tally my bananas

i thought this ’56 packard carribean was different. hadn't seen one before, and i thought the color combo was nice, with a creamy off-white, a turquoise stripe and black on the bottom. i liked the way the sun was hitting it. unfortunately, had to crop out a bit on the left and right — people moving through the image too much on the left, and i didn't want to bother nuking them out of the picture. also cropped the owner in her chair out on the right, but now it's ready for an 8x10 anyway.

i was out of town for the past week, in las vegas, on business. this is the third year in a row i've gone there, and will probably end up there again next year. so over it.

need i say that as one who doesn't bother to gamble, doesn't drink or smoke, i find it a very unglamorous place to be.

always entertaining is seeing what the cat dragged in to the casinos very early in the morning: shit-faced women, who tried to keep up with the boys and didn't, hopefully being escorted to their own rooms by men who know them; men and women who didn't get lucky at all, but were all dressed up with no where to go; very large people in town to have fun for a few days, looking far too serious and planted at one slot machine for hours on end; a man on a gurney with a bucket in his lap, being rolled away by casino security; chicks in underwear dancing on a stage, while drunk guys howl, as if they had a chance; people on the bridges selling water for "juan dolor"; people slapping decks of cards and trying to hand you pictures of naked women that you can "call any time for a good time," who jump if you snap your fingers back at them; the unmarked planes that take off for area 51...oh i could go on and on.

there is beauty if you look for it. the patterns, textures, and colors are all around, day and night, changing with the light. if you were up before the sun, after the riff raff has gone back to their rat holes, and just wait for it, the sunrise coming up over the mountain range is spectacular to watch. especially from a jacuzzi tub. 

mean green machine

this 51 chevy was in the side lot at the garden grove main street show. it seemed more crowded than it had been recently, and there was an inordinate number of spectators in chairs around the judges' table.

turned out that it was elvis day, and they were waiting for an impersonator to come out and put on a show. great for me, fewer people milling around the cars. if you look closely, there is an elvis on the balcony, not sure if it's the guy having a peek, or just a dummy — is there a difference?

my friend with the cane, at the ruby's show later that evening, said it's always elvis day in garden grove. viva garden grove.

purple flames, purple flames

this old ford was sitting in the back corner of the small lot near the judges' table at ruby's in whittier. usually i don't shoot anything back there because people are sitting in front of the cars or they just aren't that interesting. made an exception since this was so clean and no one was around for whatever reason. was just very shiny and with the sun beginning to set and the chevy next to it, it was perfect.

september skies

i was looking back through my collection, and found this one from last september. its only been about a year that i've really been taking these type of shots, and i can see improvement in the how i do them now, but back then i was shooting just about any car i saw at a show, mostly from low points of view. i still do shoot low, but don't always shoot so many cars.

i pulled this one because its the time of year i am looking forward to: the weather changes to fall; supposedly it will get cooler; stormy weather, or just generally more cloudy; the sun sets earlier until they f**k with the clock...so many more possibilities to add interest to an image without even trying.

california summer sun is pretty boring in comparison. harsh shadows, clear skies, hot hot hot.

i love this shot, catching the setting sun on the clouds, and the color spectrum shift, the further the clouds are from the sun.

this time of year also means time is running out on many of the shows, as they wind down in october, to avoid the cold and the rain.

i don't think i've seen this particular truck again at this show, but maybe it's just because i'd walk past it now.

gonna be a busy week; hoping to post some stuff, but not making any promises either.

double-double

i had a good time at this show in garden grove. was stopped several times by people asking about photography and talking about the cars. i am getting a little better at chatting, though i am always going to be better at listening, and some of the stories they tell really are interesting. at least i was at this show early enough, that i wasn't watching the light change too much while i listened.

check it out. love the back fins and lights on these older cadillacs. and i saw two of these on the same day, in different cities. weather was perfect for hitting the car shows on this evening...had really cooled off by and there was a cool breeze.

this one was up at the end of the street, not next to any other cars, so i had free reign to take shots from all sides. i couldn't figure out who the owner was; there was an old guy with a polishing cloth, but there was also a younger woman with a kid nearby. i finally decided by listening to their discussion that this was her inheritance, but gramps still got to play with it. they were trying to tell the kid about taking care of it and it would be his some day. at least that's what i overheard while minding my own business. some of the things i hear...sometimes i just pick up and move to another car.

after this show, i headed up to the ruby's show in whittier. i cut up the surface streets through garden grove, caught the freeway, exited and cut through santa fe springs, where i spotted the second one of these 59 caddies at a random gas station. and later found it at the ruby's, in what's become the cadillac aisle, in the back corner.

desoto de nada

this was at the enderle center classic car show last week. i'd never seen one, and this one was just a fine example.

from the side, it looked like a lot of other cars of its time, so the thing that really attracted me was the front. i guess its pretty nondescript, but i liked it. i like the lettering, the way the headlights stick out, even has a hood ornament, so i'm a happy camper.

bubblegum

this was practically parked front and center at the whittier uptown show, at one of the main intersections. was hard not to notice it. of course the girly girls liked this one, just because it was pepto pink, but since i'm no girly girl, i liked it just because it was cool.

with those teeth up front, it does look like it could take a good bite out of you, if you don't move out the way.

i need to figure out what kind of car this is, for my own info. you'd think by now, i'd recognize them, since i have a few in my collection...

there was a similar one, but a different year, in blue, just a bit down the street, just as stunning, but without flames. they could have been a set. i'll have to post that one sometime.

plain & simple

there are some cars i just haven't taken a picture of before. reasons, as i've mentioned before, usually include the hood being up, bad lighting, poor location, too crowded, can't get a good angle, etc. this is one of those never see it in a good position/lighting situations. i rarely see it, but i don't think i've done more than shoot macro shots of the pinstriping on the front and back.

i remember there were a lot of people on this evening. this wasn't the original spot this one was parked at either. i was about done for the evening when it was mentioned to me that a friend's friend would like me to shoot his car. well, i didn't know who it was, but he eventually found me and asked.

so now it was here, in one of the drive-in spots. probably still would like to take it again in some other location, under different lighting conditions, but hopefully, if he's been patient enough to keep checking, he'll see it now.

royal burger boy

this stunning car was at bob's big boy in downey a few weeks ago. caught it as the sun was beginning to set. just a gorgeous ride. not a blem anywhere.

i also like that i got a decent shot of the giant hamburger boy in the frame as well. he's actually kinda creepy/scary if you think like a little kid, kind of like the marshmallow guy in ghostbusters.

lady dragon

stopped at the enderle center show in tustin today. thought it would be the typical weekly bunch of cars. apparently it was an annual (?) classic car show. roads shut down, had to park down the road a bit, fireboys with their trucks there. but really, about the same number of cars that show on the regular show days, only with some that i've never seen before, and a much bigger to-do for a raffle and trophy tent. couple restaurants open and free haircuts from a salon in the center. fun to be had by all.

was there just before it officially started, so had to stand for the singing of the star spangled banner while a hook and ladder firetruck raised an enoromous flag. they should have turned the truck the other way, so the wind would have blown it out, instead of back over the ladder. whatever. that was followed by pledge of allegiance, and several speeches by show officials.

anyway, this was an extraordinary car. i believe i heard the owner saying it had originated from a childhood dream. he'd had it custom built/crafted to his specifications. can't remember what he said was under the hood, but i think it was the drive train from some other standard classic model car.

what caught my eye, was the hood ornament, of course. other details included the lady dragon scultped on the gas cap, as well as dragon-themed dashboard elements, and on the center medallion of the steering wheel.

the owner handed me a business card, which says he's an artist. so i am not surprised by the craftsmanship or the imagination that went into this unique car.