As you probably know by now, stunning imagery and photography is the foundation of Slam’d Magazine and bringing you the best of the best high quality content from around the globe is only made possible through our world class staff and their commitment to their craft. To honor our team of contributors and photographers who work extremely hard to hunt down the perfect rides, shoot locations, and eclectic mix of Slam’d from all genres, worldwide, we’ve selected our Top 15 favorite feature photographs captured in 2015. If you think we outdid ourselves last year, just wait and see what we have in store for 2016! It’s going to be an amazing year, and we look forward to telling the story of these fine craftsmen and bringing you the best builds from around the globe for your viewing pleasure. If you think your ride, shop, or photos have what it takes to be featured, shoot us an email at [email protected] as we’re always on the hunt for quality content!
Our Top 15 continues to reflect our motto “Quality Over Quantity” and this is just a small sample of what we dished out for 2015. To check out our End of the Year (EOTY) Awards to see who took home top honors, here are the direct links: Truck of the Year Winner | Car of the Year Winner | Rod & Custom of the Year Winner | Show of the Year Winner | Photographer of the Year Winner
Top 15 Slam’d Mag Photos of 2015
Number 15 – Black Beauty: Mark Stuchel’s 1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie
Photographer: Lindsey Fisher of Slam’d Mag
Shooting black cars is no easy feat; which might be why we love them so much here at Slam’d! A clean and simple shot, shooting with the grandstands as her backdrop, Lindsey Fisher was running out of time (and light) but still “made it happen” by capturing one of the baddest Galaxies ever built – earning her the Number 15 spot from 2015.
Number 14 – Sadistic Dreams: Ryan Marsh’s 2013 Honda Accord EX-L
Photographer: Mike Alexander of Slam’d Mag
Reverse lit shots are sometimes more difficult to pull off, but when done correctly the natural lighting lends well to a very natural shot with little editing needed. Nestled in the foothills of SoCal, Mike Alexander was able to capture the elegant stance and beauty of this 9th Gen Accord built by Sadisitic Iron Werks.
Number 13 – Chantilly Laced: Tony Moore’s 1960 Cadillac Coupe De Ville
Photographer: Sean French of Solo Films
The devil is definitely in the details in the world of automotive photography, and to capture the perfect wheel detail shot sometimes outshines the overalls, and in this case rightfully so! Sean French nailed it bringing to life the Astro Supremes that add the perfect finishing touch to Tony Moore’s ’60 Deville cruiser.
Number 12 – Herrerad: Carlos Herrera’s 2008 GMC Sierra 1500
Photographer: Grant Cox of Grant Cox Photography
Grant Cox is a well known and well traveled automotive photographer, so when we needed a pro to capture our cover feature it was no surprise that Grant was able to capture exactly what we needed. This sunset shoot really helped Carlos Herrera’s / McKiddie Edition rebuild shine; showing off the all new black paint job, graphics, and wheels. Solo Sean even snuck in a feature video during the shoot, and anyone who’s ever shot at that “golden hour” knows just how hard the timing is with a video guy running around getting in the way of your shots, so major kudos to Grant and Sean for working together to bring this one to life!
Number 11 – Six-Fo: Japan’s Lowest 1964 Impala – Horizon 64
Photographer: Mike Alexander of Slam’d Mag
When traveling overseas it’s not always easy to scout the perfect location, especially in Japan where everything is stacked on top of each other and let’s just say plenty gets “lost in translation” when trying to scramble to find shoot locations during a show. But all of that aside, Editor Mike Alexander was able to sneak into this lumber yard just long enough to capture the world’s lowest Impala before being “escorted” off the property. Whatever it takes, right?!
Number 10 – The Players Datsun: Jamie’s Laid Low 1966 Datsun 520
Photographer: Matt Clifford of Matt Media UK
As you can see, we just love ALL types of low and we follow these crazy rides all over the world. Matt Clifford was able to grab a shoot with Jamie’s killer Datsun 520 build while they were out at the Player’s Show Classic in London, UK. Mixing it up at a local air field, Matt was able to blend old school elements to breathe new life into an old machine for the readers of Slam’d.
Number 9 – Total Eclipse: Doug Johnson’s 1999 GMC Sierra
Photographer: Frank Newton of BST Clothing
Yup, told you we have a thing for black! Frank Newton was able to take his time and wait on the perfect naturally lit shot with the empty desert background. Frank captured this one-of-a-kind Kindig It build bringing to life all of the subtle custom touches that went into this 1999 GMC.
Number 8 – Fresh Prince of Bell-Air: Jason Bell’s 1952 Hardtop
Photographer: Nico Jarrett of Nico Jarrett Photography
Nico is definitely one of our favorite automotive photographers out there and we’re proud to have him as part of #teamslamd. Capturing this sunset shoot in the desert, Nico brings to life one of the raddest custom cruisers out there today. Jason Bell’s 1952 Hardtop only gets better when placed in front of Nico’s lens. Stay tuned for more from this duo in 2016!
Number 7 – Vito Corleone Coupe: Mike Vito Sutton’s 1964 Cadillac
Photography: John O’neill of JohnnyO Photo
The rear 3/4 shot is an art form all itself and sometimes neglected as we spend so much time trying to capture the perfect front 3/4 shots and details that by the time the perfect lighting has come and gone we’re left scrambling to get a few nice rear shots. But balancing timing, light, and nailing the perfect shots from every angle is exactly what Johnny O has mastered over the years. With the sunset disappearing over the mountains, John lined up and snapped away to highlight the velvet two-tone roof of Mike Sutton’t ’64 Cad with the cresting sunset. Yup, nailed it!
Number 6 – Enjoy The Build: Monty Rubart’s 1938 Chevy Pickup
Photographer: Nico Jarrett of Nico Jarrett Photography
Again with a killer rear 3/4 photo, Nico shows off the rear camber IRS setup in Monty Rubart’s ’38 Chevy with a reverse lit rear shot highlighted with some light painting. Nico is one of the most diverse shooters out there and can blend natural light, strobes, light painting, and minor edits together seamlessly. It doesn’t hurt that Monty’s ’38 is gorgeous and the sweeping lines lend well to this classic shot.
Number 5 – Built to Drive: The Dub Dynasty 1981 VW Caddy
Photography: Jesse Schinkel of The Dub Dynasty
A well perfected side shot is also not always the easiest task; especially since we’re all generally more focused on the “artsy” shots per se that rarely does a dead on side shot make its way into our photo sets. But a well composed side shot like this VW Caddy shot by Jesse Schinkel can really accentuate the lines and stance of most rides quite well. The Dub Dynasty duo hails from Canada and the other half of the team, Mike McConnell laid down the super clean edit to really make this image glow.
Number 4 – Stella: Doug Cerri’s 1957 Chevy 3100 Pickup
Photographer: David Moore of David Moore Photo
Again with an amazing black reverse lit sunset shoot, David Moore adds his classic twist to an already truly amazing photo. David has worked his way up the Slam’d Mag ranks to become one of our top photographers, and with photo sets like this one, you can see why. We’ve got some more wicked shoots lined out for David in the next few months that you won’t want to miss!
Number 3 – The Green Mile: Toneman’s 1953 Chevy Coupe
Photography: Nico Jarrett of Nico Jarrett Photography
Rounding out our Top 3 from 2015 it’s certainly no surprise that Nico makes his mark here as well. With quite a few killer shoots from the last year Nico is the only to make three appearances in our Top 15 picks and it’s easy to see why with his epic sunset shoots really conveying the best of all things Slam’d. Nico captured Johnny Toneman’s ’53 Chevy with a killer summer sunset and some signature light painting to get that candy apple green to glow; setting off the wheel combo and stance. Congrats Nico, job well done, and here’s to many more!
Number 2 – Australia’s Finest: Michael Ellard’s 1992 Holden Rodeo
Photography: Avit “Toasty” Chauhan of Toast Graphics
Being a bit partial to trucks or not – this rolling shot is monumental! Avit “Toasty” Chauhan and friends literally shut down a highway in Australia to capture the perfect rolling shots of Michael Ellard’s Holden Rodeo for our giant cover feature showing this complete build. A naturally lit and edited photo hints at the right-hand drive and the insanely low cruising altitude shows off the copper-plated Intros spinning and gleaming in the reverse lit sunlight. A huge thanks to Toasty for covering the Australia custom scene like no one else and being a big part of what separates Slam’d Mag from the rest!
Number 1 – Left Behind: Leonard Erdman’s 1953 Cadillac Coupe De Ville
Photography: Joshua Coleman of Lunchbox Photoworks
YES, we might have a thing for badass rolling shots here at Slam’d, but nothing is better than rolling art! Cars were meant to be driven, so we tip our hats to those builders and owners that build them to DRIVE. We can’t get enough of this night cruisin’ shot that Joshua captured of Leonard’s custom Coupe. Doom and gloom never looked so good, earning Joshua Coleman of Lunchbox Photoworks the top spot for our Top 15 from 2015, nice work man, we can’t wait to see what’s next!
