Legends of the Autobahn 2018 - 35mm

This summer, I ran into a problem that I’ve never had before: I shot so much in just three months that I actually forgot about some of the photos. At one point, I sent off 12 rolls of film to be developed and scanned, and it turns out that a few of them have just been sitting on my hard drives.

A couple of those rolls host images that I made at this year’s Legends of the Autobahn show during Monterey Car Week. This is an event that we’ve attended for the last few years, and this year we got to bring our own car for the first time. It’s amazing to see the community that exists around classic BMWs, and we are so proud to be a part of it. Hanging out with cool cars and amazing friends - what more do you need?

All that said, please enjoy this gallery of 35mm shots from the show. I kept it simple and shot with my Nikon FM2 on Portra 400 (clearly a combination I’m obsessed with if you track my work).

Thanks for looking!

On the Way to 500k: Austin's BMW M5 for Turtle Wax

The Caccavo family takes their cars seriously. It's rare to find a family in which every member is unquestioningly dedicated to the automotive lifestyle, but here we are. Austin and his family may have only recently moved to Northern California, but they have wasted no time immersing themselves into the car culture here. Austin in particular spends much of his time working on his vehicles, and finding new roads to explore. 

On this day, my husband and I went out to explore the mountainous range of El Dorado and the surrounding region with Austin in his E28 M5. This car has been in his family since 2004, and it has lived a life that many would call unusual for an M5. Think: 100k miles on the clock when purchased by the Caccavos, daily driven, given a fully rebuilt 3.6L transplant at 293k miles, and still driven today. In 2017, Austin's father decided he no longer wanted the car, but instead of shipping it away, offered it to his son to purchase. It was an easy choice for Austin. 

Not many M5s have the privilege to see this amount of road time, as most people try to follow a "low mileage, high value" mantra. Austin however has run over 14,000 miles on the car in the last eight months of ownership, so I don't need to tell you that he drives it. A lot. We spent most of this day driving up winding, vast mountain roads, cruising the freeways in between, and stopping at a couple of Austin's favorite spots. 

Once we reached a high point on the mountain, Austin took a quick stop to clean up the bug casualties on the front of the car. Austin uses Turtle Wax ICE Spray Detailer for on-the-go spot cleanings. 

Our next stop was at the base of the mountain, where we took some time to photograph Austin doing what he loves most: driving. Most of us aren't fortunate enough to hear an S38 at wide open throttle every weekend, so I have to say that there may be a tint of jealousy somewhere behind these photos...

Our next stop was another region a short drive away. This space fell victim to a wild fire some years ago, and it's rather eerie to see the resulting landscape even after years of healing. 

In addition to the ICE products that Austin carries with him, he also has the Turtle Wax Express Shine Carnauba Spray Wax for deeper cleaning after washes. 

We wrapped up our day of driving at a nearby historical bridge (scantily built yet surprisingly sturdy, might I add). Beneath the bridge were incredible river rock formations, crafted by the water over decades of time. 

This is a sponsored post. I am a Turtle Wax Shine Squad Influencer, although all opinions expressed are my own.

Behind the Lens: My Journey With BMW Group Classic

If you follow along with my social media, you probably recall me posting about my trip to Germany during the summer. I set out on this wildly beautiful adventure with BMW Group Classic, and our mission was to create the first of what they have called the "Behind the Lens" series of YouTube short films. 

The basis of this film was to document my art, my perspective on the automotive photography field, and of course, my BMW story. It was my job to talk about what I do and why I do it, and to deliver a message that I felt would represent myself in the most genuine light. To do this, BMW Group Classic utilized the talents of several amazing individuals, from the producer to the videographers. As a team, we embarked on what I can confidently say has been the highlight of my career thus far: a road trip in a 1973 BMW 3.0CSi from Munich to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. 

This blog is meant to give you an inside look at our cross countries adventure, from the beginning in Munich at The Vault, all the way to the Festival of Speed. I am still immensely humbled by this experience, and the memories we created while on the trip are ones that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I'd like to extend yet another huge thank you to BMW Group Classic, as well as our team - Hondo, Philip, Benjamin, Julian, Patrick, Ares, Felix, and everyone else who was involved at any point. I am so fortunate to have met these wonderful people, and to be able to share so many passions with them. 

Because there are so many images to share, I've separated them into three galleries in the links below (also found on my homepage). 

Chapter I: The Vault

Chapter II: The Road Trip

Chapter III: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2017

Finally, here is the full Behind the Lens feature! I hope you guys enjoy the photos and the video - if you have feedback, questions, or comments, feel free to contact me! 

This movie shows the personal story of an extraordinary woman, working in a men's world. In June 2017 we met an outstanding automotive photographer: Courtney Cutchen Together with her we started our roadtrip to one of the biggest automotive events: Goodwood Festival of Speed.