got an owner interested in seeing a picture of his car. i only shot a couple pictures of it. people got in the way here, in the staging area.
later in the day, i passed it a couple of times, but the trunk always seemed to be up, and people were around it, so i didn't shoot it again. maybe some other time, some other place.
it's not a bad shot, but i think it could have been better.
check another promised car off the list...
busy day saturday. whittier car show. got up before the sun, and walked down the street.
tried shooting cars at the main intersection. all the guys that help set up get in early, so get their choice of parking. but, they were too close to where vendors were setting up, so people in the shot, cars driving through the shot, and with it still being mostly dark, it messed with the long exposures.
better half had me fiddle with the camera settings, which sped up the exposures, but made them more noisy. didn't change the background activity, so i skipped a bunch of them and moved on down the street, to where cars had started staging.
the point of being out that early was to get the early light. so tried to get to the cars stopped with the rising light coming up behind them, and fewer buildings in the way. mostly owners leave their cars and hang out in groups, or take the time to polish the paint.
the owner of this one asked me to take a shot of his car. so here's one from the morning. couldn't get the group out of any of the shots, so there they are.
we continued to shoot, then the fire marshall cleared them to start moving. everyone at the far end of the street started their engines, but that didn't last long. takes a while to move cars in. so, we just kept going. when they finally started moving the end of the street in, we stopped for breakfast.
may i also mention, that unlike the previous years that i've gone, it was hot and humid, even at this time of day. so, everyone that survived sitting out there all day, omg, how did you do it? we had the convenience of being able to go home for a break.
had to anyway. we had relatives arrive from northern california, so spent some time with them and their baby. took pictures of them for a while. downloaded all the pictures i'd already taken, charged batteries.
we had just headed back uptown and started shooting, when i got a call from my son. he was in town, and he'd just arrived at the house. so we headed back, while he headed toward the show. stopped again. walked down the street and had lunch at one of the barbeque places. at least it was cool inside. that ate up more time.
walked back home, chatted for a bit, checked out the car he'd recently bought himself. he took off. we went back inside to cool off for a bit. downloaded any additional pictures i'd taked before being called away again.
decided to head back at two-thirty, before the awards were to be given out. that usually ends a show; people start leaving after they realized they haven't won anything. wasn't really the case here. seemed like the earlier organization of the show broke down here. the announcer at the main intersection seemed to be calling out awards, but really, there wasn't the normal crowd of people listening. as if no one had told them what time they were going to make the announcements. it was weird to say the least.
and we also finally got to eyeball this year's show shirts. wow! what a crappy quality image! they've been bad the last few years, but these were really, truly crap, sad to say. looked like they'd put tracing paper over some pictures they probably downloaded from the internet, and used cheap magic markers to draw them. maybe kids did it. but wow, really bad. didn't see too many people wearing them. and the printing sucked too. sorry, i'm a graphic designer, so i can say it was badly done shirt all the way around.
i digress.
we went down the side streets. i was looking for a particular car, we'd seen earlier, after breakfast, waiting in staging. had no idea where it had ended up. i wasn't going home until i found it.
was up one of the cross streets, and found this same car again. didn't see the owner, so couldn't take him up on his earlier offer of a cold bottle of water, which would have been really good about then.
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have to pick up my pictures from the fair tomorrow. hope you all got a chance to see them. i have relatives in town from the east coast, over at my parent's house, so i suppose i'll drive over there, and show them off. probably won't get back to my posting until wednesday.
gonna post this, because i had it ready to go. i did make it uptown to the show today, and i'll start posting some of those soon, after i move from out of the front of this fan, and into a cold shower.
i'm way behind posting on recent shows. just been too busy and not home enough.
this one was from san fernando last month. love this show—oldies car club is very efficient about getting things organized, and moving the cars in. plus, they've let me in early for the three or four years i've made the trip up there.
pretty much have decided, since my better half mostly hasn't been able to join me at car shows lately, that if i can't find decent parking, in a relatively safe looking neighborhood, i'm not hanging around. luckily, i haven't had to leave one yet. there are other places i can be, which is the great part about socal and the los angeles area.
i think this is one of theirs. was in a line of their other cars, in the last parking lot i made it to before i was done. not sure which i liked most—the car or the hood ornament. liked the pop of the red, of the wheels, and the subtle pinstriping.
long drive home from vegas this morning. freaking cajon pass construction. nice to be back.
better half had been out and about this afternoon. he came home and told me about some old fleetline types driving around uptown, guessing they were heading over to the radisson. sounded sort of like pharaohs' cars, but he didn't catch the plaque. told him that they were either scoping out where to park for the show in the morning, or heading over to a certain house in that neighborhood.
toward sunset, i headed uptown with my camera bag, in hopes of finding one or two over by the cigar bar, or better, in the parking lot at the hotel. only saw a couple of old cars drive by, didn't park. went all the way down the street to the hotel, but didn't see anything. so, they must have been just passing through.
so i walked a block up and back down the less crowded street, and got some dinner, enjoying the air conditioner in the restaurant. just before i'd gone in, i spotted this chevy down on the corner. figured if it was still there when i was done, i'd shoot it.
sun went down before i got back out. got my better half to walk down to the restaurant, so he could walk me home, and/or watch my back while i shot the car. it was still there, but slightly more dark. he got there ten minutes later, and there was the car.
so, my search for the early birds wasn't a total loss. i think it turned out ok. quite a few cars drove through the exposures, so i took a lot of shots, and this is about the cleanest of the bunch. better half thinks i should have left some of the light streaks from passing cars in. i'll think about it.
here i sit, all by my lonesome. meetings all week. missed pomona this morning.
spent a few hours walking around an automobile collection/display at the linq in las vegas. no tripod, and indoors, so curious if any of the shots came out ok. using a camera i hardly ever use, since i didn't want to haul the big bag out here. it can wait at home with my better half...next saturday is whittier uptown car show, at last! also supposed to go to a bridal shower that same morning, but we'll see...
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last post until i get back, since i had this picture ready to go. blvd bombs car show in los angeles, i think a couple of their cars. i liked the pop of that yellow car, and also that it was a fleetmaster--just love the lines on those and fleetlines. the church building behind somehow just helps the composition. i liked it, anyway.
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sun starting to set here, so over and out...night d.
i've been busy all day. walked uptown for an hour or so at lunch...shopping for a graduation gift. really difficult when you don't know what someone likes or needs, or what is appropriate for the occasion. me, i like toys—monsters, aliens, weird stuff. don't think that would work for this girl.
still need to pack my bag for the trip. haven't decided when to leave. so i've been sitting here playing with my pictures. was trying to find a specific car, a black bel air. looked through the last few years of pictures. i think i have it, but no doubt i've labeled it wrong. probably on a hard drive i don't have here, a backup drive at a different location. oh well. this merc will have to do.
chopped and differently stylized flames than i usually see on cars. it was sitting at the edge of the park, stopping traffic. even got a crazy guy from a passing bus to get out before his real stop, to come over and make loud exclamations. i think the general thinking was that he might have been on something, but maybe he's just overly enthusiastic.
kudos to the pinstriper/airbrusher. somebody named vandemon, at least that's how they signed the back end.
and check out al the louvres. that looks difficult to do, without effing it up. also had hubcaps with cadillac emblems on it, and a desoto grille. guy sitting next to it, who seemed to know the owner, said just because they were cool.
got to san fernando so early, that i parked on the curb near the entrance, and could have parked even closer, but held back a few car lengths. years' past there had been a line of cars down the street and around the corner. not entirely sure why it wasn't the case this time, but i needn't have worried--so many showed up later. must have been hungover, or, egads, they went to church?
i get to shows early, just for opportunities like these. no people in the shot, that glowing morning light, always chasing the light. gotta setup and shoot quickly, or you miss it. no gold reflectors needed. still, i got there too late for the transition from dark blue to purple to orange. oh well.
can't remember which club these two belong to...don't remember any club insignia, though they were later surrounded by a zillion pachuco club cars. i just know that i saw them across the field first thing, with that golden light, and went as quickly as i could to them.
loved the light hitting the hood ornament on the plymouth, and that it showed it's age, hadn't been replaced with a shiny new piece.
camera bags don't roll too good on grass. maybe they should make them with bigger wheels. that glow with fiber optic light. nah, wouldn't really blend into the background that way.
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crazy busy weekend/week ahead. day off on friday, mother-in-law's birthday; a graduation saturday, followed by a drive to vegas. a week there (any local shows besides cars and coffee?). car shows when i get back. thoughts: uptown whittier car show or bridal shower for future daughter-in-law??? hmmm hmmm hmmm.
gotta figure out how/when to take 100+ hours of vacation time before the end of the year. my mom just changed her mind and said she'd be willing to do a road trip. interesting. wait a few days...she'll change her mind.
i was shooting the woodie next to this impala, early in the day. the impala's owner was still polishing the car, so, when i turned to consider his car, i just walked by, and said i'd come back when he was done.
spent another hour or so, walking around the now crowded park, and had circled back toward the side closest to where i parked my car. i think i was shooting the back end of a '59 buick, when the guy found me, and smiling, said, "i'm done with the car."
i said i would, so i did soon enough. took a few angles; liked this one best. some other guy walked up and got in the passenger side...i hope he was friends with the owner.
another guy came over to ask if i'd shot his car, and pointed out into the fray, talking loudly, but i couldn't quite make out for sure which car he meant. the impala was parked near the stage, and the band was playing loudly. i didn't give him a card, so how would he see the picture anyway? i probably shot it, if the hood was down, and i liked the location. i think it was a packard he was talking about...i shot one...not sure if it was his.
sat down in the shade right in front of the group for a bit to watch old guys rocking. i think they said they were there every year. they played ok; and i took a few shots from where i sat. maybe i'll add a couple of them here.
time to get back to the office...
life is speeding up lately. yes, i know i missed the gatos show yesterday. rare day that my better half could get a few hours out of the house, and he wanted to go to the fair to see my pictures hanging on the wall. matter of priorities sometimes.
we had fun, almost like a date. spent a lot of time talking about nothing and everything. walked through the buildings of schlocky stuff for sale, looked at the crafts, watched the mariachi and pacific islanders dance shows. weather was mostly good, so we stayed later than we had intended. his mom was fine—he called her twice—and told him to stop worrying and enjoy the time out.
next, going to speed through the week at work, even when a work week feels like it drags on forever. next weekend, a college graduation to attend, followed by a drive out to vegas. whittier car show coming up when i get back, then something else i can't even remember right now, then pick up the pictures from the fair... blah blah blah. stop thinking about things, and just do them. life happens. just one big check list...
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went to the sultans show this morning. perfect weather for pictures, got my favorite parking space, very close by. got there about six-thirty, and there were some cars, stuff rolling in. watched yet another ballet of parking the cars. it's a sort of choreography between the club members on what cars should go where. some are more organized, with walkie talkies, others just yell across the field, over the revving engines.
park isn't huge, so these guys just yell. but they do pack them in well. the park was filled, except for fire lanes. i made the outer circuit to start with, to stay out of the way of the moving cars, and to keep them out of my shots.
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starting with this car. belongs to a retired gentleman, who i think said he'd owned it for thirty-eight years. i've seen it around before, shot it before, but had never talked to the owner. i liked the paint combination, and the back windows are kind of different. the hood had been up, so i had decided to just shoot the back end. he offered to close the hood, so i offered to take a picture or two. so here's a few shots for him.
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briefly considered going to mariachi plaza, and decided i didn't have the energy. looking forward to seeing everyone else's pictures of all the cars i wished i'd been there to shoot.
this stunning pontiac was parked on the baseball field. almost walked past the entrance to the field, since the majority of cars parked toward the front, where you could see them, were the big, loud, overdone newer type cars. i wanna say the guys with the teeny peenies, that need to compensate, but maybe they just really like those types of cars. not my cup of tea.
anyway, saw this on the same field out the corner of my eye. sitting next to an old chevy. that one is nice too. so i hiked across the infield, remembering when my kid played ball, and then it hit me. the sweet stench. a recently "fertilized" field on a hot, hot day. oh, how i felt sorry for these poor bastards, having to hang out on that field all day with their cars.
i suppose you eventually don't notice it, but later, when they get back in the car, what about the "dirt" on the bottom of the shoes? lots of air freshener will be needed.
as i was saying, really nice car. really nice owner. chatted a bit. happy, happy guy. i liked the pinstriping, and of course, the hood ornament.
