sorry d

so i've skipped every show this week, even the good ones. i wanna go, but i haven't felt like it by the time i get home. the hour plus drive is really tiring. people drive like idiots. and thanks to the rain, more like two hours. i suppose i could have made it to a couple this weekend, but i figured with the sky threatening to drop buckets, it would be a wasted trip.

my better half is patiently putting up with my insanity. he's a saint. i suppose i have to go apologize for my own personal demons.

i think i like these kind of cars the most. style on wheels.

notorius

ya, not so much into these kind of cars, but i can appreciate a good paint job or pinstriping. bright, sunny, hot day, so it kind of blows out the glitter paint on the roof, but i did like the pinstripes. and that's all i have to say about this. it's late, it's raining, and i'm tired.

oh, and btw, happy bday to angel...your facebook page keeps reminding me...gotta kill off that feature. that and "other people you might know..." thanks zuck. ttfn.

sherbet

i've seen this car several times. the paint colors always make me think of orange and lime sherbet. which sounds pretty good right now, though i always preferred raspberry.

better half is recovering from a cold. sounds like his mom is starting one. hopefully, it won't be too bad. apparently flu shots don't do much for a cold, which is why avoid them like the plague. the shots, not my sicky relations.

i'm just tired. i want to take some more pictures, but its raining now. probably off and on all weekend. i'll have to think of something better to do. >:)

wonderful pointy things

here it is. again. little dvill. also from the last uptown show. his club helped out with the early, so freakin early, set up of the show. no crowds. no stark shadows. only thing better than the early morning light would be the misty fog of past years shows.

have always, always been fascinated with this car. all the pointy wonderments on the back. it could take out an eye or a kneecap. or enable self-neutering.

the ghostly flames on the front. the paint so polished, you could stare at it until you felt like falling down the rabbit hole.

he's been hiding this puppy, preferring his shiny lincoln this past year. thankfully, he has people. and those people helped bring it out for the show.

let a little sunshine in

i used to like the holidays. really, i did.

then i spent a decade not liking them so much. i have my reasons. i'd become accustomed to it. and now, its just hard to get the spirit back. without a place to run off and be alone anymore, and with another person that wants me around, i just try to sit in the background and keep my mouth shut, or at least grumble quietly. for now. maybe it will take another decade to care about it.

does that mean i'm depressed? holidays are just manufactured traditions, or religious celebrations. not so religious, never really was, so why be a hypocrite? for now, i'll distract myself as best i can.

i see the light. i've joined the thousands that chase the light. try to catch it. it would help if i could manage to get my ass out of bed early enough like i used to for shows. other commitments now make it more difficult, but it really is just a choice. like this one. we chose to get out early to shoot. really is easier when the show is just down the road.

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.