Annual Fall Drive 2023

Tony Yang November 13, 2023 0 Comments Automotive

Wow, it’s that time of year again where we have our annual Fall drive in northern New Jersey with our friends on some beautiful windy roads with stunning scenery! We started the journey meeting up at Roosters Coffee in Ledgewood, NJ. They’re a brand new coffee shop that has delicious breakfast and coffee served all day. After my 6 shots of espresso, I was ready for a spirited drive through Sussex County towards Delaware Water Gap.

Our route included a road called Shades of Death Road, passing Godlewsky Farms, and stopping at Airport Cafe in Blairstown for a photo break while watching gliders take off and land. Our final destination for lunch was Joe Bosco Authentic Smokehouse BBQ.

We really love that our drives include our significant others and it’s not just a “driver’s only” type of event. There are things to do, places to see, and delicious food all around. It’s a small private event that I love hosting every year, and doing research on new roads during the rest of the year.

Please enjoy the video!

Fall Drive 2022

Tony Yang December 15, 2022 0 Comments Automotive

This year I took our Annual Fall Drive back to where we started thirteen years ago at Bear Mountain. Some of the best photos of rolling shots I’ve taken have been on the Palisades Parkway since it’s two lanes bordered by plenty of trees. We started in Fort Lee, NJ up through Palisades Parkway North. We took a scenic Autumn drive through Harriman State Park and over to New York State on Bear Mountain Bridge. Route 202 is an incredibly scenic cliff-side drive over the Hudson River. Our final destination was Bear Mountain Oktoberfest where we chowed down some delicious German wursts and Ukrainian beer Chernigivske!

For the past few years, we’ve been dedicating time to making an official brochure for each car to enjoy as a souvenir and a guide for the day. This year I added a little contest in the brochure and our winner is Austin and Stephanie! Their gift was sponsored by Mercedes Benz of Flemington.

Fall Drive 2015

Tony Yang October 27, 2015 0 Comments Automotive

It was that time of year again when the foliage fills my eyes with beautiful fiery reds, oranges, and yellows, the cold crisp air wakes me up early in the morning, and all I want to do is grab the steering wheel and whip my car around mountain roads, climb some hills, and kick up some fallen leaves behind me. Of course it wouldn’t be as fun to do a cruise by myself, which is why I always organize a small drive with my buddies, old and new faces, so we can chase each other around, get some good rolling shots of their rides, and enjoy good food.

This year I took out my 2016 Mazda6 as the chase/camera car, and our group line up included a 2016 BMW 328i XDrive, Subaru BRZ, BMW Z3M, BMW E46 M3, BMW E36 M3, Infinity Q50, and BMW Z4M Coupe. Our first stop was at Croton Point Park in New York, with plenty of parking space, and we found a gorgeous RV park with a rows of trees that were glowing orange and red. It was a perfect photo op for everyone’s car. Can you say Facebook cover photo? Our food stops were Billy Joe’s Ribworks, and Pie Lady & Son for the best pie I’ve ever had.

All photos were captured with my new favorite gadget, the Olympus OMD E-M5 Mark II and OMD E-M1.

Summer Days

Tony Yang August 25, 2015 0 Comments Automotive, Photography

One of the best days this summer was going on a top-down spirited drive on windy mountain roads in perfect weather with your buddies, enjoying multiple scenic and food stops along the way. Imagine your own Top Gear challenge not without the close calls with police that usually comes with a car chase as you can see in the video screenshot below. The photos taken are one of my favorites with just the right lighting, ND filters on an Olympus OMD E-M1 camera at low shutter speeds and a steady hand.

Our destination was Perkins Memorial Observatory in Bear Mountain, followed by a hearty brunch at Billy Joe’s Ribworks. Our mid-day dessert for some extra driving boost was amazing pie from my favorite place, Pie Lady & Son. That was only our first half of the day, as we later carpooled to Brooklyn for the evening to enjoy the amazing weather.

Nothing puts a smile on my face like the freedom of being on the road with good music, good company, and speed! Like I always said, who else can buy bliss at $2.22 per gallon?

Focus Stacking Tutorial

Tony Yang May 21, 2015 0 Comments Automotive, Photography

Most of us love the 3D pop effect of a shallow depth of field photo. It’s practically impossible to get these effects with a phone camera, so it’s crucial to use a DSLR or a higher end compact camera to achieve these effects. Even with a prime lens at the widest for the best bokeh, it means you may not get the entire subject from front to back in focus either. Focus stacking technique lets you keep the beautiful bokeh background while having full control of what objects to keep in focus.

MORR VS52 Competition Wheels

Tony Yang October 31, 2014 0 Comments Automotive

I got beautiful new shoes for Mila. 19 inch MORR VS52 Competition wheels, powder coated in Bronze Chrome. The amazing work was done by The Alloy Artists.

Breaking Expectations

Tony Yang September 29, 2014 1 Comment Automotive

I am proud to show off one of my pride and joys in life, my 2005 BMW 330xi that has just hit 200,000 miles this weekend. This was my first purchased car when I was 23, a proud moment in my life – a new premium luxury car with my own hard earned money only a year after graduating from college. It was a status symbol, but by no means the main reason why I have such passion and pleasure for driving, it’s just in my soul. I admit I wasn’t nearly as knowledgeable about cars back then as I am now, thanks to the fact that German performance cars are high maintenance, I almost feel like a mechanic.

Classic Meets Modern

Tony Yang September 30, 2013 0 Comments Automotive

I bet you can guess which part is the classic, and which part is the modern part of this series. I took a weekend road trip with a beautiful classy dame, in my modern sexy red roadster, both dolled up in a lustful red. Yes, we really did use the map during our trip when reception was unavailable, so don’t take map reading skills for granted. What better way to end the night than with a kiss?

El Bob Races in Germany

Tony Yang January 15, 2013 2 Comments Automotive, El Bob

El Bob had the privilege to take the journey of every car enthusiast’s dream and step hooves on the motherland of German cars sacred ground of the Nordschleife. His first stop was Munich to enjoy a few days of Oktoberfest which was overhwhelmed by an insane number of drunken Germans. After a tour around the city including BMW World, El Bob took a 5 hour drive on the infamous Autobahn to Nurburg to get a taste of the Nurburgring. It was heaven. El Bob thinks this is one of the best trips he’s ever taken, and would surely like to visit the Ring again.

El Bob thinks Germany looks just like Switzerland.

Mila Star Gazing

Tony Yang August 14, 2012 2 Comments Automotive

This past weekend was supposed to be a great night for a meteor shower, so I took a late night drive up Palisades Parkway to 9W through Black Rock Forest in New York and stopped at a lookout. It was nearly pitch black with a hint of city lights in the distance. Unfortunately while I was busy setting up the camera and taking photos, I missed the few shooting stars that my friend witnessed.

The photos are all single exposures, taken with a Canon 16-35mm 2.8L on a full-frame body, 30 second exposures with a remote. The foreground was lit by the iPhone flash and the lens was manually focused. It’s a good idea to take multiple photos with slightly different focusing distances in case you misfocus the first photo.