Big Willie's Garage

Last month, I had the pleasure of spending some time at a local shop to take photos for a magazine feature. This was a great opportunity for me to shoot something I was passionate about for publication, so I couldn't pass it up. Originally planned as a "run-and-gun' editorial style shoot using natural lighting, I just couldn't resist bringing some studio lights along to help make the cars sparkle and add some drama to the shots.  My buddy Scott Folsom is a pro with years of lighting experience, and after a little begging and a cup of coffee, I talked him into helping out on the shoot. Hope Carlton was my contact at the magazine, and was also there to assist with styling and making sure we got everything we needed for the article.

We started the shoot around James's beautifully restored and customized classic Dodge Challenger.  This car looked great from almost every angle, and was a jewel against the open garage door of the shop. Once we got the obligatory car shot out of the way, we took pics of the crew and shop owners Willie and Kaylie Davis. We moved around the shop, taking pics of cars and machinery. The old-fashioned antique lathe was especially interesting, tho not very photogenic.  I think metal work is a lost art, and anyone who appreciates it and can apply it to customizing cars is a role model in my book.

"Big Willie" Davis and crew do some amazing work, customizing and restoring a huge variety of hot rods and muscle. The shop guys were all very pleasant, eager to share stories of their customized cars and help out any way they could.  I'm a car guy, so this shoot was a blast. James, Justin, Donovan and Willie all were great and very accommodating, showing us a lot of the interesting gear the shop has to offer. Doing at least some fabricating for most of their big builds, they can weld, build or even lathe almost anything you could ever desire for a car.

A big thank you to everyone at Big Willie's Garage and Grand Valley Magazine for this opportunity and a special thanks to Scott for the assist. The entire shoot was a great experience, and I'm really looking forward to doing more like this in the near future!

Several of the finished photos are published in a 7 page feature on Big Willie's Garage in the December issue of Grand Valley Magazine (Page 130). 

Check out all 21 high-res shots from the shoot HERE.