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An Aston for a few days.....


deanos3
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It's 6:30 am and the alarm goes off. Why I bothered to set it though is any ones's guess as I'm already awake, and I knew I would be. I guess that's what happens though when an aspiring car photographer has the keys to a V12 Aston Martin DB7.

So, jump out of bed, spanish shower, clothes on, camera gear check, batteries fully charged, grab the key's that are blatently made by ford and head out to the car park.

There it is, in all it's glory, surrounded by middle class saloon's and hatchbacks, this 8 year old car's looks are to die for. Blip the key fob, sit in the drivers seat, twist the key and hit that big red starter button....Oh my! A visceral scream roars from the exhaust and buildings vibrate, somebody parts the curtains to have a glimpse. This is what Aston ownership is all about.

Anyway, onto the car. An Aston Martin V12 DB7 Vantage Volante, from some angles it can look very dated, those orange repeaters and rear indicators don't help out much. With the roof down it looks a tad funny, and the wood interior, with blue/cream leather and ford mondeo switch gear is a bit of letdown. But all this is put in the back of your mind when you're on the open road with that V12 roaring along.

Ownership can be expensive, they need servicing every 6k miles and fuel consumption is another world. Handling wise, for how big it is, It's pretty impressive really. It's solid but the damping works well on the big bumps, steering is pretty direct and has a pretty good feel to it even though it is a little light around dead centre. The throttle can take some getting used to, power slides are great fun, until you realise just how much those tires cost!

So would I have one? Hmmmm, I don't know, I think I'm a tad young for an Aston Martin at the mo, don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic experience and the amount of respect the car get's is amazing. The girlfriend also loved it, 11pm at night, roof down, heater on full blast, heated seats on and that V12 howling in the night.

I think I'd rather a TVR Sagaris for this kind of money though.

Here's some pic's I managed to grab on Saturday, the weather was appalling and I had planned to go to London on Sunday, it was a tad risky though as the car wasn't mine...

I have plenty more pics to come and I plan to update this thread tonight...

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Dean, you don't work for EVO magazine do you?

I'd send them your portfolio if not. 169144-ok.gif

(This is where you tell me you already earn far more for your photography than EVO would ever pay... grin.gif )

Seriously, excellent pics. 169144-ok.gif

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Thank you!

It's funny you mention EVO. It would be my dream job, I'd take it on for much less money than I'm on now (in IT). One day maybe, one day!

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Great Pics 169144-ok.gif

Needs a top down one though, if you have one.

Next challenge is to take a few snaps of something ordinary (or even ugly) and make them look good. Do that and you're another step closer to booting the dull but probably better paying IT career into touch. Go for it!

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Next challenge is to take a few snaps of something ordinary (or even ugly) and make them look good.

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Well there's a couple of S3's and a few TT's on his website - do they count? yelrotflmao.gif

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I was thinking even more ordinary than that. The TT is a design classic (regardless of underneath bits) so that is way too simple. Admittedly the S3 is as bland as white Y-Fronts (DUCKS VERY LOW) but I was thinking really ordinary, like a Focus - make the latest facelift look good and new career is assured 169144-ok.gif

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Grat pics mate! It is one stunning looking car, better than the new ones in many ways. The noise it makes is also glorious, better than hew ones IMHO.

I had one for a wk end a while back. I thought it was a right pig to drive. I wrote a review somewhere in this review section. I remember not being able to work out how to use the roof, the gearbox and clutch were the worst I have ever used and the steering was so biast to self centre you could hardly turn the bloody thing.

All that, but it is stunng! 169144-ok.gif

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Thanks for feedback guy's!!

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Grat pics mate! It is one stunning looking car, better than the new ones in many ways. The noise it makes is also glorious, better than hew ones IMHO.

I had one for a wk end a while back. I thought it was a right pig to drive. I wrote a review somewhere in this review section. I remember not being able to work out how to use the roof, the gearbox and clutch were the worst I have ever used and the steering was so biast to self centre you could hardly turn the bloody thing.

All that, but it is stunng! 169144-ok.gif

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you're quite right, it is a bit of a pig but I tried to seperate myself from comparing it to an ultimate driving machine (CSL/911 etc) and thought of it as more of a GT. Either way, it's far superior to my numb handling soot chuck Audi!! tongue.gif

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Dean, anytime you feel the need to add a small fibreglass bodied rollerskate in the shape of a blue VX220 to your portfolio, just give me a shout.

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Techie is in Bedford and I'm in Essex 169144-ok.gif

That would be awesome (as would a silver one)! Where abouts are you based??

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Dean, anytime you feel the need to add a small fibreglass bodied rollerskate in the shape of a blue VX220 to your portfolio, just give me a shout.

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Techie is in Bedford and I'm in Essex 169144-ok.gif

That would be awesome (as would a silver one)! Where abouts are you based??

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Winchester, Hampshire. It's roughly a hundred miles from Bedford. I'm guessing London would be convenient for us all and I imagine there's some brilliant locations to shoot there?

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shocked.gif great photos dude - seriously, I dream of getting results like this notworthy.gif

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Agreed - great photos Dean. I like the grad ND effect on the first one, and that moving shot is great - is that a 'hang out of another car' job?

One thing that I've always wondered about with car photography - how do you keep them clean? Do you have to lug a bucket, microfibre cloth and a 5-gallon tub of water about? grin.gif

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