Day to day – 4/2/2010

On a beautiful Thursday morning, the weather outside is much cooler that it has been of late, so I was keen to do something. As per most days I decided to go for a cruise into the CBD to take pics.

Just of late I’ve been let down with the exotics driving around Perth, or should I say there lack of? Today was finally different!

As usual I bounce back and fourth from the Perth CBD to Subiaco to West Perth and back again numerous times. It can get a little boring however when you find some nice rides, it’s all worth it

- Bentley Continental Flying Spur – Black
- BMW M6 Cabriolet – Silver
- Ferrari F430 Spider – TDF/Tan
- Lotus Elise S1 – Burgundy
- Maserati Granturismo – Dark grey
- Maserati Quattroporte – Light turquoise
- Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG – Black/Black
- Range Rover Sport Supercharged – White/Black – 24″ Forgiato Vizzo wheels – The Forgiato Rover (www.forgiato.com)

- Josh Stowers

Forgiato Wheels x Coconut Photography

Hi all!

I’m BEYOND ecstatic for this achievement! =D

In 2009 I had a photoshoot with an Aston Martin and a Range Rover both sitting on wheels made by Forgiato.

This shoot was picked up by Forgiato and some of the pictures were used on their blog and other sections of their website.

As an 18 year old photographer from Australia to have the headlining photo on an internationally known, US based website is quite an honour makes me want to work harder!

It also makes the "kid" in me (even though I still am) want to go YIPPEEEEEE!!! = D

Visit – www.forgiato.com

To view all the images from the shoot – http://www.flickr.com/photos/coconutphotography/sets/72157622649518527/

Cheers,
Josh

28/12/2009 – Afternoon cruise

Monday the 28th was a lazy day. Couple days after Christmas and even though shops/businesses/companies were open and operating, I found myself driving down Rockeby Road in Subiaco with not only a lack of people to look at but more importantly cars. There were no exotic cars in sight! Fortunately, I got a call from a friend of mine who works internationally saying he’s back in Perth for a couple of days… The day was about to got a whole lot better

I arrived at my mate’s place around 4 and we kicked it for a little before a few of our other friends arrived. 4:30 had rolled around and all the boys had shown up. What to do? What to do…? Raffles?

We headed out to the Raffles in a Porsche 996 GT2, Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG and a fully tuned Mercedes-Benz SLK and it was a great afternoon!! Awesome company, great atmosphere and cool cars. Good times.

My friend is arriving back in February so stay tuned for a photoshoot with all his cars!

Boxing Day 26th December – Rotto raft up

As of the 27th of December I’m going to try to maintain this blog as much as I can! Purely because I’ve done some really cool stuff in the later months of 2009 and 2010 is shaping up to be amazing! So with that in mind, I’ve decided to restart with one the greatest days of 2009!

On Boxing Day the 26th of December, I attended an event known as the Boxing Day Raft Up at Rottnest Island. The general idea behind the event is that anyone who owns a boat/yacht/catamaran etc can head over to Rotto so that everyone can tie up together and have one giant party on the water.

It was my first raft up and I heard a lot of crazy things leading up to the day and let me just say, every expectation was fulfilled and then some! I had an amazing time meeting new people, chilling with friends and having an EPIC time!

As the day wound up, I was told by a friend that we would be cruising to the other side of the island to hop on his friend’s catamaran for a little fiesta!

What he neglected to tell me, was that the Cat we would be on, is the very one in this picture!!!

Ever since I have been a kid I have always wanted to be involved in life’s luxuries. High end cars/yachts/jets and other items of that nature, hence why I have the job I have.

The experience I had yesterday aboard this floating work of art will stay with me for the rest of my life!

Yes I’ve been on boats before, however to be on the upper deck of this truly amazing vessel with great friends, great music, the sun setting on the horizon and in general awe of what I was seeing in front of my very eyes… It was surreal!

Opportunities like this don’t usually happen that often for an 18 year old photographer! For that I am still in awe, and lost for words…. Because of the Entourage style events that took place, I have an even stronger passion to work harder and to achieve my goals.

(Myself being in the black)

Those owners/photographers/viewers who know me very well will understand why partying on a 140ft Cat wasn’t just a party, it was a life lesson! Even if I did have ridiculous amounts of fun!

Cheers,
Josh Stowers

Day to Day – 19/5/2009

Hi all

Tuesday 19/5/2009 was an early start for me! Not a bad day all in all, however started shooting at 9am!

This time instead of starting in Perth, I started in Cottesloe, and right from the get go, there were a few cars around! I didn’t get many pictures throughout day, because I saw all the cars whilst driving.

It was around 9am when I first drove out from Freo towards town for the day. Stopped at the lights on the corner of Wellington Street & Stirling Hwy, I was changing the song on my iPod, when I happened to look up randomly, when all of a sudden a Pearl White Aston Martin DB9 Volante turns onto Stirling Hwy, which was followed closely by a Navy Blue Maserati Granturismo!

I was so amazed at the time that instead of picking up my camera, I just watched as they drove on by!

Once the lights turned green, I gave chase trying to locate both cars, however when I drove around the bend, it was too late, they were out of my sight.

A tad annoyed I continued towards Perth, seeing a few Porsche 997 911 Turbo’s as I drove along, the odd Maserati Quattroporte, a Bentley Continental Flying Spur and even an Audi R8, but was unable to get pictures because I was behind the wheel.

I finally got into the city at around 11, however the sun was very harsh, and didn’t make for good lighting anywhere! It appeared as if I shouldn’t have left home today at all!

As I arrived I found myself behind the beautiful Antique Gold Bentley Continental Flying Spur I had seen a couple day before. It was turning into a building so I quickly stopped and got a shot before it disappeared. It’s not the best picture because of optics in my windshield, however it’s the only shot I have of it.

I’d driven around the City for a little while, and it became evident that there were no exotics around!

So at around 2 I wrapped it up, finding on the way home a Maserati Granturismo, an Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage Roadster and then a White/Black Bentley Continental GTC… In the pooring rain!!

It wasn’t too bad of a day car wise, however lighting and actually taking the pictures was a problem!

Later that night I found a rare Lotus Europa SE! It was the 1st time seeing a SE, and I have to say I’m impressed!

Until next time – Josh Stowers

Day to Day – 14/5/2009

Hi all

Thursday the 14th. As per my last blog, Thursday’s can vary in numbers, however 8 times out of 10, you won’t see any exotics!

With that in mind, I thought I’d try my luck and see if I could get inside that other 20%, and find a few nice cars around town.

As usual I started off in the city and worked my way around town during the course of the day. I started around 10:30 in Perth and as I was driving down St Georges, I spied in the distance an Audi R8 driving towards me. Great to see, however not much I could do, seeing as I was driving at the time

I headed through West Perth on the way to Subi, seeing a couple of nice AMG Mercedes-Benz on the way, but nothing out of the ordinary! I got to the corner of Hay & Rockeby, when I saw a dark Silver Aston Martin DB9 Volante parked.

I was starting to park, when I saw another DB9 Volante drive through the intersection, however this one was a beautiful Oyster Pearl colour! So I gave chase for a little, before it ended up parking, a perfect chance to get some shots!

I had seen this one a couple times over the past year or so, however nowhere near as many times as I had liked too! I snapped a few of this particular DB9 before I headed back to the other DB9 to get shots. Two DB9 Volantes in 10 minutes… Awesome!

Around 1pm I headed to UWA, to meet a few friends of mine. However as soon as I arrive I received a call from another friend, saying there’s a Silver Nissan GTR parked in Northbridge. So naturally… I hopped in the car, driving half way around the city, based on a phone call! I got there 10 minutes later to find… NOTHING

Not one to be disappointed I drove back to UWA, finding a few cars very close to campus. 1 very rare Rosso Corsa Maserati 4200 Coupe, a black Maserati Quattroporte and one of THE best Bentley’s I’ve seen!

A beautiful Antique Gold Bentley Continental Flying Spur!!! However, I didn’t get any pictures.

The day had finished and inevitably turned into night. It was 7pm, it was cold and the roads were relatively empty if you were in the right spot. I was still in West Perth and luckily the scarce traffic I was encountering, had a black Maserati Granturismo amongst it’s low numbers.

Because of the cold I didn’t want to shoot for too long, only getting the necessary pics and then finally heading home. It was a great looking Granturismo! Black/Black with Yellow calipers.

Heading home, focused on getting there, cars weren’t on my mind… This mentality lasted about 90% of the trip, abruptly coming to a halt in the last 10%. When I came across one the craziest cars to ever roam Perth’s streets!!

The TVR Tuscan.

It was my 2nd time seeing a Tuscan in WA and funnily enough it happened to be 1/2 Tuscans in the entire state! From the moment I saw it I was speechless! The look, the bodywork, the interior, the paint! OH… The paint!!

It was a beautiful Reflex Baby Blue/Green with flecks of gold sprinkled everywhere across the ever flowing bodywork and in under the orange street light, it looked EPIC! However the night didn’t do it justice, I needed to see it during the day!!

I spent a total of around 60 minutes shooting this amazing, alien-like vehicle! As speechless at the end as I was at the start, if not more after looking at it’s perfect lines, perfect paint job and marveling at the fact that it had no door handles!

This particular Thursday was a cracker!! 3 cars I had never seen before. 1 of which, a piece of artwork that goes down in my books as one of the best looking cars ever, TVR Tuscan. And a Bentley I’ll never forget!

And who said Thursday’s weren’t good?

Until next time – Josh Stowers

Day to Day – 13/5/2009

Hi all

Wednesday was always THE best day for spotting during the week if you’re in Perth. Something about Wednesday’s just brought the cars out, it was great!

However over the last couple of weeks, the cars had been becoming more scarce, much like a Thursday, and as I drove around Subiaco on Wednesday the 13th of May, I had realized that the middle of the working week, was to be the best no more…

I was only able to shoot during the morning because of commitments in the afternoon, however I hit the City around 9am and started my scope…

Over the next hour and a half there was a combination of driving and walking done, however all my efforts searching and $30 worth of fuel that had been soaked up in 40 min of driving, had left my camera card empty, with the best car in view a 2005 BMW X5 4.8i as I refilled at Shell. It was a beautiful blue colour and as it took off from the lights, left a deep throaty sound, as expected from the V8 engine it has under the hood

Just as I was about to give up and pack it in, I drove one last time through West Perth and as I did, I stumbled across an Italian car, sporting a colour that is synonymous with both it’s racing heritage and production vehicles. A Ferrari F430 Coupe!

This particular F430 was Rosso Corsa/Tan, F1, Challenge Wheels & Grille and CC Brakes with Red Calipers. A great looking car!

I parked up, started shooting and after about 10 minutes a black Aston Martin DB9 Volante drove towards me and I got it at the last second.

I continued shooting, getting the Fez from all angles when out of nowhere, a black Maserati Quattroporte GTS drives towards me and parks right behind the F430! A very nice combo!!

30 minutes later I was still there and remembering I was now late for my plans. So called it a day and headed home.

Although I had seen those 3 cars within 5 metres of each other, I came to a conclusion that Wednesday’s were just no good anymore!

Until next time – Josh Stowers

Day to Day – 12/5/2009

Hi all

Some Friday & Saturday nights I’ll go to the Casino to check out what kind of cars I can find parked out front.  Sometimes there will be the odd Mercedes-Benz SL350 or something of that nature, which is ok.  Very expensive and luxurious, however not all that rare, fast or desirable!!

A few Tuesday nights ago I decided to head down randomly to see what my luck could pull, and what I found was truly AMAZING!!

Now on the way to the Casino, I had to go down Albany Highway and fairly close to it, I found a Ferrari I had never seen before!  An old school Rosso Corsa/Tan Ferrari 328 GTB with custom black rims!  It was the best 328 I’d ever seen and also one of the cleanest looking!  You could really tell the owner loved his car.

It was my 1st time seeing it so naturally I wanted to get some cool shots, however the owner wasn’t there for very long so I was unable to get a really good one!   However I’m hoping to see it during the middle of the day, just so the lighting is better!

Anyway back to what I found at the Casino…

Now any fan of Lamborghini would know that the Murcielago is one of their fastest, rarest and most expensive cars! Australian Lamborghini fans would appreciate their rarity even more, with only a handful ever being bought from Aussie dealers, and if you’re lucky enough, only ever catching a slight glance maybe once a year.

In 2004, Lamborghini introduced the Murcielago 40th Anniversary.  A very limited run of 50 Murcie’s, all leaving the factory in an Aqua Blue exterior and White/Black interior.

Now a run of 50 world wide, surely one wouldn’t come to Australia – Let alone Perth?!

Well, for those who don’t know, there is actually 0ne here and  I found it!  That’s right I found the ONLY Lamborghini Murcielago 40th Anniversary in Australia, on the street!

There #25 sat… Its good looks being imprinted on mobile phone cameras from people of all ages, and not to mention my 2 Canon’s!

I was there for around 30 minutes shooting this masterpiece before it’s owner came out.  He was an awesome guy and I was privileged enough for him to open the doors for a picture!  A picture that is one of my favourites!!!

I’ve had seen the car before at the track and also at the Italian Day, however to see it on the street was something different!

Best Tuesday night of spotting ever!!

Until next time – Josh Stowers

Day to Day – 9/5/2009

Hi all

A few Saturday’s ago, I decided to head to Claremont to see what exotics I could find.  Seeing as I do this every Saturday, it started off as a normal morning.  My mind was filled with thoughts of the previous night’s socializing and was powered by only a few hours of sleep!

Myself and a friend started our journey around 9:30am and before we had even reached Claremont we saw our first exotic of the day.  A stunning Black Maserati Granturismo S in Victoria Park!  Unusual to see a Granturismo S in Vic Park seeing as it’s #1 of 2 in WA, however seeing an European born supercar in the Vic Park area, is now a VERY common thing!!

We saw it as we took from the lights, so I was able to grab around 11 frames or so (1 of which was ok) before I had to drive.

The next car we came across happened to be a car regularly viewed through my lens, a Merlot Red Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage Roadster.  It was parked on St. George’s Terrace, a rare site for a weekend!  As we were shooting the Aston, we heard a loud roar from behind us and sure enough parked at the lights atop of the Terrace was the very same Maserati we had seen 30 minutes before!!

The owner saw me taking photos and so when the lights turned green, he booted it past me leaving an amazing sound that echoed off the buildings on a very empty Terrace!  One of the best sounding cars available!

Our next exotic was once again found before Claremont.  This time it was a silver Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT on Hay Street, West Perth.  Another spot that’s usually empty on weekends!  This QP was brand new!!  It was polished perfectly, had zero imperfections/scratches on the wheels and had a colour I’d never seen before, thus why I believe it to be brand new.

Once we had finally reached Claremont, it was reaching 11am.  We parked up and whilst leaving the car, spotted another Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT, this time a Black one.

The next exotic was found on the newly designed Bay View Terrace, a White Porsche 997 911 Turbo Coupe.  This particular 997 Turbo is my favourite in WA!  It skates black custom rims, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup rubber and looks awesome!

We had a quick scope around Claremont, however coming across absolutely nothing!  Next up was Cottesloe…

As we headed to Cottesloe, a Black Bentley Continental GTC drove right past us, which gave me something to shoot on the way.  I see this GTC basically everywhere, however I never get tired of its chrome accents and stunning looks!

As we searched through Cott, I found an Dark Green Aston Martin DB9 Volante (One of 3 DB9′s that day) It’s a beautiful colour that needs to be seen in real life, not just pictures.

Heading back into Claremont, I came across a rare Ferrari 512 TR!  Driving behind it, it still looked beautiful, however it didn’t look like a Ferrari.  Compared with modern models like the F430/575/612 it was very different, but I’m glad I got a chance to shoot it!

Back in Claremont, nothing was to be found!  With the new  “Claremont Quarter”,  new road layout, the HUGE hole in the ground and winter’s cold temperatures kicking in, I had predicted there would be nothing and sadly I was correct!

Traveling back to Subi I found a beautiful Pearl White/Chocolate Aston Martin DB9 Volante, Murdered Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage, Silver Maserati Quattroporte and a 2009 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed!  The ONLY Flying Spur Speed in WA!  That said I was only able to get shots of the DB9 & Bentley.

Back in Subi, I found another regular exotic of mine, a Grey Audi R8.  Which was  followed by a not so familiar Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage N400 Coupe.  Another rare exotic, with only 2 or 3 in WA!

Heading home, day had turned into night, and even then I was still finding exotics!  Back in Vic Park, parked on the cafe strip of Albany Highway was a Ferrari F430 Coupe.  Rosso Corsa/Tan – F1 – Challenge Grille – CC brakes.  Whilst shooting the Fez, a Grey Bentley Continental Flying Spur drove past!

Like I said… Vic Park has exotics!

Not the best Saturday I’ve had, however on the whole,  not too bad!

Until next time – Josh Stowers

Day to Day – 8/5/2009

Hi all

A couple of Friday’s ago I headed into the City to see what cars I could find. Usually I don’t go hunting in the CBD, however I had to pick up a friend so I decided to park up.

As I walked onto St George’s Terrace, the 1st car I see is a black Audi R8, followed by a Bentley, parked in the distance! I stop and shoot the Audi just as it takes off and luckily get an ok frame.

I walk down to the Bent parked on the corner of St George’s & King – It was a very rare Bentley Continental GT 60th Anniversary!! An awesome grey colour and the only one I’ve ever seen in WA.

After the Bent, i started walking away when I noticed a 2009 Maserati Quattroporte coming towards me!! It was the 1st time seeing this one, so I gave chase up King Street as it turned the corner.

It stopped in the middle section of King Street, where boutiques such as Louis Vuttion, Gucci & Bally, call home. To much of my surprise a few metres ahead, was a Pearl White/Chocolate Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage Roadster!!

Soon after I arrived, the 4Porte took off and left me with just the Aston. As I was taking pics, people of all ages were snapping away as well. After a couple of minutes the Aston wasn’t alone…

A few metres back down the street, parked a red Bentley Continental GTC!! The colour was amazing, and to my knowledge the only St James Red GTC in Australia!

A few minutes shooting went by, when in the corner of my eye I spotted another Aston Drop Top on King Street, this time a silver Aston Martin DB9 Volante. I rushed down and it turned onto Hay Street.

It was an amazing half hour! 5 exotics on the same little street!! :O

After my King Street adventures, I cruised some more around the CBD and saw :
- Audi R8
- 2006 Ford F-150 King Ranch Edition
- Ferrari F430 Coupe
- Porsche 997 911 Turbo Coupe
- Porsche 997 911 Turbo Cabriolet
- Porsche 996 911 Twin Turbo Coupe
- Maserati Quattroporte

Later that night I headed to the Windsor hotel, South Perth with a few mates and found a Porsche 997 911 GT3!

All in all, an awesome day for spotting!!

Until next time – Josh Stowers