Most of us have lanes. We like a certain kind of food. We follow a certain sport. We dress a certain way. We listen to a certain style of music. And so on.
When it comes to cars, my lane has pretty much been American and Australian muscle cars, and to a lesser extent, European supercars. Then my eldest son reached "car-nut” age. But despite years of my education (indoctrination), his lane became Japanese cars. Particularly JDM - Japanese Domestic Market, cars meant for sale in Japan, with specific custom-tailored features for that market.
I found myself glancing over at that lane more and more. These were cars that I had scoffed at in my youth. They were no match for the power and presence of iconic muscle cars, the world of cubic inches and straight-line performance. They were what we dismissively called "Ricers".
But the more I looked, and the more my son educated me, the more I found myself understanding and appreciating the allure of the Orient. These cars were fast. Power to weight ratios were impressive, sometimes scary. And they could take corners. Fast. In fact, many drove better sideways. Style wise, most were sleekly beautiful.
So, when my pupil recently invited me, the teacher, to veer outside of my usual lane and accompany him to the annual Newcastle All-Japan Day, I didn't hesitate. We arrived at a huge turnout of cars and spectators - a community united by a passion. There were no American or Australian muscle cars, no huge V8s, no aging Rockers. There were no sleek European super and hypercars, flaunted by wealthy professionals and dealers (at least not identifiable as such!)
It was a world of cars, but not those I had grown up with: there were turbos, twin-turbos, Rotary engines, cambered wheels, pop-up headlights. Anime and Manga influences were everywhere. And it was a much younger crowd, featuring an encouraging proportion of young women. Not just accompanying boyfriends and partners, but as proud owners and drivers.
I knew it was a popular sub-culture but didn't realise just how popular.
As a bonus, it stretched me as a photographer. I've been photographing cars since I was 10. Put me in front of a muscle car and I instinctively know what shots I will take. I know their lines, their details, their most flattering aspects. What to shoot and what not to.
But here, the shapes and patterns were largely unfamiliar. A feature ignored or played down in the cars in my lane, were highlighted and championed here. Drifting dings were accepted, even celebrated.
The largely cavernous engine bays of old muscle cars with their huge cast iron blocks crowned with photogenic carburettors and superchargers were replaced by crowded snake pits of hoses and tubes into which small displacement motors and multiple turbos had been shoehorned.
Headlights were missing, hidden beneath pop-ups. Wheels were cambered, sometimes to the point of giving the impression that they were somehow buckling beneath the weight of these relatively light machines.
Chrome was almost non-existent, having given way to colour matching. Flames and pinstripes replaced by manga images and Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana text characters.
Through the viewfinder, every car was a lesson in composition. How best to capture the unique character of each vehicle? What was its best aspect? What were its defining features? Which angles teased out its magic? It was a real workout of my photographer's eye, an enjoyable one at that.
And, in some odd echoing of the Japanese culture they admired, the punters here were strangely courteous and polite. Many would stop, or step out of frame, when they saw me taking a photo!
The event was vibrant and colourful and to me, exotic. It was great fun and an education. The teacher had become the pupil.
Lanes can become comfort zones. Veer out of yours occasionally. You will find other lanes are filled with travellers of a different ilk. In those lanes you encounter new perspectives. You have new conversations with new voices. You will ask, and be asked, new questions and learn new things.
And you might just end up at an unexpected yet worthwhile destination.
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