checkered past

i still have a couple more cars i promised before i get back to my favs. 

this one was just different than the typical hot rod. mainly the checkered paint job on the radiator and inside the engine compartment. otherwise, pretty standard hep cat.

wonder what that guy in the doorway is thinking...or the zombie to his right. neither is looking at me, nor the car. must be something driving by out of the shot.

coming & going

i spied this one driving around the circuit on the last day in riverside. i hoped i would be able to find it parked somewhere before i left.

i was across the street shooting the rambler i posted yesterday, when i spied it here across the street on the corner. i was trying to hurry from the rambler so i could get to it before they possibly took off again, but the owner of the rambler was busy telling me her story. then i watched as the owner of the car popped the hood for a crowd of guys, and i kinda slowed down. why, why?

i took a couple of shots of the rambler and headed over to this one anyway. the group had mostly left, and the guy sitting with it saw me trying to shoot the hood ornament, and offered to close the hood for me. even better i said.

his story was that the car belonged to his father-in-law, and he had fixed it up. i thought it was pretty stunning and asked if he thought it had won anything. he said, no way, there were much better cars there in his opinion. dude, this one is a beauty, have some confidence. and thanks for closing the hood.

she's a rebel

i was shooting this one because i'd never seen one before. the owner came over and asked the usual questions. then told me her hubbie had bought this for her fifty-seventh birthday. not sure if the rebel part relates to her personality, but she was very nice.

wonder what age i'd choose to be to get an age-appropriate car. i'm thinking i'm due for a chevy bomb about now...

buy a print here

sedan, i am

this is bob's pontiac. i'd seen it parked off the street in this side lot for the last couple of years that i'd been to this show. finally had the time and inclination to go over and have a look. initially, there was another car parked on this side, and i was just shooting the hood ornament. he came over and apologized that it wasn't a better ornament—said there was more to it, but someone had snapped the other pieces off at some point in the past.

then, the car next to him took off, so i had space to shoot the car. happily, he moved the dust mop thing off the hood. 

the car is showing its age, but that's fine with me. imperfections just make it that much more interesting, so don't apologize when you're car is less than perfect.

they all head south for the winter

so, i'll get back to riverside in a couple of days, but i wanted to put one of this beauty up before i forget. my better half talked the owner into closing it up later that afternoon.

i basically stare at cars with their hoods open if i really want to shoot it, and hope the owner notices and offers to close it. i've only asked owners to close it a couple of times because it was too good not to get it, and most typically will just walk past a few times and hope to see it again some day.

of course, i took advantage of the hood closed, and took several more shots. but i thought i'd share this one, just to show that i sometimes break my own rule. i think my better half mentioned that it's rare to see one in such immaculate condition, but if memory serves, d, there was about five of them in a row down at chicano park, each just as delicious as this one. but i did skip most of those, since they had one side up and one side down.

ok, this one had a nice engine, so i guess that was part of the reason i went ahead and took this shot. my better half liked this one better than the others i did, so maybe that's why i'll share it with you.

out of town tomorrow, so riversiders, hold your breath until wednesday. unless i go to big boy...

buy a print here