“Spring Touring”

Aaron’s BMW e34 525i Touring
31st August 2019

Moving halfway across the country was one of the most disorienting ventures I’ve ever taken on, from the 22 hour straight drive to the 22 degree temperature drop, it’s going to take some time to adjust and climatise to a new life in a new city. Once I was settled into a new workplace and a daily/weekly routine was formed, I decided to open availability for myself to get back into shooting, offering weekend sessions at discounted prices.
My first enquiry was an old friend Aaron with his e34 525i touring. He was just after a couple of photos of his car in its current state due to taking the car out of action for a while for some open heart surgery, however we decided to make a day of it. I tell you what, I am so grateful Aaron booked a shoot. What better way to discover more of my new local scenery than a weekend cruise along The Great Ocean Road.

Much to our disbelief, with the temperature still only being 12 degrees celsius, the first sunny day of spring in Victoria attracted swarms of beach goers and surfers out for a day of leisurely activities. Unfortunately for us, this meant most of the locations Aaron and I had google mapped were full of parked cars and distracting background items, definitely not the desired outcome for the shoot.
Google maps (an automotive photographers holy grail) lead us to a lookout park overlooking Barwon Heads and the SLSC, as well as a beautiful new architecturally pleasing house being built. The sun was harsh for some moments proving difficult to work with but once the lovely golden hour started, good images started flowing with ease.

Moving down to a beachside carpark below the lookout, we ran into the reoccurring issue of parked cars. I tried to politely ask a lady to move her single car out of one of the spaces to use and although she did not seem too impressed, the hassle was well worth it. The soft lighting in the shadows of the lookout provided a lovely balanced contrast between the car, ocean and purple sky, resulting in some of my favourite photos from the shoot. Even though the uneven ground proved unusual in some compositions, the gorgeous colour in the sky and ocean working with the dark colours of the car but allowing the subtle silver two tone stand out came together for some beautiful final images.

Embarking on our drive back to Aaron’s house, a well travelled bridge caught my eye as an opportunity to attempt a few panning shots of the e34 while it still moved under its own power. It has been a long (long) time since I attempted a panning shot but the dark car against the white barrier was too good of an opportunity to miss and I am quite happy with the results!

Furthermore, I was walking along the bridge as Aaron parked to pick me back up, and the European style building he parked in front of stood out to me like a sore thumb! The subtle colours of the building in the dwindling daylight paired with a soft downlight drawing attention to the car just worked and I’m not quite sure how to explain it. It really concerns me that most of the photos I’m proud of are more frequently being unplanned and impromptu locations and conditions.

Once again, our drive back was interrupted, this time by the reveal of one of the most vibrant sunsets I have ever experienced. The cloud cover was not optimal for a big, fluffy sunset, however the clouds that were over the horizon seemed to allow the sun to peak through at the last minute for the perfect buffer from the dark burnt orange to throwing a beautiful pinkish purple haze over the whole sky. I had to tell Aaron to pull over for some candid shots along the side of the highway with once again lucking into some perfect background compositions as well.

So, to conclude, I thank you Aaron for reaching out and making my first shoot in Melbourne such a memorable experience. Great scenery and great company made for such a lovely day and I would do it all over again without hesitation. I wish you all the best with the car progress and you know I’m a message away if you need any help!

Not sure how I’ll go with these blog entries, its quite difficult for me to describe events without it sounding like a school assessment report but we’ll see how you go. Feedback and criticism welcomed and valued, or if you would like to get in touch with me about a shoot feel free to message me on either Facebook or Instagram linked above!

Until next time,
Aubrey x

A bit more about Aaron and his BMW

When, How and Why did you buy the Touring?

“It’s kind of a funny story, you wouldn’t guess it now, but BMW’s were very foreign to my family back in 2012 when I first purchased the e34, it was my first car and I was actually looking for a Subaru liberty wagon however dad came across the e34 touring in our searches and we were both intrigued, at the time there were no others on the market and the shape was very intriguing, so we went and looked at it and the rest is history... there is now 2x e34 tourings, an e36 touring and an e91 touring as well as a handful of other BMW’s in the family, you could say my e34 touring was the one that started it all!”

Do you find you have a passion for BMW? Have you owned any others?

“Passion or obsession, you choose, but they have definitely become a big part of my life, I have also owned an e36 compact with an m52 engine swapped into it and my current daily a 130i hatch which is a pretty unique car in itself! There is also a handful of e34 and e36 part cars I’ve had which have made getting these cars up to scratch possible.”

What is the plan for the Touring now it is being taken off the road?

“Speaking of parts cars, I’m currently dismantling a low km e34 540i which I’ll be giving up its running gear for the touring, something I have dreamt of doing ever since I purchased it 7 years ago, I’m hoping to have the engine swap wrapped up in time for Geelong Revival, an annual classic car show that is happening on the last weekend of November, however beyond that there are plans for a manual swap and individual throttle bodies... one day!”

How long have you lived in Geelong? What are some things you like about the area?

“I moved to Geelong in 2014 for university, and whilst I have finished my current studies and currently work in Melbourne, I still love it here enough to put up with the commute, it’s just a bit more relaxed, and the proximity to the coast and great ocean road is fantastic”

Describe a typical day involving you and your 525i;

“I hate to say it, but it is a rare occasion that the touring makes its way out of the shed, especially considering it was my daily drive for many years, however now it mostly comes out for drives down the coast or to car events in the city.”

Imagine yourself in 10 years, do you hope to still have the touring? What else would you like to have owned or accomplished by then?

“I think I’ve said this to a couple of people but the touring is a forever car to me and I’ll do whatever I can to keep it, I don’t think there’s many people out there who can say they still have their first car 10+ years down the track. There are not a lot of modern BMW’s that appeal to me greatly, but that being said, I would love to own an M2 one day, as they seem to me to be one of the last real driver m cars, something that is becoming increasingly rare in this day and age.”

If people want to see more, or follow the build, where should they go?

“Whilst I’ve got hundreds of photos of the process so far I haven’t actually posted many of them online, I am planning on posting more about it on my Instagram so that’s probably the best place to go looking”
link: Instagram

Spring Touring - Aaron's BMW e34 525i Touring