butt, gumby

saw this car at bob's big boy in downey, back in 2011. saw it drive onto the back field here at san fernando, and headed over.

usually, it's nice to see another car reflected in the paint, kind of a two-fer-one deal. i knew that bright orange car was there, didn't think it would be too bad, since it's a complimentary color. but now, all i can see is the butt:

kinda ruins a good picture for me. but the butt makes me smile. maybe next time i'll catch the car in a field without such a close neighbor, or ask him to move it—something i don't typically do—shoot it where i find it.

anyway, the owner, let's call him noah, since his shirt was stitched with "noah" on it, was very nice. chatted a bit. i mentioned i'd seen the car before in downey, and he did remember being there. said he'd seen a picture of it on the computer...thought maybe it was one i took? possibly, but i'm sure than one person that's shot it before.

all by myself

i've been going to more shows lately. saving up lots of pictures for a rainy day, like a squirrel. just not burying them in the ground. good july; i have so many to choose from for posting, it's hard to pick. most times i have to narrow it down to three or four shots, and have my better half pick one.

speaking of my better half, he's alive and well, thank you. i get a lot of people asking where he is, when i'm at shows. he's very popular, apparently. he has been unable to make it to many shows lately, as his mother had gotten very sick not too long ago, and he's been taking care of her. splits caretaking with his sister, but weekends he's on his own, prime car show time.

his mom is doing much better, and i'm hoping he'll come out to the uptown show for a while on the fifteenth next month. just a short walk down the street, so he wouldn't be too far from home.

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my kid is sitting for the bar exam for the next three days. good luck, my boy!

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went out the blvd bombs show last saturday, at st. alphonsus catholic church. smallish show, but almost entirely old chevys, so hey, bliss. was hot, wished i'd gotten my butt moving earlier, but my better half delayed me >:)

the show was basically an intersection of a couple of streets in the church complex, as well as a small parking lot. just enough cars, that if it hadn't been so hot, i could have happily shot each and every one. was a good turnout, just the same.

i started in the little parking lot, working my way counterclockwise, seemingly a few cars from a few clubs: true memories, originals, pharaohs, and some low rider, jumpy car club, i can't remember, since i didn't shoot any of their cars.

after the pharaohs cars, there was this guy, sitting behind his car in the shade, by himself. don't think he was affiliated with any club. pretty car, so i chatted a little with the guy, and took a few shots. i was wearing an old uptown whittier show shirt, and he asked if it was a good show. told him it was, that it was only a few weeks away. he said he might check it out. hope he will. it's always a good time.

he was parked next to a post of the basketball court, so had to shoot around it. really did ruin a good angle, so didn't waste any memory card space on that side.

wondering if the little louvers on the hood are more decorative than functional for cooling the engine?

told him i'd post something, if i got a decent shot of it. this should do. might go back and push some yellow back into the picture; i think the turquoise is a little too blue, at least on this computer screen. what do you think?

memory lane

busy weekend. following a damn busy week at work. several twelve hour days. i'm way behind on playing with my pictures from recent shows. several people i talked to, so, as usual, i said i'd post their cars, so i'm behind on that. and i'm tired.

was out both days this weekend. i've had too much sun, and today, i'm really feeling it. and sore from pulling my bag and hauling my tripod around both days. standing up, squatting low, my legs are feeling it. it's a good sore. now i have another couple of very busy weeks, then a business trip to vegas. any car shows coming up, there?

went to oldies san fernando car show today. missed it last year...was sick as a dog at the time. i'd heard of a few other shows going on today, so had to pick one. knew it was going to be another hot day. can't stand the heat. can't wait for winter to come back.

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anyway, i'll start with this car from today in san fernando, since they sent a kid over to ask for my card. nice suburban. i've seen it before. caught here fairly early, sun still going up, making cars glow. this field was still pretty empty in the middle. cars were clustering along the fence, mostly by club. this one belongs to memory lane. memory lane was rather short this year...i vaguely remember a few more cars in previous years.

the watchers on the wall

winter is coming...just not for another few months, here in cali. it's been humid the last couple of days, with short, funky rainstorms during the day, and crazy winds at night. puts a crimp in the car shows, but the diehards still go.

i didn't go out this weekend. things to do, and then sunday was my dad's 82nd bday...yay dad! growing old is no fun, and watching every one around you grow old, is almost worse. watching your parents...you're looking at your own future. he's finally accepted that he needs to use a cane, possibly a walker. yee ha.

ordered more business cards, with new pics on the back. well, not business cards, since i'm not running a business, really. should i just call them info cards? handouts? they just give people my website, so they can possibly go see a picture of their car. i like the feel of the paper. i get to see how pictures print, in case i want to get bigger prints.

still just sharing pics as a hobby, or until i get tired of paying to keep this site going. there are about nine hundred and seventy posts since i started, no ad space to annoy you. when should i stop blathering on—one thousand, fifteen hundred, two-thou?

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typical scene at a busy car show. wait for a pause in the crowd, so they don't get in the way of the car. then, notice the group of people, usually against the wall, or sitting behind the car, under a pop-up. 

i like these guys hanging by the building. dudes. i see this a lot. they watch, they whisper. sometimes, they send out a representative, to talk to me. i wonder do they pick straws, flip a coin, rock-paper-scissors...how do they pick? maybe one is just brave enough. inevitably, that's the guy whose car i'll post.

no, none of these guys left the safety of the wall. i like walls too. i'm a quintissential wallflower; at least, when i'm not hiding behind a camera and a tripod.

line up

first bunch of cars i saw when i got to the imperials show. a line of old memories. i have a lot of old memories—and pictures of the cars too. took the opportunity of being there early and no crowds to block the view. sort of wishing i'd used my other wide angle lens, though maybe it would have gotten the same quality.

all stuff i like, i can't not shoot each and every one. way to start my day.

then there's this guy

went to the imperials show last sunday. wow. huge show. right up there with the legends' san pedro show. two baseball fields, plus in between, and a parking lot full of cars. a good amount of the stuff i like, so i was in chevy heaven.

hot day though, so took several more shade breaks than i normally would, which also cut back on how many cars i got to. big thanks to my friends, the latin gents and old times clubs for sharing their shade and the coldest damn bottles of water i've had since i went to canada, and brushed my teeth with water from a glacier.

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this guy, i see at a lot of car shows. drives a really nice '39 master deluxe. always calls me juera. i suppose that's better than gallina--my ex would tease me and say, "catalina, la gallina, puso un huevo in la cocina." he thought it was funny and our kids liked the rhyme.

saw him early at this show. took a few shots of his car before it got crowded in by other cars; but that's for another time, another post.

later in the day, i'm way over on the other side of the other field, and who comes strolling by? yup. says his friend has brought his car, i really should go check it out. won't see another like it, and it's back over next to his car. of course.

so last thing i do, while i still have enough energy to get there, and then get back to my car, is walk back over there.

he was there, with some friends. the car was pretty nice, with real wood panels, not just painted to look like wood. and a convertible, to boot. broke my own rule of not shooting cars with their hoods up, but since i'd walked all the way over, might as well.

and then he wants to pose for a picture with it...and it's not even his car. i guess he really liked it.

oh, and you can see the car without him in front of it, here.

mooneyes

busy weekend. mooneyes saturday; imperials show sunday. all i can say is, wow. more than enough cars to get my yayas out. i'm sooo tired...too much sun, i guess. after a week of cooler temps, the weekend had to heat up, which seems to be the one thing that forces me to leave early--from the house, and later from the show. sucks.

people have told me i need to go to mooneyes. i think they mean the xmas show, but open house gave a good idea of what shows up at xmas. might have to make the trip this year, wherever it might end up...didn't they close irwindale speedway?

anyway, made my way down one side of the street, through several small parking lots of cars and people, crossed the street and back up toward mooneyes, itself. always a challenge shooting in crowds, and next to a busy street, with traffic in the background. depends on my attitude that day whether i give a shit if there are people milling around a car, or a blur of traffic in the background--either can be fine, especially if no fucks are given about what's going on...focus on the car. ahem, i ramble...

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i am a fan of pinstripes. sometimes shoot a car just for the pinstriping, even when the hood is up ;) saw this car near the street, but more away from the main crowd. not so many people in the way. interesting colors and liked the flames. owner came over and introduced himself. i think he said he was a student at cerritos college, and that he'd done the paint and pinstriping himself. nice job!

connect the dots

thinking of going to the imperials show at hawaiian gardens on sunday. high hopes for an eclectic selection of cars to shoot. charging my batteries, cleaning the sensors, polishing the lenses. trying to get into a better frame of mind, than i've been recently.

new locations have promise for seeing things a new way. shooting cars differently, even if the angles are the same. always looking for the shots that make me happy; the designer in me looks for a pleasing composition and balance, or purposeful imbalance. my hobby keeps me happy, and helps keep me agile in my day job.

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found this at the hillco show from last superbowl sunday; it's their annual thang before the game. i think this was the third year i've been, but got there earlier than the previous years. saw lots more cars, some park and stay, others, just doing a quick stop and continuing on to wherever they are going to see the game.

blah blah blah. i've seen this truck a few times before, this show and elsewhere. i like the pinstriping on this truck. the rest of it, not so much. i like the truck in this picture; i like the composition of it better, with the car behind it, in another. should have took a couple other angles of them until i got what i wanted in one shot.

there seems to be some faint, green on green bubbley airbrushing on the top of the cab. little glitter, subtle shadows.

smug

drove out to ruby's last week. only two and half rows of cars. big change from a few years ago, as is for all the weekly shows it seems.

wasn't completely in the mood to shoot, definitely not to chat. mostly went through the motions, shot a few here, shot a few there. nothing there was really rockin' my world. good practice though.

i see this one once in a while. still like to study the paint job, try to imagine how they create some of the effects in the paint.

redemption

i like lowdown in uptown. not really for what they sell—it's cute, but i'm just not in the demographic for the clothing anymore. time is doing it's thing on me, and i'm not fighting it. just part of the process. kinda don't give a shit anymore. slowly becoming my mom, while my mom slowly becomes her mom.

anyway, they have an art show, their target crowd shows up. mostly to party, i think. they enjoy the artwork, but i don't think many buy. show ends, they go home. owners mop up the mess the next day.

some bring their cars; that's what i show up for. it's an addiction. some days the pull is harder than others.

lots of cars showed up for this show. cops accused them of having an unauthorized car show. same thing they argue every time they have an art show. this was the first car i shot that evening. i just walked up and down the street, avoiding traffic, jamming into small spaces, shooting what i could and what i liked.

lately, i haven't been in the mood much to get out to shows. just feeling tired, and the heat doesn't help. looks like i only have one show i really want to go to on the calendar for the month, san fernando high school. missed it last year because i was sick...haven't had a cold since then, so hoping it stays that way. it's a good show, and organized. i show up way too early, to get in and get out before the heat overwhelms. the people at the gate usually let me in early, as long as i stay out of the way.