Featured Photographer - Halston Pitman

Hi, my name is Halston Pitman and I am the man behind the lens. You may also know me from ATLFocus Photography but I would wager if you are in the BMW community you know me better by my name. To be honest my adventure in photography isn’t as deep as many you may talk to. I have been actually attempting at taking great photos for 5 years. When I was getting married I wanted to take a nicer camera on my honeymoon that would do a better job than my 2 year old Panasonic Point and Shoot and it began! It was more than just fun to take photos at that point. Trying to perfect my shots, my editing and always finding new items to photography became the name of the game! Photography for me was perfect as it became the newest way for me to connect with the things that I love, cars (Ok well let’s be honest BMWs). I have to be up front and admit my love for BMWs runs deep but just as deep is my love for Jeeps. My first vehicle was a modified 97 Wrangler Sahara that I loved. Commuting to school with big tires, low gears and an ancient I-6 engine was taxing on the wallet. Driving one day I saw an AlpineWeiss 99 M3 Coupe… and a deal was struck! The rest is history. E30s, E28s, E36s and X5s have all been owned. I sometimes leave them stock and just cruise like my E28 or I go all out. My last E30 was 24V Swapped, Ground Control Coilovers, UUC Big Brakes, full redone interior and more! It was a wonderful vehicle. I have sense moved back into another E36 M3 which is a love it or hate it 1997 Dakar Yellow M3/4/5 and I love it! For my photography my style is a vibrant but natural looking photo. When someone sees my photos I like them to be able to assume that is what they would have seen if they were there right beside me. My personal preference is not excessive editing. No bringing in ‘fake’ skies. No bumping colors, contrast, saturation or more in Photoshop. I don’t know where this style came from but it is what I prefer and it seems that many still do enjoy this style. In the end I do love to get positive feedback from the photos so while this is my style I can always adapter to each and every situation and come through with solid photos. ATLFocus Photography? It’s a short was humorous story which I have to give a shout out to a fellow photography friend on the West Coast and one I suspect could be featured in these very pages. Casey Withers has taught me a lot(caseywithers.com) and while I was spending some time at his place with his family I was jealous of his setup. I started bouncing ideas off him and I wanted simple and obviously a photography related name. ATLFocus was suggested and I loved it. So thank you Casey! I live in Atlanta and Focus… well you know the deal there! Big Break? Once I realized that I could run a track event/ HPDE in my own car and pass the down time taking pictures of the cars I started to get serious. Even if I wasn’t running I would get to the track and just shoot for hours. I

went to races and while spectator areas at many tracks are wonderful vantage points I wanted more. I sent an e-mail to Roundel Magazine (BMWCCA Magazine) and inquired about Petit Le Mans @ Road Atlanta, a large event to say the least. Photos were exchanged and much to my surprise I would be paired with the motorsport editor and given a test drive! The article was wonderful and I learned so much that weekend. Most importantly that you do need a lot of sun screen! Best Photo Feature? I want to toot my own horn and gloat a bit if you don’t mind. I worked with James Clay and Bimmerworld Racing for the Homestead-Miami Grand-Am event in Florida earlier this year. CRC had partnered with Bimmerworld and would be running a special Brakleen livery for this race. My photo was used in CRC material from this event but the real kicker? My photo was displayed on a digital billboard in Times Square! I was not able to see it with my own eyes but I do have web cam screen captures of the photo! I was stoked! 2011 was a big year for me in the photography game as I had multiple Grand-Am and ALMS events with Roundel Magazine and Motorwerks Magazine as well as local and national events like The Mitty @ Road Atlanta. I have been working with Bimmerworld Racing in the Grand-Am Series. I photographed a custom BMW Bike for BMW Motorcycle Magazine. Will be working with Billy Boat Performance Exhaust as well in 2011 doing some photography work and reviews. Also will spend my time volunteering as an instructor with Teen Street Survival and one of my favorite photography related events of the year, the 2012 Georgia Trust Places in Peril list. Spend a weekend running around GA and photographing historical sites in danger! This is going to be a great year! And I still need to find time to get the M3 out on the track again!

Gear List – 2x Grip’d Canon 40D bodies, Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS, Canon 400mm F/5.6, Canon 17-40 f/4L, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Canon 100mm f/2.8, Macro Tokina 12-24 f/4, 2x Nikon SB-24s, Paul C Buff Cybersyncs