimeo.


Then it was time for Drift Camp! Damien got the S15 together for some shakedown runs and Jersey Rob busted out his BBQ skills for the Pennsylvania people.


With a couple drift events out of my system, I went to study abroad in China. Naturally I found a car magazine in Beijing within hours of landing.


After being back from China for a whopping three days it was time for Formula D at Wall Speedway. Looks like drifting will not be coming back to Wall next season. Sad, I love that venue.


Then it was time for Canada road trip #1 – Montreal Grand Prix! I’ve been an F1 fan for 22 years but this was my first time seeing it live. Absolutely incredible.


Fourth of July was spent playing with Godzirra and his evil twin.


And then back to the desert to shoot Ed’s Turbo. Look for a full feature on this car next year, as it’s getting some changes over the winter.

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Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the 2010 Camaro met it’s father.

In Car Drift
And before I knew it I was back in Canada, sliding around Autodrome Montmagny with Matt Waldin.

This is probably my favorite photo of the year. It’s not really in focus, it’s not sharp, and it’s the only one out of about 100 snaps that I took on my nighttime ride-alongs that came out decent, but it is exactly what I wanted out of the shot. It’s a lot harder than you’d think to hold a camera steady with Matt driving balls-to-the-wall behind Damien. Those two love to tandem close and fast. I find myself using words like “chaos” “carnage” “fire” and “insanity” whenever I do a write up on a weekend with those guys.

That was my last official event of the year, and once September hit I shot a couple personal vehicles for my friends and gave my camera a rest.

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Boxster Spyder

aprilia

Range Rover

That’s it, and that’s all. 2010 was awesome, and things are only going to get better in 2011.

AG

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Posted in Andrew Goodman, Editorial |

Is this art?

What’s up ShiftedCrew? I’m back after a short hiatus. Summer 2010 was absolutely insane, and as the season is coming to an end I just want to thank our followers for keeping up with the site and maintaining your interest in Shifted and illantic while we have been quiet. We are going through all the e-mails and facebook messages and working hard to deliver some really good things in the near future – but I wanted to post some new photos and do a little blogging (or is it “logging” with a soft ‘b’?) in the meantime.

I was talking to friend of mine who does a lot of branding and web design a while ago about the frustrations of his work. He kept saying “design is not a democracy,” in response to feedback he had been receiving from clients who seemed to prefer fundamentally poor logos and site layouts.

It got me thinking about my own “work,” in photography and graphic design in relation to the basic principal my friend had been preaching… Art is not a democracy. But that raised another question.. is this even art? My friends and facebook fans seem to think so, but I know others would argue the contrary.

The more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion that it was only art because I believed it was art. I visualized it, I captured it the way I saw it, and I put my eyes, my mood, and my passion into it. Since then, I started taking a lot more liberties with the way I take my shots and post-process them.

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I’ve never been happier with my work, and I have never cared less if anyone liked it or not. Funny that since I grabbed my camera by the balls and started to shoot the way I wanted, my stuff has been more well-received than ever before.

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Is it art? Decide for yourself… but here are some more pictures to help you make up your mind.

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Big things on the way soon, check back for an update from illantic as well.

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Posted in Andrew Goodman |

Shiftedframe and Illantic

If you’ve cruised this blog, you know that Shiftedframe is the media aspect of the East Coast Automotive community. Little has been shown or discussed about Illantic and what it is. Well Illantic is the lifestyle portion of Shiftedframe. It is a state of mind, being and action. With the partnership between these two companies, we will encompass all aspects of the sports. From behind the scenes to race day. Now with that said, Illantic is rolling out their first run of T-shirts. There will ONLY be 35 of these shirts produced, and to make them extra special, we can have shirts signed and numbered by Matt Waldin, Owner of Import Intelligence, DMCC champion and professional FD and D1 drifter. With such a limited run of shirts being made, you a guaranteed to not to see anyone else rocking our stuff. Nothing like being truly unique and exclusive.

So if you’re interested drop us a line at IllanticMedia@gmail.com or look us up on facebook (illantic).

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Posted in Illantic |

A picture is worth…

Sunrise

So I was bored last night browsing through my digital bin of reject photos that I took over the summer to see if there was something I overlooked. I came across this random snap of Matt Waldin’s front wheel from DMCC Toronto in August. It was taken at about 5am, and I was on my first trip ever with the Drift Brigade crew to take some photos for Mishimoto and lend a hand where I could.

This was true grassroots motorsports if I had ever seen it. Matt and Damien trailered their cars up on a 9 hour drive from Pennsylvania to compete. We didn’t have a place to stay, only two out of the four of us had Canadian money, and we were running on almost no sleep. But it didn’t matter. No one seemed very worried, they would figure out the details later. It was all about the drifting.

That photo means a whole lot more to me now than it did when I took it. It was one of the first shots of the weekend, and remembering the sun rising over the backdrop of the Toronto skyline with the sounds of burning tires and roaring engines evokes a feeling I will not forget. It reminds me why I put up with the corporate bullshit, why I take photos for free, and why I love motorsports so much.

I gained a true appreciation for the grassroots motorists that weekend. Some competitors drove their race cars to and from the event, others had full rigs, but there wasn’t any of the discrimination that I saw at Formula D. They all were there to drive and have fun, and it was truly the most pure environment of people who love the sport that I have ever been around. All I can say is that I can’t wait for next year. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to hit up a few more events with Matt and the crew, and do a full writeup of a DMCC race weekend. Until then, enjoy the snow.

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Posted in Andrew Goodman |