what's up?

maybe i'll go

i haven't been out and about much when i'm not at work. just have other things i've been dealing with, and just haven't.

there's a cruise tonight, and a show tomorrow that i'm thinking about going to, for a change.

i was out at pomona last weekend, and i noticed my tripod is a bit wonky, and one of my cameras definitely is out of commission. camera i think is still under warranty, so i need to look into sending that in. the other camera needs the sensor cleaned, which i can do at home.

when i find myself looking back at years' old pictures for something to work on, i know i need to go out and find something new, or a fresh look at an old car.

so maybe i'll go, out to covina before it gets dark, and shoot some cars until sunset. better half isn't going, so i won't be out late. EDIT: didn't make it. :(

now to motivate myself to get my shit together and go.

pic above from the bomb club show at santa anita. that was a fun show. i overheated before i could get to all the cars. really need to head out early to summer shows, so they don't kill me.

holy crap

i usually don't go so long between posts, especially when i'm not on vacation or otherwise out of town, away from the puter. but i'm just soooo tired after busy days at work and sitting in traffic going home.

actually, i did work on a picture on monday, but after finishing it, decided i didn't like it so much. i have a few other angles on that particular car, so i'll try one of those another day. sorry ernie.

this is one of the solitos' cars, out on the curb by foursquare church last month. i sort of like all their cars i caught out there, so i suppose i'll get around to posting them one by one, eventually. everything's eventual. just need to find enough time.

o xmas tree

i'm trying to ignore all the activity going on behind me. relatives in town are helping my mother-in-law put up the tree and decorations.

there is a mini skating rink with little figures spinning around on the "ice" and the music loop playing keeps making me think the ice cream man is driving outside the window in circles, instead of his twice an evening pass-by. i'm wearing headphones, but i can still hear it faintly.

anyway, the lens flares through these trees are a more appealing sight for my xmas celebration. and i could really get in the xmas spirit if there was a car like this waiting under the tree for me. it's just stunning.

my better half seems really interested in this kind of car, and he's mentioned a few he's seen for sale at shows. he can dream, right? no where to put one even if he could buy one, and i doubt they fit in newer garages anyway.

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thinking i'll go to the old memories show tomorrow at bruce's. went there once before, but since it's the toy drive, maybe there will be more to see this time.

next saturday, the whittier xmas parade marches irritatingly close, down the main street here. usually seems to be several old cars participating and lining up nearby, so thinking as long as they and all the school marching bands are going to wake me up, i might as well go out and take some pictures.

then there are a couple of shows to choose from in the afternoon. i wanna say there is somewhere we have to go in the evening, but i'm not finding it on my calendar. stupid iphone. maybe it's on sunday evening.

and i'm kind of craving ice cream now.

persistance

second show from sunday, out in la puente. hot there, few clouds. decent size parking lot cordoned off for what was hopefully a good show. i got there around start time, maybe a little early. there were already vendors set up, and some cars, a couple of clubs, with my favorite old cars.

this chevy was out in the middle by itself, so i took advantage of the situation. in the midst of different angles, the owner came over and introduced himself. said he'd met my better half the previous weekend at the bomb club show, which i missed. said he'd been given a card, had checked out both of our websites, said he'd sent an email, and was wondering about the pictures my better half might have taken and possibly promised to share with him.

well, i told him, thanks for his interest. if i receive an unexpected email, i mostly assume they talked to my better half and forward them over. he's been quite busy, and if he said he'd send pics, he will when he gets time to do it. i think the guy heard me over the speaker system playing loud music.

anyway, i kept on taking pictures. he came back over later, and said, "gonzalez?" he was remembering my name from my card, then rattled off my better half's website, and was just getting half of mine off the tip of his tongue. yes, he really had checked out our sites.

well, if you own this car, i liked this shot, and hello. my better half will have to sift through about a thousand shots from that day to see if he has your car there, so please be patient.

also, one of the volunteer security guys thought it was his car. showed me a picture of what he said was his car, same make, model and color, that he'd left at home. said he was kind of freaking that someone had stolen and brought it to the show.

there and back again

so my weekend was spent on an unplanned trip to washington state. flew up to move my daughter back to cali. packed a rental truck with her stuff and filled her beater car with aquariums filled with her tarantula collection, a frog, two snakes, two geckos, and i think one with big roaches in it. i mostly drove the car, thinking i'd be better equipped to push it up the mountains without frying the engine. really hoped i didn't have to brake quickly and have spiders fly out of the tanks.

now her car, which was a perfectly good used car when she left, has been quite neglected in the maintenance department. it needs a new catalytic converter. the rotors are warped, the brakes, sort of not right; if i stepped too hard or fast on the brakes, the whole car would shimmy real bad. let me tell you, i didn't think it would make it up the mountains, nor did i think i'd be able to stop it going down the other side. magic mountain roller coasters have nothing on that trip. big roller coasters make me yawn, but this was a white knuckle ride. for two days. the things people do for their kids...they are always your baby, no matter how old, really is true, i guess.

anyway, i hope to never have to make that trip again. i'm still tired, but i can unclench my hands now. j/k. got the chance to spend a lot of time with her. she's interesting, to say the least.

ruined my plans to attend the bomb club car show, which i had been looking forward to; fortunately, my better half did not get called in to work, and he went instead, somewhat to taunt me with images of the cars i was missing; can't blame him, i do the same when he can't go to shows with me. he had a good time, and everyone was very nice to him. the club guys even let him in early because they recognized him. thanks!

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here's one from early morning at the whittier uptown show. i think the owner was still sitting in it, and dropped it down when i set up my tripod. not a problem, shooting from this angle, you can't even see him. i think i'm just liking the black car against the red brick and wooden door.

dream on

sometimes, i like to imagine owning a car like this. i could cruise to work in style. and they're out there for sale. i could go to the bank and take out a loan and have something like this.

but then the bubble pops, and i remember, i don't have a garage to keep it in, or the knowledge of how to take care of it. and the insurance...and the gas. no, i'd have to get a second job just to enjoy the ownership, and never have time to drive it.

no, i'll live vicariously at the shows, taking my silly pictures. and appreciate all the work and beauty in these cars you guys bring to the shows. and post them here, and ask, did you see what i saw?

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

solito

i thought i broke my foot. been hurting for over a month, but for some reason really hurt this past weekend. kind of ruined plans of walking all over san francisco. my better half pretty much wouldn't let me hobble very far. we got down market, over to the ferry building, and to the bow and arrow thing. went to see that oz movie at the mall. but other than that, he pretty much kept me off my feet. imagine what you will.

anyway, i went to the doctor yesterday and had it x-rayed. got a call today, and was told, not broken, but perhaps an old injury had been aggravated. well. i don't remember hurting it before, so why is there a bone chip floating around, and one of the bones a bit out of place? so i'm supposed to soak my foot four times a day—won't my coworkers be so jealous that i'm soaking in it while i work. if only it was palmolive.

i guess i'll be taking it easy for a few weeks. i'm sure he won't let me go lifting my camera bag. and he'll be making me chug milk, so he won't have to do the i told you so about broken bones when i'm older.

anyone going to the show at chicano park? is it worth going? i've seen pics, so i would have to say yes. we're thinking of going next month. hope to see you there.

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here's one of the other shots i took at the midnight oldies show that i stopped at briefly a couple of weeks ago. it's nice from the other angle/other side, but i really like the clouds, so get over it.

shiny happy chevys

had the day off for the holiday. slept in late. started sifting through tax paperwork. went out for lunch. didn't really have an appetite, nor can i smell anything yet, with this stuffy nose.

good news...ordered a couple of hard drives, so i will be able to get back out and shooting pretty quick. going to riverside in a couple of weeks...hey gary, anything going on out there?

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last night i couldn't decide which car to post next, so asked my better half for his opinion. out of the handful of cars i showed him, he said post them all. right up there with asking he and my mom to help pick out a wedding dress...still left it up to me.

so flipped a coin and this is what you get. i like it anyways.

i would have it

favorite parking spot. check.

sun setting. check

reflections. check.

hood ornament. ooooohhhh. check.

pinstripes. check.

lots of chrome up front. check.

mary poppins...practically perfect in every way. check.