I have to admit, it was pretty staggering to see just how large this year’s Wekfest San Jose event was when I first stepped into the San Jose Convention Center for set-up. There was a bit of stress that came over me that morning because I realized that I had to cover a bulk of the show in just a couple of hours. Foot traffic is so ridiculous at the event that it is usually pretty difficult to shoot at all during show hours. I came up with the idea to try to cover the entire show before it started a couple years back just because it made life so much easier. When I showed-up that Saturday of to set-up my booth, I already knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to do coverage. Honestly, I normally don’t shoot every single car anyway because not everything catches my eye, but I do make an honest effort to cover a bulk of it because Wekfest features a ton of really great builds that deserve to be documented. I couldn’t really do much on Saturday because vendors roll-in first so a majority of the building wasn’t even filled yet when I got there. The plan was to return at night to try to get some coverage before set-up ended in the evening, but we got so caught up down at Fisherman’s Wharf where there just wasn’t any time to get back to shoot. For those unaware, Fisherman’s Wharf is about an hour away from San Jose, give or take, especially when you consider the amount of traffic down there. We ended up getting to the Wharf so late that the only way I could make it back was if I had left 40 minutes after we got there. We had a good group with us that really wanted to experience the city so I wasn’t going to just tell them that we had to leave. I just made sure to find out when the earliest time was that we could go back during the morning of the show so I could get as much of the event as possible….

I don’t really like to rush things. It just makes for bad photos, you know? I’d like to get a good, detailed, look at the cars because I honestly am a fan of many of these builds. The only way you can really get a good grasp of them is to stop and stare for a bit. You need to understand the details to be able to tell a story and that is what I try to do. Obviously I miss some things from time to time but I think people have a good understanding of what they’re looking at whenever I post photos up on the site. WFSJ featured so many cars where I can sort of relate it to doing coverage at Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan. Not because of the cars of course because they are very different, but in terms of sheer size. I find myself taking the photos and then looking at them afterwards when I get home. With the short time frame that I had to work with, that was the only way to do it. At Tokyo Auto Salon, it is much of the same; I see a car, glance at it, try to pick out some cool details about it, shoot it, and then figure out what the fuck I’m looking at when I finally get home. It’s crazy. The coverage that you’re looking at here is just like the coverage that I’m looking at because many times, I too am looking at something closely for the first time. Do I wish that sometimes I didn’t do coverage? Well, yeah. I think it helps if I really want to invest some time into studying many of these builds but then you guys wouldn’t really have anything to look at. I think that is where the judging side of working the Wekfest show really helps because during that time is when I really get to understand the builds. It’s a trade-off really because when I’m judging, I don’t have my camera on me and there are also times when I wish I did because I probably missed something initially that I spot when I’m being a show judge. I try to remind myself to go back and get a photo of it but my mind is so scattered trying to remember everything that I usually forget…

That’s the way things just have to be. When you burn the candle at both ends you usually end up having to make some sacrifices to find time for everything. I don’t mind it of course. That’s the position that I’m in and I’ll gladly take it. There’s nothing better than being allowed the opportunity to travel all over to look at great cars. The photography side is more of a hobby anyways so whatever I get is a bonus. It’s pretty cool to be able to go through the photos with you guys later anyways because there is a certain amount of excitement when the coverage goes live on the site. I’m looking at it just like you guys and I get to relive the entire event all over again….

Wekfest East is coming up this weekend and I have to fly out Friday morning so I’ll keep it brief for the day. I’ll let the photos do the talking. Enjoy and make sure to stay up-to-date on the latest posts. Also, if you’re on Instagram, follow me (@stickydiljoe) to see live updates of whatever I’m doing during my travels….

If you missed Part 1, shame on you, but the link provided below will take you straight to it…

Wekfest San Jose 2014 Coverage…Part 1…

Here are more photos from the actual day of the event…

Wekfest San Jose definitely featured a lot of variety, not only in style of builds but also in vehicle types….

Go-Tuning Unlimited-sponsored AP2 S2000 decked-out in Spoon gear from aero to the CR93 wheels….

JDM Palace brought out this really rare Honda Life Step Van on tiny SSR mesh…

Spoon Sports CR-Z demo car that came all the way from Japan…

Porsche 911 GT3 RS looking good as is in the FFTEC area….

Kyoei USA’s full Aimgain-equipped Lexus LS460. I had the great pleasure of shooting this car for the official Aimgain calendar last year, which was a cool experience….

Aimgain GT Lexus LS460 representing Endless Projects…..

Rocket Bunny widebody R35 GTR on Volk Racing TE37Ultra…

Rauh Welt Begriff Porsche 964 owned by Mark Arcenal of Fatlace….

Autosport 209’s Airrex-bagged Infiniti Q45 on Work Rezax wheels….

William’s RWB Porsche 993R….

Mickey Andrade’s custom Liberty Walk widebody BMW E91….

eGarage’s “PPI Razor” Audi R8…

Phaze2 Mizzark’s E60 BMW M5…

Phaze2 Ken Kojima’s custom widebody, Vortech supercharged, Nissan 350Z….

EJ1 Civic coupe on Sprint Hart CP-Rs….

Kouki S14 slammed on white-faced Work VS-KF…

Aggressive wheel fitment on this CCW-equipped EM1 Civic coupe….

Edgar Cabrera’s bagged Z33 on Work Rezax II…

The Pristine Parts booth featured this full Voltex Mitsu Evo 9 on AME Tracer TM-02s….

E60daddy’s vinyl-wrapped E60 5-series Bimmer on Infinitewerks SS01 wheels…

Lexus LS460 featuring 3-piece Infinitewerks LS01 wheels….

Cesar Cuevas’ E350 Mercedes Benz from Haiso on Infinitewerks SS01…

Europrojektz’s Benz with Superstar Leon Ordens in gold….

Vinh from Royal Origin’s Subaru STI rocking Ganador Super Mirrors and Volk Racing TE37SL….

Kevin Sanchez’s AP1 S2K from Royal Origin on 3-piece Avant Garde wheels…

The ever-popular Ridox aero kit on this JZA80 Supra…

Brendan Taft aka NA Hero’s naturally-aspirated Supra on brand new SSR Professor SP1 wheels….

Ryan Gold’s Varis-kitted Mitsu Evo X on concave Rays wheels….

Jimmy Lieu’s FG2 Civic coupe on silver Volk CE28 wheels. Nice touch with the yellow Brembo brakes up front….

John Nguyen’s VW bug reppin’ Oak Creek Vintage….

I always enjoy seeing SW20 MR-2s but they all seem to be residing in Norcal these days. Seems like any time you attend an event up north, you’re likely to run into a few of them….

Really liked this black MR-2 Turbo on BBS LM wheels…..

Project-G always comes out with a fleet of Mazda Miata builds at every major event. This NA Miata was looking good on aggressive 2-piece Work S1…

You guys got to see all of these Miatas during the Wekfest LA event coverage when it was posted but I always make sure to get shots of them cuz they always seem to have new, cool, shit on them. Absolutely love the custom rag tops on these and this one even featured some new wheels since we last saw it….

The Work Wheels-produced Glow Star wheels are catered more to the old school import crowd but they looked fantastic on this Miata. One of the few sets that I’ve seen over here in the U.S….

Here you can see the intercooler for the Kraftwerks supercharger peeking through the front bumper….

NB Roadster rocking (what I believe is) a Wizdom front bumper, unless it is an actual Garage Vary front, which is pretty rare….

This NA on Work Euroline wheels was also rocking what might be a Garage Vary front lip (or replica variation)….

Always great to see SSR MKII wheels complete with caps….

Rodolfo Lamaestra’s Porsche 964 911 slammed on BBS mesh. Love how this thing looks. Definitely one of my favorites from Wekfest San Jose….

Volkswagen Caddy looking very clean…

Ken Stevens’ 1972 Audi 100LS coupe laying low on the bed of a trailer which is also planted firmly to the floor…

One of the more unexpected show cars on display at WFSJ was this slammed Chevy Corvair Lakewood on wire wheels….

Since Sunday was the actual day of the show, I decided to get some more photos of some of the cars that I captured during the roll-in the day prior since they were now officially set-up and “show ready”. This is the RCG Mugen Integra of course….

One of the best builds of WFSJ was undoubtedly Ferd Natividad’s RHD Acura Integra. He recently added a First Molding carbon hood and Chargespeed side skirts. The front end with the P1 splitter really needed something on the side to balance the profile of the car and the Chargespeed pieces are perfect. Not only are they pretty rare, the lines of it also flow very well with the front end. The canards he recently added also look great and help to added a little bit more aggressive styling to the front end. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the 15×8 Volk TE37SLs which have been color-matched the same blue as the body….

ATS Anh’s Integra Type R is always a very consistent competitor at every car show. His new rear wing didn’t come in on time but the car still looks great regardless with the Spoon carbon front lip and Almighty Grey Regas….

Glad to see the Rando aero kit back on Chris Sakai’s award-winning Civic build….

A couple more shots of Dave Chik’s legendary DA Integra….

….as well as more shots of Joey Abundiz’s del Sol, aka “Mr. White”. Because he loves “Breaking Bad” and not mounds of cocaine… If that were the case, I’d be Mr. White, haha, nah I’m just fucking with you. I can’t even make Tang without spilling half the powder everywhere. Imagine if I did a lot of coke. Most of it would get blown away because it’s hot as fuck in my office and my fans are always on…. Anyways….

The Higgins-Built EF Civic is always a Norcal favorite with its EF9 front end and incredibly well-executed engine bay with individual throttle bodies….

KE26 Corolla Wagon from ATS Garage….

I had the chance to speak to Patrick Ng for a bit and checked out his immaculate Toyota Corolla build with 2TG motor and TOM’S wheels…

Solomon’s Mugen Accord build that you just recently saw at the BLOX Evolution event….

JZA80 Supra reppin’ ATS Garage on 18-inch Volk TEs….

And we close out Part 2 with a shot of Junior’s turbocharged DB2 Integra GS-R. Junior from Sound Innovations is actually the original owner of this DB2 and has had the car since it was brand new. Pretty awesome to see that he still has it after all these years and has kept it in such great shape!….

That’s a wrap for today folks. Time to prepare for Wekfest East. I’ll try to get another post up for Friday so stay tuned!…