an original

took the better half to the showlow's fifth anniversary show in pico rivera yesterday. pretty good turnout. more than last year; not as much as the year before that. perfect weather. overcast that didn't burn off until after noon, and it didn't get too hot. gotta love that.

was shooting pictures of an acquaintance's car, when a couple of his buddies came over to say hello, and tell me they'd heard about me, and could i shoot their cars too.

ya, i'd already shot one of this car before they had walked over, but i went back and shot a couple more. i liked these better anyway.

i'll post the other guy's car shortly. i think i'll be too busy at work the next couple of days to get to others.

in your face

“Since I’m inarticulate, I express myself with images.”
- Helen Levitt

saw this quote on some photography blog somewhere. i think it fits me pretty well too. i can show you what i saw and loved better with a picture, rather than trying to tell you about it.

ask my brother what i thought about our trip to london six years ago. he was so unsure if i had fun, he called my better half to ask if i said anything. of course, i hadn't said much at the time more than, "it was ok." but i took a ton of pictures.

and now if i see stuff about london on tv, its, "oh, i saw that."

bigger wallflower would be hard to find.

quite the opposite of this buick. all that chrome coming at you. big bullets. lots of teeth in that smile. and a shine you could use as a mirror. even in the shade.

tricicleta

don't know why i'm posting this one. i didn't give them a card.

this kind of bugged me. not the bike. not the kid(s). not the music he was blaring out of the box tied on the back of his trike, at least in a different setting. he/they kinda held still long enough for my shot.

the thing was the rap/crap he was blaring was blabbering on about fuckin', asses, eff yah, shit, etc.

that doesn't bother me. i love throwing out f-bombs all day, every day. it wouldn't be my first choice in music, but that isn't it.

i think it's that, how old is that kid? he can't be older than ten, right? why the fuck doesn't it bother his mother/father that he's listening to that shit, much less blaring it at the show? i know, he/they think its cool and hip. part of the car culture? gimme angel baby oldies any day. kids don't need that crap at that age. actually, the grown ups don't need it either. it's crap. sounds stoooopid. but whatever.

the kid isn't smiling. that music isn't the kind to be happy with. not even to be bored by. gotta look tough. cuz somehow by extension, you're gangsta cuz ur listening to tuff muzak. have you really listened to the words? idiotic most of the time. you're so fly. <ending rant>

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i heard a kid arguing with his mother/guardian/whoever yesterday at pollo loco. teenager. full of angst. wanted to drop out of school. argued he could get a job, the usual kid think. it's so easy. didn't want to do the work at school.

wanted to go slap him silly. dumbass. i've known the type...old relatives. he'll end up working his ass off harder then he ever would have doing homework, if not just sitting on his ass all day, living off everyone around him.

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ya, ya. neither situation is my business. must be the hormones...wait...holy crap...i'm turning into my mother!!! aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

wrong photographer

my better half mentioned that he'd received an email from someone looking for pictures of his truck. said my better half had taken pictures of it at this show in gardena, and he wanted a copy cuz he's selling it or something.

there's been a few back and forths about it, and it didn't sound like a happy ending in their exchange.

for one thing. my better half has never gone to a show in gardena. that'd be me. twice now. don't know how he got the email address in that case. 

there's always that second consideration my better half mentions a lot. a lot. he thinks they're scared to ask me. he's my middleman. he's my cheery side. i'm dark and twisty. he compares me to wednesday on the addams family...i wanna be perky...but i'll scare the other kids if i smile too fake-like.

he gets random requests like this once in a while. and most of the time, when he mentions it to me, ya, it was me they should be asking.

so from what he told me, i think it's this truck. i have a back end view of it too, but it was pretty tight, so it looks a mile long. it looks too green on my monitor. not how i remember it. guess i'll have to tweak it and tone it down.

so, boo.

training

riding on amtrak to san diego right now. haven't been on a train trip since my kids were little and we'd go visit relatives in ventura. double decker surfliner, top level, so that's fun. better half working at the office down there until tuesday, so i'm gonna stay overnight and enjoy his air conditioned hotel room. too hot today. ugh.

no cameras with me, so that feels strange. almost naked. nothing to hide behind. and i'll be on my own while he works; i have no idea what i'll do or where i'll go. and he will worry...

didn't get going as early as planned. got a message that my daughter's borrowed car was making strange sounds, and that her dad wanted to just go look at new or used cars for her. she burned out the engine on her old one. probably ignored the evil red light on her dashboard too long.

first, though, had to pick up dry cleaning for my better half and lunch for my mother-in-law. squeezed in breakfast around eleven. thinking of hitting the cafe car now...almost six. nah, i'll eat when i get there. got those errands done, then off to the apartment.

stop at a car wash on the way, where the code i had, was about to expire on. great, only one of the two bays open. stuck in that line for half an hour. just pulled up to the code box, when the douche of a station owner opens the other line. thanks for that.

ended up waiting at her new apartment, in the bit of shade by the door, only to find they were still moving stuff in...so i helped with that when they arrived after half an hour. no air conditioning...melting inside the place. overhead fan didn't really move the air much. didn't want to think about cars after that. her dad decided the borrowed car only needed power steering fluid for now. don't want to make a quick decision on a car anyway. dealers always bend you over and make you take it in the pants too.

took off from there, and headed to my mom's. niece's bday today. she's staying there while she goes to school. she was in the shower and my parents were sleeping. they're old. they can. i had a train to catch, so just left a gift on the table.

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saw several pontiacs at the san pedro show. not so familiar with models and years on them; just know i have to shoot the hood ornaments when i see them. liked the overall car for this one, as well.

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oooohhhh i see the ocean now...ttfn.

line ’em up

starting off with a big double bird to the 5 freeway...took two-and-a-half hours to get home today. no good reason for the backup. started at the 133 and went to about ball road, then just started moving again. so wtf? was already tired, and that didn't help things.

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one from the east la viejitos show at the broiler in august. don't know how i got this view, without anyone standing arbitrarily in the shot. patience pays off sometimes. why i didn't also shoot the dodge behind it, i can't remember. not even the hood ornament. must have been off to take a break.

by this time in the morning, it was getting pretty hot, and the sun was blazing down. had taken a few breaks, hiding in the covered area by the restaurant, bumming some ice water from a waitress.

i liked the pale mint green of this car. and the fox tail. i've had a few i picked up in canada back in the late nineties. packed away in storage for now. wonder if they're shedding down to the leather yet. had a beautiful white one with a black tip, but it was way too big to use for my keys; had to use a racoon tail for that, until it fell apart. i digress...

liked the restrained use of pinstriping in a darker shade of green and white. just some random swirls.not too much. i think i shot some close ups, but i'll have to look for them when i'm not so tired.  i think some also spelled out "poco loco."

speaking of...off to zeebers now...

getting baked

so i'm waiting for things to get started for the day, here in sin city. tired. it's hot outside. even at night, in the shade of the parking garage. dry heat pfft. i am not glowing. i'm sweating like a pig...do they even sweat, or are they more like a dog? anyway, staying inside most of the time, as a lot of these hotels are connected by gloriously air conditioned walkways or indoor malls.

went to a party last night and stayed out late. got back to the room, and housekeeping had never come by to make the bed, etc. i had been there earlier, just before six, and they hadn't been there at that time either. first call to complain got me a free meal at the buffet; late call got me a comped room for the day. so yay. but work is paying for it, so really, thanks for nothing.

talked to several interesting peeps yesterday at the party. one from florida, who works at the college my nephews went to and does photography there of lots of things, but most interestingly, of anatomical/medical stuff for textbooks. one from seattle, who i want to say was an engineer or in finance - i apologize, i can't quite remember, and may be completely confusing him with someone i talked to earlier in the day - who was also an amateur photographer.

also a lady from san diego, who had driven up by way of san luis obispo with her mother. she was now stranded in vegas without a car because a family emergency, and mom had taken off with the car back to SD. she was gonna rent a car to get home after this is over on friday.

hey to the guys - i gave them my card so they could check out my pictures. welcome to my streams of consciousness and blather. it's mostly just ignore the text and look at the pretty, pretty pictures, which i think a lot of people do anyway.

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the owner of this car knew who i was right away. said he follows this here blog, since he met my better half at this same show last year. he called out the posts from my better half's blog of his car, and then threw out several things i've said on mine. he even pointed out that his hood was closed, which i used to whine about quite a lot, since i don't like shooting cars with their hoods up--ruins the lines--though there are rare exceptions. usually, i'll just walk on by.

i think this was the last pic i promised to do from the show. when i get home, i get to get back to my favs, from this show, and the viejitos' show, since i didn't have time to show them some love either. guess i should also hang the newest ribbon from the mirror up in my header...

ttfn.

some guy's thriftmaster

ok, so i didn't find more time to post before i had to get outta dodge and head to vegas. better half stuck at home, so here on my own. again. most every september. for work. vegas is pretty boring by yourself, especially when you don't really gamble, smoke, or drink.

don't think there will be rain this year, so i might get to more than one local car show this week. if they just planned this meeting later in the month, i could go to the big big car show people keep telling me i should go to. oh well. vegas sucks.

typing this up from a random, relatively new food court, with new and improved vendors--previous vendors here really were vomitous. the restaurant i wanted to have lunch at wasn't open yet, and since i was on the road at four in the morning, and can't get into my room yet, just killing time here.
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the legends show didn't suck. i arrived before the sun came up. before they unlocked the gate on the parking lot. drove on up past the park, enjoying all the cars parked along the street, who must have been there all night.

at least the old cars have big seats, and room to lay down. makes me miss the 1965 oldsmobile tornado my dad had, that was mine for a short time...trips over the mountains and through the woods, to grandmother's house, we went. frickin ten hour drives. but i could lay down in the back seat, or even up front, on the floor by my mom's feet, and look up at the clouds and shadows i could see through the windows. anyway...
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liked this thriftmaster. met a guy named guy, and his girlfriend, still polishing the dust off this car. really nice. seems to be a popular color for these things too, since i've seen others the same shade--is it that year's original color? early morning light is actually making it a bit darker than it should be, or that i remember. maybe i'll tweak it some more when i get back home.

they were nice enough to give me a few minutes to get a shot of it before too many people and cars got in the way. thanks, guy!

busy weekend

man, i'm tired. did the viejitos show on saturday morning, then out to san pedro before dawn on sunday morning. then been busy busy at work since monday. going to vegas next week on business, so i gotta squeeze some picture time in when i can before i go.

barely posted anything from the viejitos show yet, and i have so many good shots, but also have a crap ton of good shots from the legends show. so, i'm just gonna get some of the usual shots i promised to post to certain people first, and get them happy, then do the stuff i really liked/loved.

from sunday. saw this one really early in the day, and had set up to shoot it. nothing else really around, few people, faint light. got half my shots in, and then the owner came around this side of the car and started unloading stuff from the back seat. and left the door open. i waited a few minutes, but the sun was rising, the light was changing, and he still hadn't come back around to close the door. i'm not gonna touch a car, and close it, so gave up for the morning.

came back around later in the day to find it like this. too many people, splotchy, bright light. took a few shots from the front too. really made me regret not asking him to just close the door in the morning. oh well. it's ok. just not as lovely as it was early.

great show overall. was last year, and had expected no less this year. hundreds of cars, no way i could shoot every one of them. but damn near filled up my memory card, and i did burn through a battery. bummer that my better half couldn't go; he would have been there if he could, but had to take care of his mama...responsibility is a heavy responsibility, as he would say.

time to chat

found my way to the viejitos ela show this morning. really didn't want to get out of bed, but expected it to be hot later. and i was awake anyway.

at eight in the morning the lot was already pretty full of bombs. just what the doctor ordered. hurrying, but not hurrying, racing the sun that always wins.

had to take a couple of breaks back under the roof of the drive-in overhang. nice breeze there. waitress even gave me a cup of water. thanks so much.

i was about ready to head home when i was over by this car. liked the hood ornament. the hood was up, so generally would have skipped out on the car. then the owner came over and started talking about other car shows i should check out. big shows in vegas. i happen to be going there week after next on business, but no big shows going on while i'm out there. oh well. i'll see if i can get to the local club shows.

he closed the hood for me, and i shot a few while we continued talking.

really the only one who talked to me, aside from another guy taking pictures with his cell phone, or the guy who said he liked my felix chevrolet shirt. so, i'll post this one first.

san pedro early tomorrow. i gotta get some sleep...and another hard drive.