1951 chevy deluxe
here’s a bright light on a cloudy day. it’s really, really orange. like fire. like fluorescent. it cuts through the gloom. it’s a fuckin’ beacon in the dark. everything is more drab because of it. i loved it.
and then it drizzled on it, and it kept on burning bright.
shoes on the wire above it, though you don’t really notice the dirty, dull white things so small in this shot, the car keeps your eyes’ attention.
1949 chevrolet deluxe
i saw a flyer the other day about a fundraiser for yet another person that had passed away. i asked my better half if he was interested in going as we had nothing else going on on a sunday afternoon. he said sure and got his camera ready and picked out his lenses to use for the day.
It had been gloomy and wet most of the week, and there was a chance of showers. the show didn’t start till ten; we left about ten-thirty, heading north to east los angeles.
about the time we hit the 710 freeway, it started to rain. decided to wait it out and get some shopping done at the costco off of firestone boulevard. What a mess that parking lot was, jam-packed with people looking for places to park, the lanes very tight together, and blocked off for construction. I’ve never been to this location, but I got lucky and turned left, finding a spot at the very end of the lane, but not before pissing off an old guy with a handicap hangtag. he was thinking he could make two-hundred and seventy degree turn into that angled space going the wrong way, and with other cars aleady in the aisle sharking for spaces. I could see he was calling me a bitch when his lips moved. i already had three or four cars honking behind me, so i don’t know why he thought that would be a smooth move. i did not realize what a primo spot it was, being so near the entrance, and fully expected him to key the car while we were inside.
by the time we were done, the rain stopped, so we continued on to the car show.
we parked across the street, at a market, and walked over. better half went to the main table to make a donation and give our sympathies for their loss.
clouds looming, we got busy taking pics right at the front entrance of the parking lot. better half was wanting to shoot the same cars, and we kept getting in each other’s shots, so i moved a bit farther down the row.
it wasn’t long before it started to sprinkle. we continued to shoot. it was a tiny lot, just two rows of cars. when it did rain a little harder, we covered or put away our cameras to wait it out, as they aren’t waterproof. it started and stopped several times, not lasting longer than ten minutes. we got wet, but the cameras not so much.
I briefly took a break to watch someone trying to leave, in a old chevy truck. the way they were sardined in there, it was iffy on how he would get out without taking off a fender or two, save for a lot of help from the other guys.
The owner of this car came over to ask if there was someplace he could see a picture of his car, so i handed him my card and took a few more shots as I was leaving just in case the initial shot didn’t come out. nice old deluxe.
i think it was fixing to rain again, so we packed up and headed over to whittier, our old hood, for a late lunch.
what do you say to a cousin, that you haven’t really talked to since you were a kid?
well, i only think about it now, as i heard she’d had cancer. she had rung the bell, that it was in remission only a year ago, but it had come back. she’s done with chemo, there’s no point. she has weeks to months left.
i’m pretty sure i can remember seeing her twice since moving to the west coast in the seventies: once when her family came to visit my mum the following year, going to local amusement parks; and again a few years ago, on a trip through gettysburg, pa, when i traveled to a museum near to where she worked. my bro called several other family members to track down her number—he is a social butterfly, and can search out people from his past and just start talking up a storm, as if no time has passed. we met up with her for lunch. for me, as ever, it was a bit awkward, since i’m quite the opposite. she’s family, but a stranger mostly.
she seemed suspicious why we had contacted her, though my brother just said we were nearby, we’re family, so hello.
she’s closer to my sister’s age, so about all i can remember from my childhood is visiting my aunt’s home, playing the organ piano there, and sneaking to my cousin’s room and looking at her record collection, especially elton john’s album captain fantastic cover. it was so weird at the time. very hieronymus bosch to a kid.
i just don’t know that it would matter after all this time. and she will be just a memory in one of my mom’s photo albums.
armando is one of a very few car owners that will stop and chat with me, even if i look busy, or pissed, or whatever you want to say my face looks like. i'm not pissed. usually just have sun blazing into my eyes. hate wearing sunglasses taking pictures.
he usually drives a thirty-nine pontiac.
this show, i see him, but i dont' see the pontiac. he walks over to say hi, shakes hands with my better half and myself, and points out this bel air. oh, and that they've made their plaque fancier.
never did mention whether this is his other car, or if he got rid of the pontiac.
this is nice, but i see them all the time. pontiacs are harder to come by.
still have more from this show to work on. only stayed three or four hours, but still took over thirty gigs of pictures; pretty typical. stayed until my side started hurting more than i could ignore it. doctors don't know what it is; i'm thinking i've pulled some muscles walking my kid's dog, or is it him walking me? i can think of no other reason. took some follow up xrays, and the cracked rib seems to be healed.
anyway, was out and about today, side still hurting. stopped by the classic oldies toy drive show, so i'll stop with this one for a few days, and post some of those up.
walked up to the post office and took a longer way, several blocks out of the way home, and just started feeling dizzy. no reason. made it home, and still feeling wobbly and overheated. maybe too much sun today?
i do like the rainbow building in the background, so i may be over posting it too much lately. lots of color and texture of the building playing off the silkiness of the cars is just enticing to me.
parking a fleetline in front of it, just makes it better. love me a fleetline...
i'm getting a little lazy recording which car belongs to which club. i jumped around from one side of the street to another, from car to car, so even if they are parked in groups, i don't necessarily remember which. and then some cars don't have a plaque anyway.
i'm not seeing who this car might belong to, but i do remember a guy asking where he could see the pictures, because it is his "pop’s" car.
i shot the back end too, but i'm not too jazzed about it.
still need to decide if i like any of the pictures i shot of armando's bel air...
most shows we go to have a posted drive in time and start time. but the host club is usually there beforehand to set things up, traffic, trophies, organizing stuff.
that means, to us, anyway, that there is always a guarantee of something to shoot if you get there early.
start time this morning was seven. my better half looked at the time stamp from last year's photos, which said about six-thirty, and it was already getting busy.
so this time, we figured the sun rises by six now, we'll get there before that. we did. about five-thirty. still dark. stores closed. laundry mat didn't even open until six. supposed to rain, but not until afternoon.
drove down the street, just to make sure the no parking signs were up, and that the thing hadn't been cancelled. they were, so we went back around and parked in the parking lot. we chatted about nothing, watched the sun come up, the lady open the laundry, and several women arrive with loads of wash with their choice of machines.
probably about six-thirty we heard the first sputtering engines in the area, and then a few cars arrived. finally. so we got out, unpacked and shot the few that were there.
then the clubs started to show up slowly. originals got there first. clouds came and went, and came back again. we had missed the sunrise, but the skies were making up for it.
weather was the way, i wish it would be all summer. not too hot, not too cold.
saw many people and many cars we've seen before. took time to chat with people, since the light was interesting, and not quickly changing to full sun.
i don't remember seeing this car ever. nice to be suprised once in a while. really beautiful. i caught it before they moved it. and then, only moved it to face the opposite direction, to mirror another packard behind me.
i liked this shot, with the sky, and from this direction, with few other cars, and definitely not the lightpost in the way.
hood ornaments. love'em.
this one is apparently known as a flying goddess. seems more like a nekked superwoman.
last shot of the day. an old memories car sitting in the parking lot.
pretty car. guess if you're hosting the party, you can't compete for the prizes, right?
another from the old memories show. this guy was honoring his father, a veteran of WWII. he's there in the flag case, in front of the car. no, no, just a picture and a flag, not the ashes.
he can order a print here.
getting late again...how does that keep happening? gotta get some sleep, gotta get stuck with a big needle tomorrow. i think i'm stalling going to bed...maybe morning won't get here so soon...
i had a whole story in my head earlier, and now it's completely flown from my head. so i'll just let this picture do the talking.