more whine

danny's car again. he really wants a three-quarter view of it. i've only seen it twice, and both times, not an optimal spot. i shot it before, but he wanted to see more of it. this one echos the other danny's car, both in color tweakedness and in lens flare. it's supposed to be a deep red wine color. must be the light and the shade on this side, again messing up the color. i like it anyway. guess i just like flares and starbursts.

i have a decent one from the other side, and it's the right color, but there's a group of dudes on one side and a single dude on the other in it that just bug me, and it's not quite showing this much of the car. throws the picture out of balance or something, and i can't crop them out without losing some of the car either. i think that is the point where i could revert to desaturating, darkening, blurring, stripping out the background, or a hundred other things to remove the annoying items. i don't have the time or desire to do that much work.

i need to get something done tonight for delivery tomorrow, so i'm just putting this one up because it's ready to go.

sunny side up

this belongs to the president of the viejitos club. he seemed like a nice guy, welcomed me right away, but that's what you'd expect from the host of the party. he asked if i'd taken a shot of his car, "the brown convertible up at the front." at the time, no, i'd just arrived, but i did go back up to the entrance and take a couple of shots.

i can't recall that i've seen another convertible like this one. i haven't decided if i would have rather shot it with the top down, or just as i found it.

spill the wine

today a went to only two shows, skipped the third by choice. wanted to see stuff i don't usually see. this one is from the viejitos cruisin on a sunday afternoon show over in fullerton. i've seen a few of their cars here and there, but was interested to see what a show hosted by them would pull in.

i was not disappointed. a virtual chevy buffet, some of los angeles and orange county's finest showed. and the people were very nice too. i was greeted by the president of the club when i got there. as i walked about and shot the bunch that were there initially, other clubs showed up and filled the lot, until they were parking two cars wide up the aisle. it was really not a huge lot, and i had to park down the street.

several people came over to talk to me, and ask to be sure to get their cars. guess i'll be busy over the next few days posting some. and there were so many more extraordinary cars that came out, i'll be busy for a month on just this one show if i wanted.

anyway, the owner of this car, who happens to be the guy taking a picture of his friends, found me at the front of the lot, and specifically asked if i had taken any of his car. at that point, no, i had passed it by, because the hood was up. he went directly back and closed the hood, just for me. it had a nice big chromed engine, but no interest for me.

i took several shots, but this one was my better half's pick of the bunch. hope you like it.

raider nation

i've seen this car several times over the past year and a half. i've tried shooting it from various angles, in different lighting conditions, in different locations depending on where they've parked. i've never really been satisfied with the location or the lighting, but this one is ok. i need to bring a ladder to get a better angle on the artwork on the front here, but i already pull too much around with me...i'd need a little red wagon to carry more.

not only is it a great car, it has some interesting, intricate airbrushing going on front and back, all in black and white, and just a hint of gold on the helmet. i'm taking a wild ass guess they like the raiders.

classics

so i was stuck at home all day on saturday because my car was in for service at the dealer's, and was without a computer to play with since thursday (long story, don't ask).

i got to the show at hooter's in el toro this morning. it was almost too warm to enjoy save for the cool breeze. i'm trying to horde up on pictures now, before summer really gets cookin' – i want to have plenty to work on during the hottest months, when i think i'll confine myself to evening shows.

while there were quite a few cars there, most already had their hoods up by 10:30 a.m.; you already know my opinion on that score. there were not so many of the older cars that i like, so i didn't stay too long. this pair of very nice oldies could very well have sat in the same lot way back when they were brand new.

the 1949 cheverolet deluxe is for sale, and i have the number if anyone wants it; the '48 plymouth special deluxe on the right was in pretty good condition too, but not for sale. parked next to the three decades of corvettes further down, i think this pair was far more interesting to look at and photograph – i used to want a corvette, so don't get me wrong, they're nice, but i'm kinda over them now.

out of curiousity, what is the difference between deluxe and special deluxe anyway? is it like the difference between a double-double and a double-double animal style? just that little something extra?