what's up?

afterthought

1968 imperial

been a while since i shot this car. random car meetup in buellton. we happened to see the tiny 'car show' sign, for a gathering in a small park.

it's just been sitting here, waiting to be posted. i don't think i promised the owner to post it, hence the not bothering to post.

i like the chrome. i like the imperial emblem...the slightly art deco looking bird. hate the show entry card smack dab in the center of the windshield.

how'd that happen?

crown imperial

if you think i'm gonna talk politics here, that'd be a yah, nah.

i was just thinking of one of my better half's tales from car shows. my better half usually will tell a story reinacting the situation or imitating people if they're memorable. this was several years ago, when people did not know us from any other person visiting a show.

one of his favorites involves him chatting with a car owner about random things, photography, the weather, whatever, and me, once the guy realizes he's my better half. as my better half tells it, in his best reinactment of a homie...he has it down pretty good, as his cousin used to try and act like a gang banger...he assumes the posture, uses the hand gestures, and says in a grizzly, hoarse voice, "oh, really? how'd that happen?" he swears he's not making it up, or any of the other stories he tells me.

i can look at the guy's comment in many different ways, each one funnier than the other.

anyway, it somehow relates to how the celebrities are reacting today. so stupid, as if i care. they wouldn't care what i think, why should i give a rat's ass about their opinion?

life gives you lemons...make lemonade. it's short, get on with it.


random hood ornament, from a random show we found on our travels...

double whammy

1949 desoto

it happens every once in a while. that one day of the year. it's mother's day—and it's my birthday. sort of the same dilemma as the kid born christmas day. and the double hassle of trying to take/be taken out to dinner...ya, good luck with that.

i'm not big on birthdays. i don't care about the number. i just don't like the attention. and i don't need anything that i don't already have. besides, i have no place to put anything. whatever. game of thrones is on tonight, and it may rain, so there are my gifts.

i've spent the morning sifting through pictures, trying to decide what to enter in the fair this year. i've narrowed it down to about twenty so far. letting my better half have his vote, as usual, then i'll go ahead and enter what i think is good, but you can never tell what the judges will like.

i don't think i will enter as many as i usually do. aside from the entry fees, if they pick a bunch to hang at the fair, then i have to get them framed, and then after, i end up with a lot of pictures, and not enough wall space. i'm thinking i'll set up a page to sell some of the framed pictures from past fairs—they do no one any good sitting in storage.

anyway, my alarm just went off, to go pack up and head down to meet my kid for dinner, and a game of thrones viewing party. i'll just put up this shot from a desoto wagon we came across in buellton last month.

des uno

1955 desoto firedome

at my mom's again. one more day of work, then catching a train to san diego, and hitting chicano park on saturday. wonder if the padres are in town...?

another car from the unexpected car show in buellton. one three lovelies at the entrance to the lot. all three had their hoods up. i spent time shooting some of the details, and hoping...

there was an old guy with a camera, kicking back in the grass, in the shade of a tree, near a fifty-nine desoto i was shooting. he said he'd taken a picture of every car there, except those last three. he was just waiting too. said he'd taken meticulous notes about each car too.

i guess my better half had been talking to some people and must have mentioned my preference for hoods down. soon, a guy strolled over and shut all three. one was his; i assume he's on friendly terms with the other two owners.

so, yay, i got pics of these three two, before people started driving away.

and the slamming hoods, also woke up the old photographer. he showed up about five minutes later.

happenstance

1935 chrysler elite airflow

my better half and i went up to solvang for the weekend. it's kind of a boring place, when you're not a wine drinker. but they do have good danish pastries, and we relaxed in a jacuzzi for a while. apparently, he heard i was stressed out at work, thought i could use time off.

nothing but overpriced shops in town, so saturday, we took off to go check out the other mission, the one outside of town, la purisma. state runs it, and it has been fixed up, unlike all the other missions in the california chain, that are dilapidated and still owned by the church.

we'd been there before, and figured, it would be something different to do, and to take pictures of. i guess we were there for an hour or so. the day got hot, and my head started to hurt. and there were so many bugs, probably due to the tractor cutting the grass in the field. birds were having a 'field' day then.

i just needed a swig of water, and it was past lunch time, so we packed it up, and started back to the town. idyllic grass-covered hills. sixty-five mile an hour speed limit, so we were cruising.

closer to town, speed limit changed to forty-five. out the corner of my eye, i saw a small sign, that said, simply, "car show," low to the ground.

i didn't exactly skid, but made a quick decision, and took the next right pretty quick. i can safely say, my stupid car handles a bit better, than my better half's astro van.

anyway, we wound through a little neighborhood, and came upon a park, and figured maybe there, would be a car show. turning in the drive, spotted this car first, and we both giggled. my better half says i have an amazing ability to find random car shows, anywhere i might be.

i was not expecting a car show this weekend. knowing i was running short of time...better half was already telling me i needed to eat...we started taking pictures right away.

someone told my better half they were going to be ending the show within a half an hour. told him they'd done everything proper, filed with the chamber of commerce, pulled permits; they were promised advertising. all they got was that little sign. no one showed up to see the cars. ended up being a club meet-up. one car from san diego, others from northern california.

someone else wondered if we'd been to the show out in lompoc? no, didn't know about that or we would have skipped the mission--would have skipped the mission, if we'd noticed the sign on the way out there.

small number of extraordinary cars. it was actually a desoto club, but there were a few chryslers mixed in. i suspect chrysler was part of desoto or was it the other way around, at some point?

posting this one, since it was unlike any of the others, though, all of them there were quite unique, a sample of rare cars, covering the nineteen thirties through sixty.

promised to show a few here, if there were any good shots. so give me a few days.

back to work tomorrow...