At this point, I don't want to be considered a "car spotter" anymore. I would much rather prefer to be referred to as somebody who enjoys taking pictures of cars whether at a show or out in the wild. Like Andrew said, I don't want to be associated with a group of people who just do not give a sh*t about cars and only do it for the Instagram likes. I truly enjoy cars and I love the fun a car can give you. I love taking pictures of them so I can capture the moment and I can always look back on it for years to come. Like I still take trips to New Canaan and Greenwich to see if I can find cars but I do it because I truly enjoy interesting cars and sharing my pictures with everyone.

One of the worst things I have come across is that people will only go to shows just to see the supercars and nothing else there. Two years ago, a bunch of spotters flocked to the Sunday in the Park Concours during Historics Festival 33 at Lime Rock Park just to see one Huayra that had never been outside before. They didn't give a sh*t about the other 2000+ cars that were in attendance that day which made me really sad considering I took pictures of almost everyone at that event. Like I get that people have different tastes in cars but to take a two-hour drive to see one car is a bit much imo.

I just wish we could get back to the good old days where people weren't running in front of cars to get the shots.

I spot because I like to see the cars too and take pictures of every exotic I see but I've definitely almost been hit by some exotics too cause you just can't get good photos these days unless you stand in front of it in the streets.

Well written @rivi3. I feel much the same way. While the spotting scene isn't horrendous down here in Florida (or at least I don't think it is because I'm not too social with other spotters), I wouldn't want to be considered someone who just takes advantage of the owners and their cars merely to gain artificial superiority via social media (maybe that's because this is the only site I am a part of that deals with spotting).

There was a similar instance at the Cavallino Classic last year, where there were tons of spotters swarming the hypercars and some rarer supercars as they arrived. Perhaps that was why there were NO hypercars (at least that I saw, and I was there for about 5.5 hours) out and about THIS year. While there was a 458 Speciale Aperta, that's about it. Similarly, there was a small group of spotters across from me that I only saw take a few shots of a couple cars (white 458 Speciale, black SLR McLaren). I, on the other hand, because I greatly appreciate even the most common of exotics due to their beauty (Bentley Continentals, RR Ghosts, Maserati GranCabrios, etc.) took pictures of nearly every exotic that passed. While there's no problem in neglecting to take photos of certain cars (I do it from time to time), it just kind of supports your claim that certain spotters seem to make the travel and/or the efforts just to gain social media notoriety.
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I've never understood the obsession with "spotting" just hyper cars. And this is coming from someone who has seen just one; it was a pretty unique spec Bianco Fuji LaFerrari I saw in a parking garage last January. When I go to car shows, I do like to look at the super cars and whenever there's not an annoying crowd I like to try and get some good shots. But I admit I have more of an interest in seeing cars like AMGs, M cars, the F-Type, and other less coveted stuff etc. If an F-Type shows up, it's a good show. M6 Gran Coupe? Yes. I'm the type of guy to freak out over a 599 GTB more than a Speciale because they're pretty rare here, I've only seen three in like six years. Yup, seen more than ten Speciales and even an A, but just three 599s. I guess I'm still picky but I do like to look at everything when I go to car shows.

I started spotting because it was fun to go to the mall or grocery store on the nice side of town and find something and it's like, taking pictures is sort of documenting the moment for me. When I look at old photos on my IG I get a lot of memories from those times. I also like spotting because I think a car is art. That's why I've been steadily trying to better my shots and upgrade my gear to get the best shots and give the car design its justice.

I had no idea the car scene had so much drama in it though. I watched a livestream late last night of keystothejungle and saw spotters fighting with each other calling each other "faggot" and saying "your photos look like ass" "no your photos look like phone shots" and it wasn't banter either, they were really arguing. It definitely gives the hobby a bad name. I've seen many people diss spotting in the past and didn't know why, but now I do.

This is why I consider deleting my Instagram a lot. I can never gain any followers, and all every spotter does is talk sh*t and insult others. It's literally Mean Girls only with 18-year-olds with cameras. I wish I never got involved with the Northeast spotter clique. If I didn't, my reputation would probably be squeaky clean. Getting involved with that crowd was one of the biggest mistakes of my life so far and now I want out. I want to move to sunny California so that way I can escape the winter and those spotters. I don't know how the car scene is in Cali but I feel like it's a lot better than here.

So far I have unfollowed a bunch of people on Instagram including northeast photographers, and the really "LOOK AT ME I'M RICH!" car owners. I don't stand in crowds of leapers anymore, I just walk around shows by myself and maybe talk to a few of the car owners about genuine car stuff. It's a lot easier that way. I know a group of Northeast spotters that go to Car Week every year however I know that if I went with them, they would tell me on Day 1 "Now listen Rivi, we are not stopping for any of those shitbox classic cars you like. We're only here for the supercars. Got it?"

I might make a video on the car spotting culture and how it has been completely torn apart and ruined because it is something that really needs to be talked about.

Rivi I can relate to a certain extent, the car spotters on instagram are quite douchey and immature. and the drama that has been started with me is just bullshit and pointless. And they don't have respect for anything other than Ferraris, Lambos, McLarens and Bugattis. And usually just sh*t talk everyone else that put time and effort into their car instead of buying it for a bong-load of money at a car dealership.

Also they are usually hype beasts and will jump onto any trend not really caring what their actual opinions are, just jumping on because it's cool. Lots of them don't really even know what the f*ck they are doing other than pointing some 2,000$ camera at a 300,000$ car and snapping a picture. the instagram car spotting community may be one of the most bratty, immature, sh*t-talking, fire-starting, spoiled, poser, lying groups on all of social media.

Yeah I don't stand in front of the cars because.

1. I find it disrespectful to traffic.

2. I find it disrespectful for the owners when they're in the cars because the camera is literally on their face whereas if I take a photo of the car from the side the camera is more on the car.

Also, I appreciate a nice Granturismo just as much as an Aventador and other than an incident this morning, I'm highly respectful of the owners and don't run after their cars like some Norteast spotters do, but I don't follow the ones that do. I only follow the ones who don't do it (supercarinvasion, rivi, omar_auto, wvm3dreamdrives, usacarphotography, izaacbrookphotos, etc). When I photograph an exotic, I don't do it for the likes, I do it because I appreciate the exotic and want to practice my general photography skills.

Lastly, I wish I could make it to car week every year, but coming from a middle class family who's parents drive a Hyundai and a Jeep Cherokee, I simply can't afford it. Also I think coming from a family like this makes me appreciate cars more. I mean a dude on Instagram parents is getting a Model X. I was like "wow" but kept it to myself. Also there's an Instagrammer from Greenwich who got a 991 GTS for his birthday. I wonder what his life must be like.

Eh I've always sort of done the car photography thing for me. It started on Flickr but I found IG more convenient. I do tag now and I've been using the same list of hashtags for like two years. Had a good bit of luck with followers but it's just a number. Half of them are inactive or bots anyway. I see it as just something to look back at and see how my photography skills have improved. I deleted like 30 photos I posted in the summer because let's just say I had a bad summer and the shots were pretty repetitive anyway.

Yeah same I have 764 followers but only get 120 likes max on a photo.

lol I have 3,500 and I only get 150 and used to get 200. I don't understand it.

I don't understand those photographers who have 35 f**king thousand followers like it's just pictures why are they that popular.

Their followers are probably paid bots.

Have about 890. I guess it's decent, I get 130-170 if I post a full car, detail shots get between 100-130. I only have like 5 dslr shots posted though. Everything before then is from April 2016 and prior as I deleted everything from the summer.

lol I have around 13k followers and only get 200-400 likes on average

Honestly, car spotters everywhere (at least in the US for all I know and care of) is just a bunch of cancerous and selfish little kids running around with no respect for the owners and other people. They have no care for anything/anyone else except their social media status, and there's like 0.1% that aren't like that. It just goes to show how stupid and arrogant a lot of the car community has slowly become. I dropped my Instagram account because spotters in my area are just absolutely cancerous and hell to even bother knowing. I've talked with numerous owners and a good handful don't drive their cars out during the daylight as much as before because they know that some kid will jump in front of them just to get that IG worthy shot (when 90% of the time it's just a cr*p shot that their deluded mind thinks is the best). As for me, I've just decided to stick with photoshoots and end the whole spotting idea because it's just ruined. And people at car shows are even worse, the egos are unbearable and the kids have the sudden and urgent need to run in front of everyone and chase cars down a block to get some shaky video and some photos. I really hope that everything will be better soon and that people who actually give a damn about actual car things and appreciating the cars and their owners can enjoy taking pictures and savoring (if that's the right word) cars without being subjected to such BS. Also many people [especially you shoppers in Beverly Hills (NOTE: I said SHOPPERS not SPOTTERS)] have ZERO respect for the owners and cars and just feel the need to sit their fat asses on the car and take a gazillion shots with a stupid pose. Take one and move on with your life. Please.