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In this day and age with competition at every corner and every facet of life, it’s getting harder and harder to break into what you really want to do in life. This case is even more prevalent with racecar drivers. Sure you can drive a car damn well around a racetrack, but the fact of the matter is that if you don’t stand out, you’re going to be sidelined.
Upon meeting, San Clemente native, and now junior Porsche factory driver, Connor De Phillippi, I got a much different sense. He’s a guy that started from humble beginnings, drives his ass off, worked his way up, and made the right impressions with the right people. On top of that, he’s a down to earth surfer kid with the right attitude and a growing fan base.
Since this shoot, Connor has been shipped off to Germany to participate in the 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Championship while driving under the flag of the Roboscan Lukas Motorsport/FÖRCH Racing team.
Client: Porsche Club of America/Panorama Magazine
Project: Connor De Phillippi driver introduction
Role: Principle stills photographer
How often do you do work for Panorama? Do I need to be checking the photo credits more often?
Pretty often these days. At least one feature a month as of late!
Nice work Linhbergh! Thanks
Great pictures Linhbergh! Thanks for the great article!
Linhbergh always does amazing work!
Your shots of Connor show amazing artistic skill and a great eye. We are all so proud of Connor and your article captured him well.
GREAT pics, love love the last one!
In 2009, I met a guy that was passionate about a few things: surfing, drifting, and driving a car that looks as awesome as can be. I also had the opportunity to photograph him and his drift machine for the car culture website, Speedhunters. Back when I shot those photographs, I was beginning my second year of photography. Both Matt and I were just starting out in both of our prospective hobbies. Since then, he’s picked up a few high profile sponsors and built cars that look and perform well and made a living driving in the professional drift series, Formula Drift. And like Matt, I became very blessed and was able to make a living with my photography since that time.
Earlier this week, I headed out to Pacific Beach, California, to photograph his 2013 car for the FD season –and here it is in all of its glory.
I’ve also supplied three different wallpaper downloads for those of you that have been asking on my Facebook page. Download it, here, here, here, and here.
this is just the awesomest livery he has ever had!
Absolutely stunning!
JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ JIZZ
you and me both tom hahaah it’s a savage looking car this year
big boy rc car.
Do you have a desktop of the 2nd picture? 
Looks so good!
Holding on to the s14,respect:)
Very nice! 
Why don’t you give us more high res pics, please 
.
[...] Pour des raisons évidentes de copyright et comme le shoot n’est pas encore paru sur Speedhunters, Linbergh dévoile exclusivement la nouvelle machine de Matt Powers sur son blog —> http://linhbergh.com/blog/2013/04/matt-powers-2013-formula-d-machine/ [...]
With the 2013 Formula Drift season quite literally around the corner, I thought I’d take a moment to look back the 2012 season with a collection of photos I never got around to post.
Always awesome bro!
again……..great pictures
(y)
Lovin’ the close-ups on the drivers. Especially the ones with some foreground. Great color.
You got eBay motors in there, nice.
Thanks, Bill!
Thanks, man!!
Awesome, as usual. Amazing work like this just reinforces my man-crush.
Thanks Ken! <3
nicely done, man. epic as always!
Thanks, Ken <3
The week leading up to the SEMA show will always be known as a more-than-hectic week for all those that are involved. To get a car ready for the show, there’s a whole up line up of folks who play their part. And the furthest down the line, yet one of the most important is the photographer. The WORLD Motorsports SLS AMG was buttoned up the night before it had to be loaded up onto a trailer to be transported to Las Vegas.
In the few hours between the car prep guys, with their detailing, and the actual load up, was the time I had my intimate moments with the car.
And here are the results:
Client: WORLD Motorsports
Project: WORLD Motorsports Mercedes SLS AMG SEMA booth imagery
Role: Principle stills photographer
I’ll admit: I never aspired to be who I am today. I never planned on it, nor did I even fathom that I would ever become a photographer when I was younger. It just happened.
My childhood was filled with things that were just like any other boy; days filled with Legos, playing in the streets, video games, Robotech, the Disney Afternoon, orange creamsicles, purple drink, dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, and of course, knee scrapes aplenty. But interspersed between normal kid-dom was a creative flair that never faded away. I drew–a lot. I took so many sheets of paper from my father’s printer that my buttocks already knew the sting of his bamboo stick before it was even unleashed. My dear mother never seemed to be able to supply me with enough coloring books as each new black and white book would instantly be introduced to the world of color. Teachers would always send me home with notes saying that I doodled when I wasn’t supposed to, on things like essay margins, standardized tests, math homework, my desk, and fellow classmates’ bare arms all fell victim to my creative fervor. More »
pretty inspiring stuff! always great to see people’s journey and how they got to where they are now.
Amazing images + story.
Tnx, great glimpse into what makes you..well, you!
Beautiful post Charles. You are an inspiration to some one who has been in the game just as long as you – but with far less success. Thanks for the write-up, and thanks for bridging the gap between automotive and art photography.
Awesome, and even more awesome photography! Thanks for sharing.
You’re a nugget Linhbergh, something we can all aspire to.
Thanks man!
Thanks Journi! Really appreciate it.
Charles? Hehe. But thanks for posting my blog!
I really appreciate the your kind words. Thank you.
Lin…you are the man! I see a lot of similarities between us, from the early years to our art background and favorite artists, not to mention the instant music connection we had on that long drive to the desert last year. So glad we’ve met and I wish we had the chance to hang out more! Until then, I’ll look forward to all your nerdy comments on my nerdy posts. Keep it up!
Great story.
Thanks man!! We definitely need to hang out more and talk about nerdy things all the time. If anything, there’s a long over due photo trip out into the middle of no where sometime soon!
im down! i should just make a trip down to LB and do some biking with you on a weekend you arent busy. ill text ya
Let’s bike first, photography road trip later. Next weekend possibly?
incredible post Linhbergh! every success needs a sacrifice, as you did with the miata, the step to FF photography is awesome. deep words and inspiring shoots! I hope someday we could know each other, talk about techniques, cars and photography , cheers from chile bro!
Amazing read Linbergh your work just blows me away if I could be Half as good as you I would be happy.
Ohhhhhh my. Captain Dyslexia strikes again. Was writing another message to a Charles.
So I’ll be in San Diego in a few weeks. if you’re in town, we should do lunch or brunch or whatever.
Great story! My friend Costas Stergiou is very proud of you mentioned his name on this blog
For sure! Hit me up when you got your travels plans sorted.
Definitely let me know if you ever come state side –California specifically and I’ll let you know if I ever head your way.
Thanks Brayden! Keep having at it and never stop!
I’ll hit you up next week and tell you my itinerary.
You are like a hero for us photographers! Great amazing work, and love the story behind!
A photographer that I absolutely admire! You have such an incredible style, your ideas sometimes are out of this world, man, absolutely stunning, you make pictures of cars to look as pictures of some sexy girls..can’t take my eyes off them Thanks a lot for speedhuntin’ and showing to us your passion.
AMAZING!
Ne voglio una….
Daniele ma come si fa a fare una foto come la Terzultima con la mustang verde acqua?
boh…bisogna avere i controcazzi! Io non lo so 
Never thought you could achieve such a high level of photography in only 5 years.
So when will you come to Thailand and be a guest lecture for my Uni? huh huh! when!
Bro! You rock! I’ve loved your work for a very long time I’ve kind of faded away from shooting cars and got more into weddings now, but I always stay ontop of your work. This was a kick ass write up, as I always love to hear how other photogs got their start. Keep it up!
Thanks for story behind. really look up to you and your achievement. amazing to see what kind of pictures you managed to get out of your old D40 too.
inspirational well I will keep trying with my 60D see ya.
Awesome blog post, and incredible pictures. I love the way you.. eat light!
loved it!
I have to say, your quite a writer also!
Automotive is still 90% of what I do but I’ve also just recently gotten into weddings. I get such a high from shooting weddings –they’re insanely fun!
I always say, its never about the equipment. It’s all about the person that uses it. Keep shooting, buddy!
Thanks, Pepper!
I would LOVE the opportunity to speak at your University!
Much love!!
You’re very kind, Nancy. Thank you!
thanks i will keep doing. and thanks for the reply.
You are an interesting character and your work is amazing. Thanks for sharing Linhbergh!
Ya I love automotive, I’ve shot the eastcoast bash and club loose events as well as 1 year at Wall for FD (which I saw how crazy you really get to get your amazing images) but I think my passion lies in weddings, getting the rush from the uncontrolled chaos of timing down to the incredible emotion through out the day is unlike anything I’ve shot before. Also every wedding is different and its your chance to really tell a great story the way you want through your pictures.
Awesome indeed. Thanks for sharing the personal pieces. Great work!
u have 2 real fans linhbergh… miss u in sh!
Fantastic read, your work its amaizing and your photos have allways inspired us in this little island called Dominican Republic.
great post linh! I’m starting much earlier in photography but I guess I need to step up on art first.. thanks for the insight! by the way.. would you post an inside look of your workflow? thanks so much!
you know.. you and I actually aren’t that different. I draw everywhere on everything. I draw cartoons, cars, bikes, engines, action figures with big-ass muscles and sexy shades though I’m not the greatest drawer, I just love it and enjoy every second of it, brainstorming about the next little detail. like you said everything falls victim to my creative fervor and just like you I have burning desire for any kind of creative professional. Be it editing videos, taking photos and postprocessing them. But all I want is to become a professional photographer. In particular shooting cars. low as hell, balls to the wall-like cars. But there’s one difference though. You see, I’m only 17 yet and my parents won’t let me pursue my dreams stating that the creative industry is too hard and there’s no money to make a living of. All I want is to reach to the sky and achieve my goal to perhaps become a Linbergh. A boy that made it so far that he could make a living out of his hobby instead of a 9 to 5 job. Now we do have a Sony NEX-5 camera and I’m already experimenting with the manual settings, but that just doesn’t cut it for me. I want to earn my food with it. I don’t have to be a freakin billionaire. All I want is to make enough to feed my family and have roof on my head.
You really inspire and I’m a huge fan of your work. Any advise from you would really appreciated.
A BIG fan of yours..
Don’t give up on your dream.
Wow amazing. I’ve been a fan of your work ever since your photos appeared on Speedhunters. You definitely are an inspiration and I wish you the best in all your future endeavors. It can only get better. Thanks for sharing this Linhbergh.
gives us all hope. Great inspirational piece !thank you
It really was a snowball effect. At first, it was just a few casual emails, then some phone calls, and before I knew it, major access roads in downtown Los Angeles were closed and I was standing in the middle of it. And my purpose was to photograph the new 2013 Nissan Altima. The photographs will be used throughout the life of the model for the dot com, brochures, various ad campaigns and billboards.
After months of pre-production, the actual day of the shoot, and months of most production, I can finally share my work which can be found at NissanUSA.com.
Agency: Chiat Day
Production Company: RSA Films
Project: 2013 Nissan Altima Point-of-Interest stills
Role: Principle stills photographer
Photographed with a Hasselblad H3D
great work linhbergh!
Great work man!
i hate to ask this again, are those shots all natural lights? because i knew u prefer ur shots that way
but i knew u did took the approach on getting on with strobes recently..
all in all, top work!!! absolute professional..
Nukus, almost all of the shots were shot with natural light.
As I mentioned on Saturday well done sir! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next
Well done once again sir! Can’t wait to see what you come up with next
No F-ing way! That’s awesome to be in big leagues. I might just go down to local Nissan dealers to pick up brochures.
we speedhunters fans miss you linhbergh! still doing great work i see. you have an excellent ‘eye’ for quality photos and it’s nice to see you enjoying some success commercially as a pro!
also, nice camera.
-sincerely, a fan
Awesome work. Congrats.
There are times when you know you’re just one little cog in a much bigger machine, but that fact doesn’t bother you one single bit. You know that if you don’t do your best, the rest of the machine will not function properly.
Those were my exact thoughts a year ago while I was in Bowling Green, Kentucky, when I was commissioned by Chevrolet to shoot the 2012 Corvette. One of my many tasks during the trip was to shoot a series of head shots of a few important Corvette folk. Some of you may recognize Tommy Milner, the Corvette Racing driver. After completing the head shots, I was released into the Corvette factory during the quiet after hours and had my way with the place however I saw fit.
I gave my photos to Corvette’s design team who, in return, used them in creating the 2012 Corvette brochure which is now handed to customers at all Chevy dealerships throughout the country. My work is also featured on the website for the complete Corvette 2012 line on Chevrolet.com.
Although my photography wasn’t the focal point of these pieces, my vision and photography ultimately assisted in the creation the brochure and website.
I throughly enjoyed my time touring the Corvette factory and seeing how these iconic American cars are put together. The most surprising revelation was the fact that these cars really are hand built, not a single assembly line robot was seen throughout the factory. I also enjoyed having the chance to use a set of Profoto D1 1000 Air strobes for the head shots. I’ve used Alien Bees previously, and the Profotos are leaps and bounds better. The light coming from the strobes was extremely clean and the refresh times minimal. Are they worth their weight in gold? Yes. Very much yes- but only if you have jobs coming in to supplement the cost.
Being a star quarterback has its perks, but being the guy that holds the line for the quarter back is just as rewarding. That is the experience that working with Chevy brings.
The full PDF of the brochure can be downloaded here.
Great to see your work in brochure formats. Liking the headshots as well.
Sweetness, the silent super sedans are definitely in. Do miss the various collector’s classic cars in your portfolio though—not sure your time allows for that anymore.