Light Painting in a Garage Condo
We have a really, really cool blog post for you today! This one is all about light painting in a Garage Condo! Not only did I light paint Steve’s cool Man Cave, but I light painted the vintage garage that he has inside of it, along with five of his amazing vehicles too – all in the same image! Whew!
The “before” photograph of Steve’s old fashioned garage.
This was a really fun challenge for me, by far the most vehicles I’ve had in one light painting. The closest thing to this project, size-wise, would have to be the light painting of a Cessna Citation X+ and a pair of Mercedes Benz in an airplane hanger that Joannie and I created together. That one was by far physically larger, but with a lot less small details to bring out in the finished image. Steve’s garage-inside-a-garage is entirely small details!
Barrett-Jackson Car Auction
I met Steve at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction in Arizona back in January. At the time, we thought about doing his project in the early spring. That was just a few weeks before COVID-19 changed everything. So, due to the pandemic, both of us thought it would be a good idea to wait until summer to set a date to light paint at his garage condo.
A couple of weeks ago, I met him at the site and we talked about what he thought he would like to include in his light painting. We set the date a couple of weeks later, and Steve’s project was finally a go!
The Dan Factor
At that planning meeting, Steve told me that his brother Dan, who “liked photography”, might want to be at the actual light painting, and would that be ok with me? I had no problem with that, and so I said sure.
Well, not only did he “stop by”, Dan assisted me all night long too! The two of us took a total of 447 images that night. I ended up using more than 150 of them to create Steve’s amazing Garage Condo light painting. You can see Dan in the photo below, as a human lighting boom, helping me out to light his brother.
Steve’s portrait, inside his wonderful Man Cave, just before the light painting began.
It turns out the Dan doesn’t just “like” photography, he’s a very accomplished landscape photographer!
I didn’t know about Dan’s abilities until the next day when someone started liking and commenting on a bunch of our images on Instagram. That, someone, was Dan! I checked out his imagery on the platform and was blown away! I want to go on one of his landscape shoots with him, his landscape images are stunning works of art!
The Garage-Inside-A-Garage
Steve told me that the idea was to build an old-fashioned garage inside of their new garage condo, They definitely succeeded! Construction included knotty pine, brick, stucco, and an aged eyebrow roof to soften the feel of a metal building. The mezzanine holds a half-bath, a kitchenette, a big-screen TV, a pool table, foosball, and a computer desk.
The “after” light painting of just Steve’s vintage garage. The five vehicles were about to be light painted next!
Steve’s garage-inside-a-garage alone required 74 images to light paint it all from floor to ceiling. One exposure for each neon sign and the rest to light paint every nook and cranny at his cool indoor vintage gas station.
Light Painting the 1989 Mercedes 450SL
The 1989 Mercedes 450SL up on a Wildfire Lift.
The 1989 Mercedes 450SL needed 17 images to complete its part of the light painting, with another 6 images to light paint the Wildfire Lift that it’s sitting on. 1989 was the last year of that iconic body style. The 1989 Mercedes 450SL is all original with only 41K miles. It’s rare Garnet Red Metallic Paint with Mushroom Leather Interior. Very nice!
Light Painting the 1996 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe
Steve’s 1996 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe.
1996 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe has a V10 engine producing 450HP! An all-original car in iconic blue with white racing stripes. To light paint the Viper, another 15 exposures were used.
2003 Jeep Rubicon Light Painting
A pretty cool light painting of Steve’s 2003 Jeep Rubicon.
“Jeep One”, as I call it, required 11 images to be nicely light painted. It’s a 2003 Jeep Rubicon. A no-rust Arizona vehicle with only 32K miles. Very decked out for off-road.
1980 Jeep CJ-5 Light Painting
The 1980 Jeep CJ-5, is a full rotisserie frame-off restoration. The engine is an LS 6.2L V8 producing a scary 450HP. Dana 60’s for both front and rear differentials. ARB electric locker. 35” Super Swampers on 18×10” Mickey Thompson Classic II Wheels. I used 11 more images to light paint this hot yellow Jeep with the “graphite” paint job on its hood.
An eye-catching yellow 1980 Jeep CJ-5 with a graphite painted hood!
Light Painting the 1966 Checker Marathon Wagon
When I first walked into Steve’s garage, I thought this wonderful automobile was a Chevy Nomad. But little did I know, the Checker Cab Company actually built “Checker” cars! I had no idea! To properly light paint the Checker, I needed 19 more images.
The amazingly cool 1966 Checker Marathon Wagon!
This 1966 Checker Marathon Wagon is a complete frame-off restoration with a new 406 engine. The doors were removed and re-fit to make everything better than new. The interior is lined with Italian leather. Top it all off with a custom paint job. Sweet!
The Movie
Steve’s amazing garage-in-a-garage light painting – with Steve!
I’ve put together a short video with “the build” of this fabulous light painting. The link to our YouTube Channel is below. It includes the individual images used, and then all of them coming together to create the final stunning light painted image. We hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for reading our post and have a great one! – M&J