up and down

quick post, since i didn't realize it was sooo late, and our intention is to go to pomona first thing in the morning. totally should be asleep now, but i've been away from my pictures for so many days, i was having fun.

from last week. i was almost totally done with the show, physically—i was overheated and tired...not physically—i hadn't gotten a good look at all the cars...so many showed up. i had just took a long look down the street, and decided not to walk to the end. i had just enough energy to head back to shoot the buick over by rocky cola, when a guy, whose car i'd shot out in walnut earlier in the year recognized me, and called me over.

he was telling his friends about the picture i'd done of his car, and they both wanted me to shoot their cars. happy to oblige. took a few shots of each.

this one started out like this. then one of his friends said he should drop it. so i shot it again.

then, because i think impalas are really plain in the front, i went around to the back, and took one more.

clean car. i think i like it down better.

in memorium

so, i've been out of town most of the week. still am, but i had this photo here waiting to post. actually, i have a few ready, just waiting for time, and something to blather on about, neither of which i have lately.

another from last weekend's dia de los muertos show. i have several more i have promised to post, so they'll be up this weekend, when i get back home.

i've seen several other pictures of this same car, by different photographers. they all look pretty much the same. so, here's my shot for consideration. ya, the hood is open, but the show was supposedly less about the car, and more about the celebration, so i made an exception.

a lot of cars had their memorials in the trunk, but many more elaborate ones, were placed out front, or beside the cars. meanings were all personal to the owners, and however they chose to honor their much missed loved ones.

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since mostly nobody reads this, and just quickly flip through the pictures, let me just jot this down, mainly to my better half:

getting old sucks. not sure when it happened, so gradually, and while i wasn't paying attention. now i look in the mirror and see my mom looking back at me. my mind feels young, but this body must belong to someone else. always tired. i put on weight just looking at a hamburger, and if i'm interested in taking some meds to help with hot flashes, the side effects include even more weight gain. if only kids knew, they'd spend less time wishing they were grown up, and spend more time being a kid.

i spent the last day and a half starved, in preparation for a colonoscopy. yup. gross, but i've reached that age, where it's recommended.

had a coworker die a few years ago of colon cancer, because he didn't get one done, being a guy, until it was too late, and only after he was feeling really bad. if he had, they would have found it early and been able to do something before it took over and killed him. he was only in his fifties, and left behind a wife and a handful of kids, including a special needs kid. so that sucks.

my better half hasn't got his done yet, and probably won't. what is it about guys and doctors anyway? good thing they don't have to pop out kids, right?

seriously, the worst thing about the procedure, after the "cleansing" or more like "butt tsunami," is the iv. i hate needles. and then they wanted to stick it in my hand, which gives me the heebeejeebees. never have let any nurse do one there before, but for whatever reason, they had to. this nurse was excellent, and used a baby needle. i didn't look, and it was done quickly. not as bad as i imagined, but nothing i want again, when i have the choice.

they rolled the bed into another room. i remember that part. once the stuff in the iv drugs got flowing, that was it. i was out. they did what they do, and i woke up back where i started. i don't feel any effects of what they did to me. not even sore. even got some nice pictures from up in there for souvenirs. lol.

so, i guess, what i'm trying to say, mainly to my better half, and to anyone, just do it already. your ass isn't a sacred vessel, and you won't feel like you've been part of a prison movie, in a cell with a large inmate.

it doesn't hurt, so if you've gotten old, like me, just get it over with. they probably won't find anything, but if they do, you will have time to get it taken care of, and more time with me.

red vine

quick post. it's late, long ass day. i'll write something more later...meanwhile, beautiful car...

fine dining

we walked uptown, to the dia de los muertos show this morning just after six. later than we planned, but didn't sleep well last night, and heard the alarm ten minutes late.

there was already a long line of cars waiting to be let in. seemed to be a bit of a disconnect or disorganization on the part of the people letting the cars in. letting them sit too long, cars started overheating, even very early in the day. it didn't stay cool very long. vendors seemed to be showing up relatively late for this type of show as well.

this show has really grown, when i look at pictures from the first year we went out, in 2011, only had maybe ten cars. each year, more. this year really blew the last couple out of the water. so many cars. why did it have to be such a hot day?

anyway, took lots of pictures. not as many as i would have liked. had to keep stopping for water breaks. better half had enough of the heat after breakfast, around nine. he followed me around for a little while, then he walked back home. on call for work again, so he needed to cool off, just in case. i probably sweated off my suntan lotion within the first couple of hours, so by the time i left around elevenish, i was a bit pink.

i looked more hideous than normal, but expected it to be hot, and decided to not give a rat's ass about how i looked. been so long since i worried about makeup and dressing to impress, i just couldn't imagine how the women dressed for the day of the dead kept the makeup from sliding off their faces. never was much for wearing makeup anyway.

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talked to several people, and i promised to post their cars, if i got a good shot. so if they happen to be looking for them. give me a few days—i'm out of town a lot, and away from my computer. not doing them in any particular order, so don't get your panties in a twist.

liked this buick, and would have shot it again before i headed home, after the sun really hit it, but there were too many people around by then. 

i think the owner was inside the restaurant, and saw me shooting the car from the window. he came out to ask about prints. i do hope they knew he was coming right back, not doing a dine and dash.

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hmm. down to one more show on my list for the year. heard about one in canoga park early november, but didn't get the details.

thanks to the dead sleds for the flyer, already had the show on my list...sorry we missed your anniversary show.

lighthouse

today was our eighth anniversary. made it past the seven year itch. (just keep scratching it😜)

better half was on call for work, and i had to drive out to pick up my daughter at the airport, so we spent several hours apart.

was over a hundred degrees outside, so no point going anywhere not air conditioned in the middle of the day. we did manage to walk uptown in the evening for dinner. still nice to find stuff to talk about after this many years.

letting my daughter borrow my car for the weekend...i hope to see it again on monday.

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this truck was at the legends show at point fermin. nice spot near the lighthouse. not sure why there weren't as many cars parked there, aside from not being out where the majority of people will pass by. this is nice near the tree, and without all the electrical wires that show from other viewpoints of the house.

i can't decide which i like best--this show or chicano park--both get a crap ton of cars and are fun to make a weekend getaway. point fermin is literally on a cliffside by the ocean in san pedro, so some years it stays cool and overcast in the morning and through the day, gets a good breeze.

chicano park is good for a roadtrip or train ride weekend.

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getting up early for the dia de los muertos show down the street in uptown. it's grown quite a bit since the first year, with maybe ten cars and a short row of vendor booths. now it's an equal part full on car show and art show with some vendors in between, all decorated with skulls and shrines for the celebration.

out early and mostly done by ten, when it heats up, people start showing up and the show officially starts.

showlows

wishing i'd pulled out a different camera/different lens right about now. wide-angle distortion is interesting and aggravating at the same time.

early on, just club guys and vendors there. their show, their line up, my shot. thanks, guys!

heart and soul

pearlescent. adj. having an iridescent luster resembling that of pearl or mother-of-pearl. 

it does have a pearly white color. it's a bit more refined than glitter-filled metal flake.

either paint is hard to shoot, especially in the sunlight. gave it a shot anyway.

owner was very nice. said this paint was only a few months old, so it would explain why i didn't recognize the car. words pinstriped on the window say "heart and soul." i've seen that on other cars, but don't remember it on one of these.

anyway, he said was going to have the roof done in some other irridescent opal color as soon as he saves up the money to get it done. that will even more of a challenge to photograph. i'm looking forward to it.

la harley

rained this morning. for about five minutes. seriously thought about going all shawshank in the rain at three-thirty in the morning, but the bed was too warm, and bid me to stay put.

it sprinkled a bit while i was out for lunch. that big, dark cloud over the hill, promises more, but will probably just keep moving on. at least it's cooler today.

no real plans today. i should sift through vacation pics. my dad always wants to see them. he won't travel much anymore, so i guess it's the vicarious thrill. he saw the world while in the navy, so i suppose he just wants to see how much things have changed. or not.

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saw this harley on a hot day, at the imperials show in hawaiian gardens. one of the few bikes i noticed that day, in two huge fields of lowriders and old iron. end of the aisle, and no people in the shot, so had to take it.

wake up

we got up early and got to st hilary's today before six, and the sun. sure, roll-in wasn't until six-thirty, but i get my choice of parking, and the host club's cars are there setting up, so we just start with them.

then the sun did it's usual thing, and a few more cars showed up.

i was suprised that these spaces in front of the statue didn't fill up first, as is usual. this guy sat all by it's lonesome for a long time. i would have preferred shooting from the other side, because there's a big old tree i really like to have as a background, but, unfortunately, there were a couple of port-a-potties under that tree, so settled for this angle instead.

building lights were still on. timers or sensors? not sure, but they are mildly irritating, adding extra, unwanted lights and reflections.

runnin’ with the devil

ok, enough of a break. this blog thing's ramblings are mostly a journal of randomness, or an ongoing convo with my better half. not many people read it anyway, so what i say doesn't matter.

i'm sitting in a cafe, on one of many days i'm being made to take off before the end of the year, to burn off all the exceeding the limit of allowable vacation time, that will not roll over into next year. did that sentence make sense? sounds strange.

i didn't catch the usual week-long cold, that typically follows a vacation, or otherwise take a lot of time off at work. i'm always busy, running on deadlines, and i mostly just really like what i do. so now i have to use those extra hours, or lose them. still have deadlines, so i'll have to share work with our other equally busy designers, or work later when i get back to the office.

they tell me they will be hiring a junior person in the new year, but we've heard that for several years. and who will have the time to train them? already get the most interesting files from our agencies, which show how little their junior people understand the software.

even my better half has mentioned the lack of practical understanding one of his coworkers has, in spite of an overpriced education at that unnamed art school in valencia.

i'm sure no one cares to hear the problems in designer world. i assume it's the same for any profession, when the shiny new graduates start their careers.

where was i? yes, sitting here, nothing to do today. maybe i'll drive out and have lunch with my better half. just hate the traffic, but what can you do anywhere in cali, without sitting on the freeway somewhere?

i was out earlier, and really just wanted to keep driving. to anywhwere. solvang. san fran. monterrey. canada. or to a train station, and hop on. with no luggage. just take off.

but then, i'd miss the car show tomorrow at st hilarys. and my better half is at work. and it's always more funner when he's with me.

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got this shot of mr. 666 at mooneyes open house. usually see it around, and mostly don't shoot it. it's not my favorite car, and if you ignore the details and painted on sayings, it's a pretty dull car.

but, i think this time, the location and light was right, so i took the shot. check it off the list, probably won't bother with it again.