what's up?

memory lane

busy weekend. following a damn busy week at work. several twelve hour days. i'm way behind on playing with my pictures from recent shows. several people i talked to, so, as usual, i said i'd post their cars, so i'm behind on that. and i'm tired.

was out both days this weekend. i've had too much sun, and today, i'm really feeling it. and sore from pulling my bag and hauling my tripod around both days. standing up, squatting low, my legs are feeling it. it's a good sore. now i have another couple of very busy weeks, then a business trip to vegas. any car shows coming up, there?

went to oldies san fernando car show today. missed it last year...was sick as a dog at the time. i'd heard of a few other shows going on today, so had to pick one. knew it was going to be another hot day. can't stand the heat. can't wait for winter to come back.

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anyway, i'll start with this car from today in san fernando, since they sent a kid over to ask for my card. nice suburban. i've seen it before. caught here fairly early, sun still going up, making cars glow. this field was still pretty empty in the middle. cars were clustering along the fence, mostly by club. this one belongs to memory lane. memory lane was rather short this year...i vaguely remember a few more cars in previous years.

 

chrome and paint

the show last night at lowdown in uptown was fun. it was well attended, and drew so many classic cars, that the cops wanted to shut it down a few times for having an unauthorized car show.

i got my better half and went down there just when it was technically starting at five. only a few people inside, so actually could check out the artwork. the last couple of shows, it's been so jammed with people, i couldn't really appreciate the show. better half tried shooting a picture of me by my pieces, but i hate being in front of a camera, and just feel like a dork, and can't crack a smile. and he does a three shot burst with his little camera...and i'm supposed to hold still for all three shots. nope. i'm not sure if he got any worth keeping. whatever.

myself, i'm a big, shy, introvert, and just get very uncomfortable in a big crowd like that. instead, i can get behind the camera, and take advantage of the party goers' cars. we walked back to the house and got my cameras and headed back over. i can focus on the cars, and ignore the pack of people staring at me, and whatever i'm doing. not being a big old bitch, just coping.

anyway, i think this car belongs to the shop owners, so i'll start with that. best angle i could get, without standing out in the street, which wasn't closed...because it wasn't a car show, remember? thanks for letting me participate, and sorry for pestering you, to the point of just walking some pictures into the store to get an answer. the fun part of taking the pictures, is sharing them, so thanks for the opportunity.

dud

purposely drove out to the broiler yesterday. i'm in the mood to shoot, and was hoping there would be some cars in downey to help me with that.

i go there rarely anymore, mostly because i have farther to go after work, and just can't bear to sit in traffic that much longer. and the last four or five times i have decided to go, disappointed by how few cars are there. it used to be so packed, even the back lot was full, even when i got there early.

well last night, got there about five-thirty. only a handful of cars there for the "show." small group of regulars, and i wandered over to the few i've met before. they joked that they didn't remember my name, where have i been, etc.

they talked about another show going on at the same time. mentioned that at the show i used to go to off alondra, they had torn down the building and were putting in an in-n-out or something.

anyway, i give up. this show is off my list, not worth the stress of the traffic. i liked the cars that were there, but too far for too few. sorry.

spent an hour with what there was and bid it goodbye for wednesday night shows.

wishing this woodie wasn't next to the t-bird, but apparently the owners are buds, so oh well.

suburbia

i'm tired. servers at work never came back up today, and i've got rush jobs that i can't get to the files. so fingers to the temple...POW.

hopefully, the system will be up and running in the morning, so i can rush to meet the deadlines. yay. probably won't be able to sleep, my mind is racing. should have gone and walked my kid's dog today. he wears me down and out.

i'll just put this chevy up for the night and head to bed. let it speak for itself. nice car. wish the back window was closed.

olde wagon

so i skipped a small car show today. busy all week, and had things to do. like laundry. something to wear might come in handy sometime.

gotta get back out there, i don't have any stories to share that you'd care to hear. or maybe i'm just too tired to think right now.

planning to get up really early, before the butt crack of dawn and head to southgate tomorrow, for the azalea car show. always a good time. all the cars we like to shoot in one place. just need to be there before the sun comes up, and early sun, before the heat starts to evaporate the dew off the grass. then it's like a sauna.

haven't had time to work on my pictures all week, so i'll just pick a few to make up for it. how about i just post a few and just shut up?

nomadder what

stopped by original mikes yesterday, on my way to my parents' house. still hadn't made my dad his xmas taffy. it's his annual thing. first time i didn't have it ready for him on xmas day in like, forever. just ran out of time. figured i'd just make it at their house, it would be as fresh as can be.

i got there, and he had the idea in his head to use some of it to make popcorn balls. wtf. couldn't argue it out of him, so why not experiment.

i boiled up a double batch. he popped a bag of popcorn. burned it. he can't hear it stop popping, didn't notice the smell. so he did another, and i told him when to take it out.

i poured about half of the sticky tar into the bowl of popcorn. told him to let it cool a bit, so he doesn't burn his hands. typical guy, doesn't listen. he only waited a few minutes. then started shaping it into balls.

it worked in theory. it formed into balls, and held the shape. only when he was done did he realize he hadn't separated out the unpopped kernels.

the rest of the taffy, i pulled after it cooled off a lot. still not sure that it turned out as brittle as it should have been.  either way, brittle or soft, he usually ends up each new year with a dentist appointment to reglue a crown or two, and has been known to use super glue or epoxy to do it himself. but he wouldn't have it any other way.

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oh, and the lot was pretty full at original mikes. got there at almost one. lots of hoods up, so that winnows down the selection i'll bother with. this one had the hood up, and there was a group of people up at the front. so screw'em, i just pushed in on the part i like anyway, and ignored the parts i don't care about.

on 56, 57, 58, 59 chevys, it's all about the back end anyway. i'll shoot them, no matter what's going on up front.

shaggin’ wagon

getting ready to head over to the latin gents' monthly show. going to shoot some sunset pics for a change. then maybe dinner at disneyland. by myself. single-rider pass on a ride or two maybe. better half staying home playing with a camera, and then going to the market, supposedly.

hoping to get up early and drive out to pomona in the morning. doesn't look like rain at all. probably next week, when mooneyes happens.

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saw this wagon up at the end of the street at the old memories ela veteran's day show. was still getting shined up the first time i wandered past. fortunately, i went up and down the street a few times.

pretty car. not quite positive about the year. that's typical. sometimes, people actually send an email and let me know. sometimes, i won't even guess. 

green with touches of red—that's about as xmasy as i'm going to get. i think i'll print it out and hang it with others on my cube walls at work.

family affair

i've seen this wagon at a couple of shows now. i liked where it was parked here at the broiler, in a sea of chevys. was hard to get a clean shot of it, as there seemed to constantly be people ogling it. just had to wait patiently, and shoot quick to get it. 

need a ladder to get the glitter/airbrushed roof i suppose. i do like the pinstripe curlies on it.

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better half's birthday today. he doesn't want cake; pretty sure he wants pie... >:)

muy bueno

i've seen the famous bueno family impala several times now. another car that i just can't get enough of. so many details. airbrushing, etched chrome and pinstripes all over. can never get up high enough to shoot the roof of these kinds of things.

there's stephanie waiting patiently. i don't know her well enough to know what she's thinking, so i won't presume to guess. we pass each other at shows, and don't say much more than hello. i'm shy. she doesn't seem shy. so it's just me.

other people we ran into at this show expressed happiness that she was there, and getting out, making the effort to be out with people. i imagine it can't be easy.

saw her around the show later in the day, without a camera in her hand. that was unusual.

plain and simple

rather like when cars don't get all the bells and whistles that muck up the lines of the car.

last shot before i left the old memories show. sun was high and i was melting.

it is quite nice when the car is buffed to a fine shine. just don't like how it always captures my reflection as well as the lovely tripod.