Yup, so I totally didn’t set out what I had planned to do in San Jose this year…. I really wanted to shoot more but damn, things are just overflowing on the proverbial plate of life. Doing photo coverage, shooting video, having a booth at the show, judging the Honda/Acura awards classes, and bringing a car this year is quite possibly a little too much to do for one man. Luckily I have an amazing group of friends who are constantly trying to make my life easier and I couldn’t thank them enough for being such great human beings. Everyone did their part and helped me out however they could, but I still found myself without an adequate amount of time to shoot all the photos I wanted to. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, little things here and there became more than small distractions and my time was just cut short for shooting photos. I had a long talk with a buddy of mine recently too where he was telling me that I maybe should try to let go of the reigns a little bit when it comes to having total control of The Chronicles. He suggested that maybe it was time for me to find people who could cover all these spots for me on a consistent basis so I could just focus on one thing at a time. I feel bad often times at events because I want my friends to just hang out and have a good time. For me, it is preferred because I don’t want to feel like I am assigning a task to someone and they feel obligated to do that job all day, you know? That and I also have this whole thing about me having my hands on everything related to The Chronicles because I feel people appreciate it more when I am directly involved with everything. That was my whole thing before. While other sites had a dedicated staff, I was doing everything on my own. It was cool. It just seems way more personal that way and I felt it kept me better connected to my supporters. But….perhaps my friend was right, maybe I should really stick to one thing and just trust the people around me to handle everything else, you know what I mean? I’m still trying to convince myself to do that and to loosen the noose a little bit on the stranglehold of The Chronicles. I’ll let you know how it goes…

This year more than ever, I really wish there were more hours in the day to enjoy this great event. Wekfest San Jose was CRAZY this year. At the end of the day, when we were eating dinner, I think we were all a little surprised by how great everything went and just how crowded the show was. For the first time in a few years, it started to have that whole “Fort Mason” (Wekfest’s previous venue in Norcal) feel again. There was really good energy at the show and the crowd was just insane. It was definitely a pain for photographers who wanted to get a good shot, but for everyone else, it felt like the super bowl of car shows again because of the general vibe of the show. People seemed really excited to be there and there were some great cars for people to look at… I just wish I really had a couple more hours to walk around myself. I tried to shoot a lot before the show started but was often steered away to do other things. Nonetheless, I did get some good shots but there were plenty more that were out there waiting for me to capture that I just physically couldn’t. I have been telling everyone that the upcoming Wekfest Seattle show is the sleeper show of the year that will surprise EVERYONE and probably end up being the car show of the year, and I think Wekfest has such a positive momentum leading up to it that there’s no way it isn’t going to be an amazing event. For those of you who are in the PNW or just have some free time to fly out to Seattle, I am urging you to go because it will be one to remember. I’ve been pushing for Wekfest to hit Seattle for so many years now that I almost feel like I’m personally-invested in its success…

With that said, please enjoy the photos below and the ones coming in Part 2. For more Wekfest San Jose coverage, please visit The Chronicles YouTube Channel where Der was able to capture much more of the show on video. There are two Vlogs dedicated to the WFSJ event so please find some time to sit down and watch them.

Enjoy!…

First shot of this series is of Kelvin Bulda’s immaculate Civic hatchback. Believe it or not, he’s had this Civic since it was brand new, he’s been modding it since then, and well, to say that his build is timeless would be an understatement…

He recently told me that he’s retiring the car after this year though because he’s recently acquired a DC2 Type R to tinker with. I guess 2017 is the official retirement tour for Kelvin’s Civic….

Custom widebody Hyundai Genesis Prada from PureVIP on Luxury Abstract wheels…

La Victoria’s Varis Evo X on gold Volk TE37SL from Emperor crew…

Slammed Datsun 521 pick-up truck on SSR wheels…

Not far behind the 521 Datsun was this 620 pick-up hammered to the ground on Rays-produced Nismo wheels in 6-lug format and in the engine bay was an SR20DET swap…

Always really liked this dark green Evo from Speed Element. Don’t see very many Evos in green and this one pulls it off nicely with the black Advan GT wheels…

Here’s the massive rig that IDL Design brought-up from Southern California for Wekfest, loaded-up with cars from the shop along with some friend’s cars as well. My Y33 Q45 was in the very back of the truck…

Full Voltex Evolution on Volk TE37V Mark II wheels…

David Uy’s new R35 GTR build with complete Nismo GT3 aero kit usually designated for Nissan’s GT3 class race vehicles…

Custom Onestar-kitted Lexus 3GS with custom widebody by Ulterior Motives bodyshop with Rotiform wheels and 326Power brakes…

Mode Parfume GaMu Lexus LS430 on classic Work Meister S1 wheels from PureVIP…

Another look at the custom Genesis Prada from earlier. Here you can see just how wide it is all the way around…

New Advan Racing RG-D2 wheels on this satin black Evo X…

Varis Arising Evo X running a set of Victory Function front fenders to fit the aggressive Volk TE37V Mark II wheels…

Clean bagged F30 BMW on Volk TE37 Saga in Royal Blue…

One of my favorites of the entire event was this Q50 Infiniti owned by Chris Cu. Love the front fenders and custom rear widebody. Color execution is also great and the wheels just sit perfectly against the blue hue of the Q50…

Old&New Japan slant-nose Porsche 997 on Rotiform wheels built by IDL Design USA…

Ivan from Strasse Sport’s Oslo Blue Porsche 991 GT3 on centerlock Rotiform wheels…

Noel Barnum’s Varis Arising Scion FR-S with GReddy turbo kit…

He just recently acquired this concave bronze Volk TE37 wheels and the front fenders and lip area had to be trimmed slightly to fit the thicker Toyo rubber…

John Fob’s custom Sorcery Acura NSX with custom front splitter, sides, and vented front fenders…

One more of the R35 GT3 kit on David Uy’s GTR on Rotiform wheels…

Hubert Barnum’s freshly repainted JZA80 Supra on black CCW wheels…

Mark Ilaya finally decided to dust off his BMW M5 and brought it up to San Jose for Wekfest…

It feels a little weird to take a photo of my own car at a car show for a change. This is my freshly painted Y33 Q45 running a complete Mode Parfume kit and bronze/silver Work Meister M1 wheels…

No stranger to The Chronicles display area is Chuy Navarro’s Acura Integra Type R on 16×8 bronze Mugen MF10…

Will from IDL Design USA’s Pandem widebody E46 M3…

Son’s AP1 S2000 track car took a break from circuit duty to be displayed at Wekfest San Jose. The SSR GTX01 wheels are looking great on there…

One more of Bulda’s EK9-styled Civic with Airwalker front bumper and Mugen MF10 wheels… Also make note of the Endless brakes and J’s Racing front fenders…

Widened Subaru WRX STI rocking a Voltex front bumper and carbon front splitter…

Love how these Advan Racing TCIII wheels fit on this orange Voltex-equipped Evo IX…

Randy Yray’s turbo B-series CR-X drag car…

Hanzel Tango’s new black NA1 NSX project running a growing catalog of Mugen parts, the most obvious being the bronze Mugen MF10 wheels…

Tony Pham’s Comptech supercharged Acura NSX which he actually acquired with a blown engine originally. He swapped in a newer NA2 3.2L engine and added the blower to it. I couldn’t name all the stuff but he had such an extensive mod-list printed out that I was pretty impressed and I think he took home an award for all his efforts…

Widebody Z34 370Z on AMF Forged wheels…

I’ll forever have a soft-spot for Advan Racing RG wheels since they have always been on my all-time favorites list so it is always good to see a clean set floating around in 2017. Having them on an NSX doesn’t hurt either…

Scion FR-S with SSR Formula Mesh wheels, Todoroki 30mm front fenders, and a Rocket Bunny front lip…

You don’t see blue NSXs very often but this one from West Collective looks great in stock-body form, especially on a set of newly-released Mugen MF10 wheels. I believe they are 16×8 up front and 17×9 in the rear with some spacers to push them out just a tadbit further…

DC5 RSX on original Work Rezax wheels with a pretty good sized stretch on the tires and a pair of Top1 Motors winglets…

James Tran’s Lexus GS350 F Sport with Skipper aero and RSV Forged wheels…

Thanh Le’s F32 4 Series BMW coupe with custom black on brushed champagne Volk Racing TE37SL…

The much richer than myself Joe Le is the owner of this Porsche 997 sitting on 3-piece Work Meister S1 wheels…

And rounding out the West Collective car club display at Wekfest San Jose is James Le’s Corvette on now-not-too-often-seen DPE forged wheels. I must say, West Collective is a really solid car club with a nice diverse group of cars. Always loved the name and just the overall clean aesthetic to everything they do, from cars to their own merchandise, etc. Cool group that doesn’t get enough recognition because maybe there stuff is just “too clean” for it to stand out among collectives (all puns intended) of wilder cars. Clean and simple is the way to go though and these guys get it…

On that note, that’s all I got for Part 1. Still one more part coming… Stay tuned…