what's up?

wasn't there

early morning shot of this burb. owner talked to me later in the morning, and i took a few more shots, but i like the lighting better here. even if the hood is slightly popped open, and it's not in the other pictures. at least it isn't fully up...that's what she said.

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two equally excellent car shows occured this past sunday. but i didn't go to either one this year. not the first ones i've missed this year, but most of the others i was out of state, so...it's just been an upside down year, and other priorities are taking over.

i couldn't decide which of the two shows to go to, so chose neither. probably more importantly, with family in town (better half's, and mine), family should come first sometimes.

the previously mentioned invasion of a dozen or so relatives started friday; most left on sunday. left the two-month old baby behind for a few days to give the mother a break and more time with the two-year old. baby sleeps most of the day, so easy peasy. sister-in-law is gramma, so it's her problem, on top of helping with her own mother. i'm out of practice with dealing with babies, so most i've done is give it a bottle.

the birthday party was a success on saturday, too much food, huge cake. i still managed to sneak out to legg lake for los boulevardos' cruise to the lake show and bbq for a couple of hours beforehand. those pictures coming soon.

went to bed with a stomach ache, too much food, too much sun. slept in sunday. i could have gone to a show, but still felt, meh, so decided to take it easy, and went south to hang with my bro and parents. just stayed in oc for the night.

so here i am looking at my calendar for the next show, looking for flyers...maybe i'll just catch up with pictures i have for this weekend.

god's eye

went to the viejitos' annual car show yesterday. got there just after the club showed up, about six am.

parked under a tree, and a bird promptly crapped on my window. is that a sign?

went over and started shooting the line up. this was the first one i shot.

i actually talked to quite a few people during the four and a half hours i was there. i've promised to post pictures of a few in particular.

i'm hoping this belonged to the viejitos member who was first to greet me, and asked about where he might see it. said it was the cream color one, but i have two in my files, that are very similar, about that same location.

i believe he said his had the doll in front of it, but that was later in the day. i have that one too, but the angle i shot it, and the doll, isn't my favorite. but i thought i could see this god's eye in the window of that one, and it was in this one, so guessing the same car.

mind the gap

i walked around the lot several times last week. deciding which cars to shoot, looking for opportunites to get the shot i wanted, looking at how the light was hitting the car. mostly looking for gaps in the herds of pedestrians plowing through the aisles.

tried shooting this car from the other side a bit earlier, trying to get the sunset behind it. not too many people passing by on that side at the time.

but then the owner walked into the shot and proceeded to open the door and stand there talking on his cell phone.

i have several frames showing his back side. i had just let the camera keep doing it's exposures, figuring he would move along, and i could just dump those shots he was in. i mean, the sun was moving, and sunset, the light really changes quickly.

but it was an extended convo, so i gave up and moved to an impala convertible on the this side of the car, just out of the frame to the left.

shot that car, with the sun hitting the hood and the plastic seat covers (wtf?), then turned around, and took shots of the fleetline from this side. pretty sure the owner was still standing in the open driver's side door on the phone, but from down low, i can ignore him entirely.

still some blurriness, because people are still walking nearby, and it picks them up in the reflections, but i don't care. at sunset, with long exposures, it becomes more about capturing the feel of the moment, not perfection.

after eight

1936 packard eight

went uptown for dinner. traffic was slightly lighter today, even in spite of passing a rear-ender with ambulance on scene on the freeway—there was no backup of lookyloos for a change, everyone just kept on moving on. people must already be staying home and/or traveling for the holiday.

spent the evening with my better half, talking about his day, my day, this, that, and nothing.

back home, it's almost nine, and i haven't started playing with pictures yet, and not sure i want to stay up to work on one. i am waiting on some laundry, so maybe...

i've shot this packard most everytime i see it. i think this one is my favorite so far. probably just that sun flare that's doing it for me this time.

baby blu

chevy truck

two hours into my friday trek home, and i had to stop to peeeeee. the daily drive is getting ridiculous, but i do not know what can be done about it, except to look for a new job and/or work from home, stay at my mom's more often or kick my kid and his wife outta my condo. and then, there's my better half, who is the whole reason i make the trip anyway. god damn, i must really like him, to put myself through the drive.

sitting in a random pizza joint, already off the soda wagon after two days, drowning my sorrows, after relieving my kidneys.

supposed to rain this weekend. really hope it does. thinking i need to upgrade my website to a newer version of service...already a couple versions behind. not looking to redesign it, just to catch up with the customer support, and editing and statistics apps. just will take time that i don't want to spend to figure it out and do it. probably would be required to use the platform's template vs my design. maybe it's a good time to tweak tweakedpixels anyway.

i've seen this truck many times before. liked it sitting here, in the shade, while the owner chatted nearby with his friends.

toy drove

1954 chevy bel air

i wasn't feeling up to it, but i went anyway. whittier narrows isn't far from home, so i figured if i got too wobbly, i could just head out. better half had stuff to do around the house, so he didn't go. waited until one to head over, hoping to miss the worst of midday heat. cool enough in the shade.

many times, if i just get out of the house i do perk up. tell myself just go with it, and i'll be ok. and so i was. vague stomach ache, but i ignored it.

brought a toy for the donation pile. looked like they had a good haul. wasn't hungry, so skipped the free meal they were trading for it.

saw a few guys i've gotten to know a little over the last few years. one offered me a fresh cooked hamburger, but wasn't brave enough to attempt a hamburger yet.

one wandered over and asked when i was going to send him pictures from some past show i'd promised to send him. he said the whittier evening cruise, which i argued i'd never been to. i run into him often, so i'll have to look through other whittier shows to see if it will jog my memory. would help a lot if he would just send me an email.

speaking of email...i've responded to several emails lately, and never hear back. guessing they're going to junk mail. i always answer, one way or another, so please do look there.

the turnout was fine, but the location was sort of dusty. nearby fields, especially where i parked were really very dusty, not good on a windy day for cameras. i feel like i have a fine layer of dirt all in my pores.

i took a bunch of pictures. still missed some, due to people being in the way, or too tightly parked or just a bad angle in relation to the sun. that's ok, i've seen many of them before, and hopefully will again.

when i was about done, went out to the street, to shoot this car and the fleetline in front of it. had to wait for a group of kids to move, or actually be told to get out of the way.

couple of guys nearby. one says he's seen my pictures before online, thinks they're great—thanks! other guy was the owner of this bel air. said it was rare because the spare wheel and cover were real original to the car, and that most are recent additions. he's owned this since ninteen ninety seven, i think he said.

he asked the usual questions, including when they might be posted. he asked, so i told him i'd post his tonight. promise kept...what do you think?

hump day

1947 chevy fleetline

happy hump day. weekend is coming, but not soon enough.

another from the dia de los muertos show. a viejitos car, i think; not sure which chapter. i wouldn't mind driving one of these, if only it would fit in the garage.

like the reflection of the car next to it too.

so begins toy drive season. i have mixed feelings. i've grown into a real grinch at xmas time over the last dozen years, bitching and moaning about the overflowing decorations around this house, and how early the stores start each year. one year, when i still lived in my condo, everyone just left me alone, i didn't buy anything, and woke up xmas morning when i felt like it...and i was perfectly happy about it.

i had even put up a small, live tree carcass and threw decorations on it, from when my kids were little, from a time long ago and far away, and no one ever even saw it except me, not even my better half. i do like the scent of the trees, and it reminds me of growing up back east; missing the forests.

i go to the toy drives to shoot the cars as usual, but i'm not going to bring a gift; i only grudgingly and with much difficulty shop for my own family...i hate shopping...but i will donate cash. i have to trust that the clubs do use it for a good cause and not just a round of beer for everybody.

48 fleetmaster

1948 chevrolet fleetmaster

beautiful chevy early in the morning. the whole reason for getting out there early.

so i am writing from a random hotel in yreka, ca, on the second night of my road trip to seattle. driving a twelve foot rental truck full of junk, back up to my daughter, to get it out of her dad's garage and storage unit.

i have my mom along for the ride. somehow, she's traveled the world while my dad was in the navy, but has never been north of san fran. so will be visiting the space needle and pike market, and try to avoid all the meth heads that stand on the corners near the tourist spots.

last year, when i was there with my better half, they were actually sizing me up to steal something, not noticing my six-five, big man glaring at them. he's not with us this trip, so will probably park closer and not walk so far with her.

first night only got as far as los banos, due to a later start than expected. had just finished loading the truck, turned the ignition and noticed the check engine light on. waited an hour to connect with rental assistance, only to be told it would be ok to drive. better safe than sorry, but seriously? the light stayed on as far as corning. truck driving fine, so whatever.

saw a beautiful old chevy drive past on the main street of los banos as i was waiting to turn to gas up the truck. didn't have a camera ready quick enough.

i've passed a number of old cars on trailers driving on the freeway. saw an old rusty fleetline heading southbound, to a new home.

anyway, driving a truck is tedious, but i'm having fun. have made it up and over a couple of mountains so far. really loving getting to greener elevations, and away from the browner hills of central cali.

going to spend a few days there, then flip a coin to decide which route we take back. i've never driven down the northern coast, so maybe that way. drive out to the pointy tip of the state and head south.

would drive to vancouver if there was time, but probably not.

time to get some sleep. tired of sitting and my hands are sore from gripping the steering wheel.

poltergeist

1949 chevrolet deluxe

the cruise was pretty free form. the invite/announcement said all types and models were welcome.

makes me imagine tangina, the short, old woman psychic in poltergeist, calling to the spirits, "Cross over children. All are welcome. All welcome. Go into the Light. There is peace and serenity in the Light." at the entrance booth, letting any and all cars into the park.

there was a newer model mustang parked next to this lovely car. i cropped it out. at least i had a little room to do so.

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back in la casa de big pixel pusher. good to be here. thought i had another week, but i only have four days, then i'm off on a road trip. so i've spent the morning making some plans. just gonna wing it on the way back, not on an airplane, in a car. no specific destinations, just going to drive, and stop when i find something interesting.

taking my mom for the ride. not sure that she can do a hell of a lot, but she's never been to washington state, so it could be fun. she isn't helping to decide on where to go on the way back, so i'll probably just flip a coin and go.

somewhere near the raynbow

1957 chevrolet bel air

got up slightly early, and drove up to the viejitos show. wanted to beat the heat of the day, knowing this one is on pavement. at one point, some clouds blocked the sun, which gave some relief for about half an hour.

i am noticing that shows that used to be packed, even this early, and are more slow to fill lately. great for uncrowded photography, but the real bulk of cars start showing up about the time i have to pack it up and go, either because its too hot or because i need to find breakfast or i'll faint.

guessing there are more parties going on these summer nights before the shows, and people are busy dealing with the aftermath. or they don't care about parking with their groups, since they figure one member can just save spaces for the whole club. not fair to that one guy, or anyone else who understand roll-in time.

there were plenty of cars here early, the club members themselves have awesome cars, so i could have just spent three hours with them and be happy.

found this one in the back parking area, where the bicycle guys were setting up. nice car, interesting little mural on the garage doors, and no people in the way. so yay.

then back out to the main lot, where i noticed the viejitos' president, raynbow, riding around on a bike, directing cars and people. just not something i'm used to seeing him do everyday. most shows he's sitting under a tent.

i think it's a good, sharp picture of him, if only i had caught him looking my way, but then again, i am already too shy about taking shots of people, i snuck this shot in from a row away.

raynbow