got balls?

i'm plugged in to my ipad, watching old reruns on netflix, and zoning in on my pictures, headphones blocking out the world. family is in the background throwing up xmas all over the front room. mother-in-law does go a bit over the top, and she is putting the kids to work putting up the tree and wrapping a zillion lights on the poor thing. not little twinkly white lights; the fruity colored led things they have out now. pfft. sure it looks fine, but just too fruity. no particular theme this year. just seems to be traditional ye olde fashioned stuff. and balls. big ones.

so i actually took this shot a couple of years ago, over at enderle plaza. i remember taking it. guy didn't get the clue to close the hood, so i didn't shoot the front, but really couldn't pass by the back end. lots of circles going on. they come in all sizes. just like the balls on the damn tree.

oooooooohhhhhhhh yeah

looking back through some favs. forgot about this one. from the viejitos show in fullerton. not sure i remember correctly, but it might belong to raynbow; if not, definitely one of the other viejitos. what wonderful cars they have, and what wonderful cars show up at their show. looking forward to their show next week. assuming they're collecting toys for xmas. was so crowded last year.

never happy this time of year, heading into the holidays. doing the usual ping pong between family and family. better half staying here with his mom; his sister's family coming down from northern california. i'm going to my bro's for thanksgiving. driving my parents there. don't trust my dad driving. drives his nissan like its a porsche. going to have to pry his keys out of his hands sometime. truth is, he admitted he doesn't like driving at night so much, so he isn't fighting me driving too much. just can't wait to sit in traffic. not.

random observations

i walked uptown last saturday, looking for some dinner. better half had to work all day. had been raining off and on the last couple of days, so i took my umbrella. i mostly use one of those long black ones, with a handle like a walking cane. makes me imagine that i'm looking for russian defectors to poke in the leg with the sharp tip, if you know the kind i mean.

i got about a block from the house, when it started raining pretty well. moment of hesitation, deciding whether to go back and get my car, or just keep on going. always loved walking in the rain when i was a kid, and it wasn't falling hard enough to stop me, so i kept going. only lasted about five minutes anyway.

saw a few odd things on my trip:

• a guy riding a beach cruiser, but it sounded like a motorcycle; he had a radio strapped into a basket on the back playing the sounds of a harley
• a pimped out, low rider 56/57 chevy with the spare tire cover on the back
• two women knocking on the door of the mortuary, as if they would be keeping evening hours, but no one was there; the older woman on the cell phone, presumably calling for an appointment, at least i imagined

i just notice weird things sometimes, when i'm not tuned out, noticing colors and textures, and thinking that whatever would make an interesting picture.

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this nice chevy bomb was from the whittier show this past august. parked over by the tattoo parlor, the weird gift/pinstriped furniture store, and pizza place. surprised that group wasn't standing in front of the bar, just out of the picture on the right.

temptation

i've posted this truck before. it really is extraordinary. paint, pinstripes, and engraving. really interesting airbrusing.

this was last month at the viejitos show. then i ran into it again earlier this month at the latin gents show. second time i've spoken to the owner, though i doubt he remembered the first time out at santa ana the previous year.

anyway, at the gents show, he asked if i could take a picture of his truck, specifically from the side and above. best i could do was get up on a curb. he and his buds were sitting in chairs in the sweet spot for taking the shot from, due to the location and sun angle.

i've said before, that i shoot them as i see them, and i didn't feel like getting a bunch of guys to move out of the way, even after they asked for the shot. if they can't think of it themselves, i'm not going to bother to tell them. they did move a little bit out of the way, but i still wasn't going to be able to get the shot they asked for.

should trust the photographer's eye, and even then, they don't always get the perfect shot. because he asked to see other shots, i'm posting a few here. i've got a few more, but not liking them enough to post, which i could say about most any of the cars i shoot.

hoodies

i was going to post this chevy last night and include some pithy comments about wtf santa was already doing at the mall, but my blog provider seemed to be having some issues. still is, and they're working on helping me out. meanwhile, i'm in a less pissy mood, and trying to post from my ipad.

love the hood ornaments on these chevys. simple. classic. golden. the car ain't bad either. found this one at the oldies san fernando car show. i remember this one well. so freekin hot that day. didn't stay long. was waiting for my better half and his red-haired nephew, outside the main field of cars under a tree. they got there, offered me a bottle of water, and i asked if i could take a few minutes to walk down this inner lane of cars before we go. sure sure.

this chevy was down at the end. next to the entrance to another whole field of cars. damnit. i've mentioned in a previous post, that all i could do was quickly stumble around the entrance of this field, as i had no energy or time left to shoot more. eeeefffffff!

we're already planning how we will manage to stay cool when we go next year. he's thinking umbrella hats. i'm thinking bathing suit and shorts.

i don't like coffee

can't stand the smell of it. can't imagine how foul that inky molten sludge must taste as it scorches down your throat. flavored varieties just add an overtone to the stench below.

no thanks. i prefer my caffeine cold. gimme a coke anytime. though, if you think about it, is probably just as bad for you. rusts nails and stuff. wonder if it would remove tarnish off of silverware?

anyway, besides the point. these cadillac guys are almost always here at bob's. they play musical chairs with the parking spots. this one got lucky tonight, out from under the roof of the drive-up, and below the neon. and just a hint of the last of the sunset. and the white paint really reflects all of that color back.

haven't been there in over a month. now the time has changed, and it gets dark early. in spite of the longer drive from the new office, i still got there about five-thirty. apparently, still too early for much to be there, but i just didn't feel like waiting. going to "bed" "early," if you can call nine-thirty early.

i'd trade my honda

busy day, busy week. another quick post. still running low on computer space.

this is more like it. nice oldie. i'd totally trade him for my stupid honda.

racy lacy

got things to do this evening, so quick post.

saw this tangiers club car "moded" at the showlows show at st hilary's last month. one of the few cars i shot that day. as always, couldn't get all the detail of the paint job, particularly on the roof. maybe i'll get a ladder for xmas, if i'm a good girl. what fun is that? and then i'd have to get a little red wagon to pull the thing along, or persuade a big guy to carry it for me... >:)

sun kissed

i am still wrestling with space issues on my hard drive. thinking i'll burn off  stuff back to earlier than 2009, stuff i hardly ever look at. just makes sense.

meanwhile, i was bad and attempted to hit up three car shows today. apparently a mistake, as it being veteran's day, they were mostly canceled. drove out to torrance. cadillac show at the dealership there. they had them parked in the service tunnel, and didn't seem to be much parking nearby, so i didn't stop. i know, i know. probably were more hiding on the inside, but if i don't go looking for other pics online, i won't miss them.

then tried another show that should have also been out there, but nothin was there at all. i did pass a park that seemed to have an informal muscle car show going on, but you know those don't really get me going much, so i drove on by it. fortunately, my backup planned worked out...my little bro lives nearby, so i hung out over there for a few hours.

on the way home, i took a quick swoop by the fuddrucker's in lakewood. must have been cancelled for the day, but there were still a couple of diehards sitting there polishing their cars. didn't stop there either.

so nothing for today, but long overdue family time. so win anyway.

i've been pondering which version of a temptations truck i should post. still haven't decided, so i'll put up this lovely viejitos chevy. probably should have waited until the sun had gone down a bit more, but still nice.

was that your club i saw cruising down whittier blvd today?

watch yer back

mostly cars are viewed from the front. you can tell by the way they get parked, that owners think that's the thing to see; that's where the money is...in the engine. and i would agree for the most part, that the front is the ticket. depending on where the sun is in the sky, i sometimes curse the angled spaces, jacking up the good side with my awesome shadow, forcing me to shoot from the other side, missing the turn of the wheel. same issue shooting a motorcycle. hate when they are parked wrong for the lighting conditions.

but the group of cars with distinctive backsides, tail lights, fins, are all equally in my crosshairs. not quite like bubba in the prison shower, but i do like to get down low, catch a shot of where the sun don't shine—mostly because you guys back them into the shrubbery (a shrubbery!). ya, thanks for that. i'll back up into the bushes too, and chance the occasional spider or sharp sticks (pointed sticks!). ahh, i have to go pull up a monty python flick now...