big ass

garden grove main street show. i hadn't been in a few weeks. it didn't seem as busy as it usually is. why was the parking lot of one of the two colleges just off main street being patrolled now and no one allowed to park there? that's where a lot of overflow cars would park. hmmm.

well, i walked up and down main street and the one side street a couple of times. i got some really good shots of several impalas, fords, chevys, a mercury, but i thought i'd share this 1948 chevy fleetmaster with you first. i also walked by several that i keep wanting to shoot, but hoods are up, owners sitting in the way or the light just wasn't right...maybe another time.

i know the front is where all the action is, but this image just seemed more interesting, a story waiting to be told. maybe it was the ladies in their chairs keeping an eye on me – they belong with the truck hiding on the other side of this one, but i wasn't interested in their antique truck full of, i assume, fake fruits and vegies with an old timey feel, if its the one i'm thinking of.

and the flags add to the 4th of july feel, which is only appropriate this week too.

corvette summer 1

so, i'll post another picture today, as i suspect i'll be busy at work tomorrow, followed by a stop at the foothill ranch show.

spotted this 1960 corvette at the enderle center show a few weeks ago. i don't think i'd ever seen one before. the owner is pretty special parking it on the curb like that – make sure everyone notices it. only shot i have of it...the sun was out, i was wearing black, and it just got too hot to stay much longer after this one.

damn fine thirty-nine

so i stopped at the show at the peris on alondra last wednesday. what the hell was a power 106.7 booth doing at an oldies car show cranking out the shitty new music ultra loud doing there? i'm not that old, and i do listen to that station, but wtf, it doesn't belong at a show like this. when i got there, the car show people were playing some really good brian setzer, perfectly fine, even if not from the 50's. but damn if 106.7 wasn't playing the most inane music with no meaningful lyrics, just butt-thumping beat and singers that can't sing without a studio enhancement...geez.

anyway, this beautiful ‘39 chevy master deluxe was sitting in the corner of the aisle, sun hitting it just so. the owner was sitting at a table to the right, presumably collecting entrance/raffle fees(?) for the show. his buddies were giving him a hassle about an inflated ego, if his car ended up on my website. so here you go, don't let it float away with you.

orange you glad

so this one was just kind of a dare. the owner didn't think i could get the color of his car right; i guess most pictures don't catch the tangerine orange sparkle/glitter paint very well. it probably still is somewhat off, especially when you throw in the yellows from the sun setting behind me onto the paint.

i'm going to have to start carrying a swatch book so i at least have some reference for what the color should be.

roar of thunder

the sun was fading and the neon came on by the time i decided to shoot this bird. i had seen it earlier and hoped it would stay put until just this moment. perfect parking space, wedged into the corner handicapped space, without any other cars crammed in close by.

i'd never seen this particular model, nor a bird in not quite perfect condition. owners of these seem to be pretty anal about keeping them clean and just so. why is that?

_____

on another note, i've been running into some people that have seen me shoot their cars previously and wondering how come they can't find them here. some seem to even expect free pictures, or seem shocked by what i consider a pretty fair price for a print. makes me wonder what other photographers are doing to lower people's expectations so. please see a past post on why you won't find thousands of pictures just dumped here, or even on my flickr site.

i do try to work on cars that people particularly ask about, if i think the shot was any good, but i do have a full-time job doing real work, that really has been a time suck lately...staying extra hours trying to put a dent in the work load. then also trying to shoot as many shows as i can before it gets too hot outside, i've been slightly remiss in my daily postings.

and if you really do want a print, shoot me an email, we'll make a deal of some sort. i think i'll start asking for some type of deposit before going all out on images...i've got a couple people that were totally all about it, but then flaked on me. thanks guys. btw, i don't mean you, dave. 

it's only

while i liked this hot rod for it's plain hot rodness, it was the hood ornament that actually interested me at the time. i don't think she's the original ornament, or even from this model / make of car, but you can never tell what you'll find on these conglomerates of old cars.

something like this is pretty much what pops into my head when someone says they drive a hot rod: old radiator, exposed engine, flames on black paint...only diff here is that it has a mini truck bed in the caboose.

classics

so i was stuck at home all day on saturday because my car was in for service at the dealer's, and was without a computer to play with since thursday (long story, don't ask).

i got to the show at hooter's in el toro this morning. it was almost too warm to enjoy save for the cool breeze. i'm trying to horde up on pictures now, before summer really gets cookin' – i want to have plenty to work on during the hottest months, when i think i'll confine myself to evening shows.

while there were quite a few cars there, most already had their hoods up by 10:30 a.m.; you already know my opinion on that score. there were not so many of the older cars that i like, so i didn't stay too long. this pair of very nice oldies could very well have sat in the same lot way back when they were brand new.

the 1949 cheverolet deluxe is for sale, and i have the number if anyone wants it; the '48 plymouth special deluxe on the right was in pretty good condition too, but not for sale. parked next to the three decades of corvettes further down, i think this pair was far more interesting to look at and photograph – i used to want a corvette, so don't get me wrong, they're nice, but i'm kinda over them now.

out of curiousity, what is the difference between deluxe and special deluxe anyway? is it like the difference between a double-double and a double-double animal style? just that little something extra?

hammerhead

ah, so now i've done it. i've posted a car twice. perhaps you remember this one. back then i wished i had a better opportunity to shoot it; and here it was last week at the broiler. in the back lot. i took several shots of it, but for some reason i just liked this one.

i'm very busy this evening and this one was ready to go, so i hope it's all right with you.

(the lakers just won, i guess...neighbors are blowing off m-80s or something)

don't let the sun go down on me

i knew my evening plans were history tonight, when they asked me at work if i could drive out to brea to do someone else's press check at 3 pm...then it was delayed to 4, then 5, 5:30, 6... killed some time at brea mall, then got my car washed.

sucks, really. no laker game tonight, and fairly warm...guessing there was a better turnout tonight in downey than last week. the show i stopped at yesterday, at fuddrucker's in el toro, i literally, walked around the lot twice, and found absolutely nothing that i had to take a picture of; either i'd already shot it, the hood was up, or i just didn't like it. slim pickens.

anyway, here's a perfectly turned out 1950 pontiac silver streak i found last week in the back lot of the broiler. owners that do hang out back there mostly just ignore me and carry on their conversations with the adoring crowds, one of whom was inquiring about the skirt (is that the right term?) over the back wheels, and where he'd had them done. caught this picture in between the gathering people and also those infamous japanese tourists...arrrgggh.

i'd killed enough time in the front lot, wandered back here just in time to catch the sunset with it. nice.

wonka's ride

well, here's one-third of the weekend's signal hill show. clean? check. shiny? check. engine showing? check. at least there wasn't a hood to get in the way. such a rich purple, i can image willie would be right at home driving it around the factory.

it soon became one-half of the show, as a sweet 55 chevy wagon (i'll put it up soon) left just after i did – his chances of winning the raffle just went up.