Nissan GTR Owners Club at the Ace Cafe 2018

There are a lot of places that a true British petrol head should visit during their life time. This one in particular has taken me a while to get round to. Photographing the Nissan GT-R Owners Club at the Ace Cafe 2018.

The ACE Café first opened in 1938 on the London north circular road. It catered for the passing motorists. It soon became a hangout for motorcyclists of the time.

The Second World War was unkind to the café. It was located near the Willesden railway marshalling yards, which were heavily bombed. As a result, the café was destroyed in 1940. The café was rebuilt and opened in 1949. It catered to the Rockers of the 1950s and 60s. It closed its doors in 1969 but reopened in 1997.

One of the successes of the ACE Café is the regular events they hold. Like-minded bike and car enthusiasts meet up for a brew and chat. They enjoy checking out each other’s rides.

The event we attended was the GTR Owners Club (GTROC) first meet of the year at the café. The GTROC regularly have meetings at the ACE. Check out their website for the next one if you would like to attend.

The drive to the ACE Cafe in a R33 GTR Skyline

We rolled out of Lincoln with a R35, R33 GTR and a GT370 Skyline. The weather was not kind to us. However, the progression down the Queen’s highway was brisk and exciting.

I watched the 370GT trying to put its power down. It was coming out of the roundabouts in the rain. This spectacle kept me hugely entertained on the way there.

We arrived at the ACE Café early. This got us a good parking space. We also had a good view of the GTRs and Skylines arriving in style. The meeting attracted a lot of attention from the general public. I spent a long time chatting to people about my 23-year-old Datsun. Most were amazed that I use it as a daily, but cars are for driving.

Photography at the ACE Cafe

So onto the photography. The location has two main areas: the interior and the exterior. These will require two very different techniques to acquire a great picture. 

First the interior. It has a few interesting areas featuring memorabilia from days gone past. If you are bold, you might encounter some interesting characters. The bar area is colourful with good natural light from the large windows; use this to your advantage. For interior shots try and get into a corner to capture as much of the subject as possible.

Look for interesting shadows and try and use the light you have available instead of using a flash. If you are not getting the f-stop and shutter speed you need for the shot, remember the exposure triangle. Adjust your in-camera ISO settings.

A higher ISO will give you a faster shutter speed reducing camera shake and a smaller f-stop (larger number). A smaller f-stop will give you more of your subject in focus. This effect is generally called the depth of field (DOF). Large DOF is good for interiors as you will get more of the subject in focus.

If you want to blur the background, you need a large f-stop (small number). This setting is good for focusing on the detail. Photographic blur is often called Bokeh. It is a Japanese word that describes the quality of the out of focus parts of an image.

On most DSLR there is a DOF preview button next to the lens usually bottom right. This helps you see what the image will look like before the photo has been taken regarding DOF. When you press the button, the lens will stop down to the aperture that you have set. Then you will be able to see a preview in the viewfinder. 

Photography at the ACE Cafe

Outside is quite urban with some nice features. The day was rainy and overcast. It was not great for photography. The event had attracted a lot of photographers. I started to look for something different to capture. The standard pictures would be swept up by the hoards of young photographers in skinny jeans. 

I was looking around for something different. The main area of interest for me was the reflections. I was intrigued by the detail on the wet cars and puddles.

I will always recommend standing back at an event and taking time to chat to people before shooting. This will give you an insight into what is happening. You might also get a unique opportunity. It could be a bonnet opening or access to the interior of a car.

I hope you have enjoyed this write up of the Nissan GTR Owners Club at the Ace Cafe 2018. As always, I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject. These are just my enthusiastic observations of a day out in the city. 

If you would like to contribute an article to PistonClick drop us an email.

The next article will be Japfest at Silverstone, check back next week for some Drift and even more JDM action.

If you have enjoyed the article please hit the like button below and share from our Facebook page.