chicken

i've shot this car before. and i see it often parked out in front of his business, when i pass by on the way home. sometimes think about stopping and shooting it up against the brick background, but then chicken out and/or don't have the camera with me. something about invading their personal space, when they're not at a show.

his buddy armando said i should just go ahead and stop...he'd love it. i guess that'd be the case of most owners—to have more pictures of their cars and people that admire their pride and joy, right?

everyone, except richard, of course.

san bernardino shirt guy's truck

so my better half talked to the owner of this truck. well, i did ask about the shirt he was wearing, from a car show in san bernardino, if it was a good show, etc. he said it was a three-day event, and cars drove around the lake. so it may be worth checking out someday.

anyway, he asked my better half to take some pictures of his truck. closed the hood for him. 

he usually mentions these requests to me, and i usually follow up and shoot a few as well, since i know how infrequently he posts his pictures anymore. he told the guy to give him a few days to several months when he handed him his card.

he does have cool cards—double thick, with pictures of cars on the back, his "now we dance like sprockets" portrait on the other side. if you've checked out his about me page, you'll know what i'm talking about. i like the feel of mine better, the paper is more silky. i digress...

anyway, thought i'd post one of the truck, so maybe he can see it. otherwise, he'll be waiting a while...

a model car

here's the other car. quick post. time for bed.

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.