Photog of the Week – Brandon Miller
At CarLoveDC, we love cars (obviously). But how can we spread the joy of these wonderful cars we love so much? This is where the automotive photographers play a key role in making an event “post worthy” and a Cars and Coffee worth telling your jealous friends at work about. That’s why CarLoveDC would like to shine a spotlight on a “Photog of the Week” featuring a local auto-photographer who goes above and beyond the call of car duty to snap some of the most legendary local pictures of some of our area’s sexiest cars. From imports done up right to Ferrari F40′s, Brandon Miller is one of these photographers. After stumbling upon his pictures of our local Katie’s Cars & Coffee, I just new we needed to have a story on this guy. Based out of Richmond (see his pics for some awesome shots of the Richmond C&C), Brandon treks up to Katie’s whenever possible to snag some great photos. Read on to learn more about this up-and-coming local photographer…
“My name is Brandon Miller. I am 32 and live in Richmond VA where I work as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch with my father (who is also a car nut and has a collection of immaculate 240z’s. He has a 70, 71, 72 & 73 all in his favorite colors) My main hobbies are working on cars, photography and salt water reef aquariums.
I got into photography by accident really. I purchased a decent Sony camera with some DSLR capabilities mainly to document car builds but started shooting around the city and became hooked. I mostly shoot landscapes, clouds and cars. I have always been passionate about cars having grown up while my dad built Datsun 510’s, 240z’s amd 60’s-70’s Porsches.
I don’t really discriminate when it comes to cars as I like anything tasteful with 4 wheels. I would have to say my two favorite cars in general of which I would love to do a shoot with would be the Ferrari F40 and the Lexus LFA. I did get some shots of the F40 at a local show a few years back but I would love the chance to do a specific shoot of one.
(This shot was taken from Gran Turismo 5… almost thought it was real, huh?)
Mostly I attend our local cars and coffee events which are every other Saturday. I am always up to meet up with car enthusiasts. It’s my favorite way to socialize. I missed bimmerfest East last year as my head gasket went out the week prior 
I have a few favorite shots I have taken over the years which I have included.
I recently have focused my car building efforts on 2 cars. I did a really clean 72 Datsun 510 with a Rebello L20b, 2000 roadster 5 speed, Troy Ermish coilovers, Nissan comp headers, Mikuni 44’s, 280z suspension and brakes and some 14” panasports. I sold that about a year ago and went back to focus on my BMW that I have been building for about 6 years.
1992 BMW E34 525i 5 speed. I pulled the 2.5L M50 motor and found a 98 M52 2.8L with variable valve timing. My father and I re-built that, swapped in some M3 cams and ARP head studs, M3 flywheel and UUC stage I M3 clutch and drove it like that for a few years. This year, I added a Garret GT3076R turbo with .63 A/R and billet compressor wheel. Tuning is via TRM chip, MAF and injectors. The car is making 343 RWHP and 325 ft lbs of torque at 12.5 psi. Suspension is Koni shocks with Vogtland springs, powerflex subframe bushings, powerflex upper control arm bushings. Brakes are 6 piston Wilwoods up front with E38 750il zinc EBC rotors. The exterior has all Euro trim and lights with M5 sideskirts and 540 brake ducts. I retro-fitted Acura TSX projectors and D2S bulbs in the headlights and have actually done a number of other sets for fellow BMW forum members. The interior has M5 seats, 95 door panels where I pulled the wood trim and re-painted piano black with clear coat. Black suede headliner and full dynamat treatment. The car is set to be featured in a major BMW magazine within the next few issues. It has also been featured in blogs, websites, calendars, and in the Bav Auto catalog twice in the last few years.
I would love to be considered to do a shoot for anyone interested!!! I plan on attending the Great Falls meets fairly often once the warm weather comes back.
Here is a link to my BMW: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
My 510: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
My favorite set of car photos which I have taken over the years: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
Link to the Richmond cars and coffee: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
And my absolute favorite shots to date.
Want to get in contact with Brandon? Simple. Shoot him an email at s14silvia@comcast.net and tell him CarLoveDC sent ya. You can find a complete portfolio on his Flickr account here. Look for Brandon at our local Katie’s Cars & Coffee as well as the Richmond Cars & Coffee. Appreciate the shots, Brandon!
Also, Brandon is more than just an automotive photog… check out his other pics here! Impressive set if we do say so ourselves.
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