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one of those days

1952 chevy deluxe

sleeping in sounded real good this morning. really thought about it. for five minutes. then got up and got ready to head over to signal hill.

smeared sunscreen all over my face and arms, expecting the blazing sun that just seeks out my pasty white skin, or rather already sun-damaged skin. sunscreen makes me look more ghostly, or ghastly, especially later when i start to sweat it off.

stuck my phone in my back pocket, grabbed my camera bag, and a bottle of water. brought my pinstriped hat too, just in case. parked all the gear by the back door.

thought i'd take one more pit stop before heading out, since i never know what facilities will be available at the shows. so i go to drop trou and hear a plop...i hadn't even sat down yet...shit shit shit...the phone...in the back pocket. totally forgot about it. fortunately, i hadn't done anything yet, and blocked the fact that i was reaching into the toilet, and went after the phone. ewwww.

so, a couple of seconds in the drink, and the phone still worked. or at least i thought it did. actually, everything except the sound, that is. negates the whole point of a phone.

siri never liked me anyway. but the bitch wouldn't read me the directions anymore, so i had to write the directions down and/or keep peeking at the screen.

and i was going to stop for a donut on the way, but i left so early, the shop i would have stopped at wasn't even open.

apart from those little tragedies, the rest of the morning was perfect. got my favorite parking spot for this show, was there before the sun came up, and it stayed overcast and cool until i left at ten. seriously, the sun started coming out as i drove away.

the sultans are all very friendly and organized. and for a change, one of my better half's fans chatted with me several times, not quite gushing, but extremely pleased, about a print he had been gifted a few years ago. it is a very nice shot of the guy's car. i was there the night he shot it. but my better half wasn't there, had stuff he needed to get done, and perhaps get called in to work, so i've passed his regards and happiness on to my better half.

it's a good show, a good variety of cars, plenty of chevys. it's good to see some different cars once in a while.

oh, and their, ahem, facilties, were the taj mahal of porta potties, really a portable building. oh so refreshingly cold from the air conditioning. it was warm outside, and to open that door to the frigid air, was divine. and three separate stalls inside, and sinks with the automatic faucets...so fancy.

hoping my phone will dry out by morning, or i'll be making a stop at the apple store tomorrow.

this car belongs to one of the sultans. when i got there so early, member cars were the only cars there. and this one was clean. and beautiful. i wouldn't mind a car like this. my hair is an unruly mess anyways, so a convertible would be nice.

happy eighty-ninth birthday to my mother-in-law. let's have cake!

pain in my chesh

1951 chevrolet deluxe

and i can't breev. one of george lopez' classic stand up bits.

so, saw his car out at san fernando. famous not only for the owner, but for the glittery mexican flag painted on the roof. and check out that interior.

yet another time i wished for a ladder or roof or platform to shoot from, but none of those fit in my camera bag, so maxed out the tripod, and got this piss poor shot of the roof.

curb was higher than the street, and the street had the occasional car driving by, so couldn't shoot too well from there.

golf carti was curious why his car was there, but he wasn't. maybe he's afraid of danny trejo? can't have two celebs at the same show at the same time?

he also had his golf cart there...el mas chingon...it is, it really is.

no number given

1965 ford falcon

on a normal day, i would not have taken this shot. but random white guy, with a muscle car at a viejitos show, bounds up and starts chattering away, so i can't not take it.

he seemed really nice, and really enthused. sort of that surfer dude attitude.

said he'd grown up in cerritos. had been at some other show, where i think he said raynbow had told him abou this show, so he figured he'd come on down. mentioned that he'd seen himself driving his car in someone's video on youtube. told him i'd seen myself in someone's video on youtube...my backside, because i was busy taking pictures of cars as the videographer went by...seems to be typical.

got kinda wierd when he asked what i was doing later. i said playing with my pictures, but i don't think that was the answer he thought i'd give.

i took a few shots of his car. and when he yelled, asking if i wanted his phone number...ya no. told him i didn't think my better half would be cool with that, showing up with some random guy's number and no reason to have it. the guys nearby giggled a bit, but no offense was intended.

cat's spots

1961 chevy impala

this impala is a little over the top, on the paint job.

airbrushing, pinstriping, etching, and to top it off, cheetah or leopard spots on the little side panel space. i'm thinking cheetah...it's a faster animal. though leopards are pretty bad ass too.

no doubt about the quality of the paint job, it's very good. it just overwhelms and detracts from the car, which seemed to be in good condition.

completely my opinion, which means diddly-squat. it's a beautiful car, if i just go with it.

was kinda sad it was backed up so close to the plants behind it, and close to the car next to it and pop up on the other side. just got in the way, and couldn't get a clean shot from the back angle.

1961 chevy impala

somewhere near the raynbow

1957 chevrolet bel air

got up slightly early, and drove up to the viejitos show. wanted to beat the heat of the day, knowing this one is on pavement. at one point, some clouds blocked the sun, which gave some relief for about half an hour.

i am noticing that shows that used to be packed, even this early, and are more slow to fill lately. great for uncrowded photography, but the real bulk of cars start showing up about the time i have to pack it up and go, either because its too hot or because i need to find breakfast or i'll faint.

guessing there are more parties going on these summer nights before the shows, and people are busy dealing with the aftermath. or they don't care about parking with their groups, since they figure one member can just save spaces for the whole club. not fair to that one guy, or anyone else who understand roll-in time.

there were plenty of cars here early, the club members themselves have awesome cars, so i could have just spent three hours with them and be happy.

found this one in the back parking area, where the bicycle guys were setting up. nice car, interesting little mural on the garage doors, and no people in the way. so yay.

then back out to the main lot, where i noticed the viejitos' president, raynbow, riding around on a bike, directing cars and people. just not something i'm used to seeing him do everyday. most shows he's sitting under a tent.

i think it's a good, sharp picture of him, if only i had caught him looking my way, but then again, i am already too shy about taking shots of people, i snuck this shot in from a row away.

raynbow

nice pipes

1935 ford pickup

this is a random post. at my mom's and this is the only picture i have lurking on here for a rainy day--i've been that busy.

you know a few posts ago, when i said the big project was done and things should slow down a bit? well, what kind of idiot goes to a weekly status meeting and says ya, it seems quieter? that's just a cry to the great beyond to slap down your ass with a shit-ton more work. so yes, i jinxed myself, and the great beyond shat upon my desk.

i mean i have a steady stream of work every day. every day. every day. but then you become suddenly inundated with overlapping deadlines, and juggling priorities, and no desire to put in extra hours cuz you're still trying to recover from the big project. the hamster wheel speeds up.

and then, the drive home, and that cursed (say it curse-sed) five freeway, that road to hell and back. fuck that drive.

so i've been a bit too tired to post fresh tasty pics this week. sorry. responsibility is a heavy responsibility, as my better half says.

i first saw this hot rod, about a year ago, parked by its lonesome, at a here unnamed center of commerce and debauchery. i was walking to lunch, and i've got a pretty good eye for spotting uncommon cars. i saw it from two blocks away, and wondered if it would still be sitting there, and alone, by the time i reached it. remarkably, it was. i only had my cell phone on me at the time, so use what you have.

have since seen it a few times on the streets behind the orange curtain. i've seen pics of it frequently hanging at a certain cars and coffee show. i went to that show once, near an apartment i used to live in, when i used to hit up a car show every day in the summer, two or three on weekends. ya, ninety-nine percent muscle cars, pns cars, and old white guy hot rods. so not what i like. and i certainly didn't remember seeing this one at the time, so maybe it hadn't been built yet.

blah blah. getting sleepy now; i think i only had four hours last night...its so hot...

anyway, getting to the point: this guy was a long way from home, when i saw him zoom by at mooneyes' open house. actually, it makes a lot of sense, since hot rods are what they're about, right?

so i finally got a few shots of the thing with my big kid camera. i actually like the other shot of it better, but this one shows that it actually has four chrome chimneys to play beer pong with, vs two, which is how it seems in the other shots.

nuff said. back to the regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. g'night.

z'fyr

1938 zephyr

quick post, cuz i'm just fried. couldn't sleep last night because it was so hot, and the fans too annoyingly loud to be of any affect. and the air blowing over my skin just tickled me and flicked my hair about often enough to keep me awake. sort of like a little kid pointing his tiny finger at you, and every so often jabbing you in the nose or ear or arm.

i'm sure i got at least a couple of hours of restless sleep, just not good sleep.

wasn't as tired as the guy whose car was sideways on the freeway in front of a semi this morning at five thirtyish. that it wasn't smashed was suprising. almost like the truck happened upon it in the pre-dawn, and was stopped to protect it from other motorists.

but sometimes, i feel like that could be me. just zoning out on autopilot going to work. i need to change my hours, but i just can't see how i can do it, and not hit traffic one way or the other and get back to whittier each day with any day left to do anything.

i'd move my computer to my mom's and stay there more often, if i wasn't so sure that my dad might accidently burn the house down in his increasing forgetfulness.

followed this zephyr into the reeking small baseball field at san fernando. it's like they know there's a show there every year, and the groundskeepers think it's a good idea to fertilize the day before. are they being funny, or do they have a schedule to stick to, to get the grass to grow in time for baseball season next year?

whatever, i stomped back there a couple of times, since as soon as the little group of cars parked, they started polishing and shining the chrome. gotta shoot in between buffs, or come back when they leave to have a look at other cars.

the owner said he had six or seven other zephyrs at home. must be nice to have your own team. i think i'd be too nervous to drive a car that low, that stretched, that nice.

well, off to bedski. g'night.

sfv

1938 plymouth

almost didn't get up for the oldies' show today. knew the heat there can be brutal. after a half an hour of inner arguments, i got my sorry ass out of bed and got ready to go.

out the door a little after five, and with a forty-five minute drive ahead of me, knew i'd lost the sunrise, at least the full dark to that sun peeking over the horizon.

got there early enough anyway, to catch some of the golden hour. almost didn't get in the gate. usually, no problem, no question, pay my way in, and get to work.

this year, i'd arrived just as the gates opened for clubs, and no one at the gate recognized me. they seemed confused as to how to handle a photographer that didn't work for a magazine, simply wanted to shoot for the love of the cars. i guess the main confusion was in my wording of, "can i come in now," implying that i wanted in for free. nope, fully prepared/expecting to pay, just let me in before the sun gets too high.

in the end, after the question getting passed through about three people, the guy one called, "grampa" let me in for ten, though i would've paid the thirteen advertised. so thanks to all of those people that figured it all out, and helped me get in.

probably the closest i've come to being turned away at a show. i would have just stayed out on the street for a little while, shooting the cars passing by, as they waited in line at the gate, since that was where i was parked, first on the curb. certainly would have left a hell of a lot sooner, because it really did get to warm to be in the sun for long periods of time.

at least there were shady areas, with cool breezes, for a change from the normal weather there. and with the fire in santa clarita, a few miles away, the breeze blew away that smell of burnt wood and ash within the first hour.

blah blah blah.

ok, this was the second year in a row, out of about five years that i'd been there, and it was slow to fill up. first couple of years, it was packed, with cars lined down the street and around the block. i dont' know why many of the shows lately are so lightly attended that early, unless you consider the partying the night before.

well, i just go with it, and the cars that are there get all my love, with room to move around.

this plymouth was being polished when i walked by the second time, and i momentarily waited for him to take a break from the job. i think he said it belonged to his uncle or cousin, who also owned another car that was later parked in front of it. told him i'd come back later when he was done.

i did, but i like this earlier shot better than the later ones. there was space around it to get a decent shot, and no people.

the kid was interested in seeing what i shot, but i explained that it was multiple exposures, so he wouldn't really be that impressed by one frame. told him i'd post it, so here you go.

i like the playing cards that were blowing randomly down the street. guessing from the newer, fancier cars around the corner with the mirrors and fuzzy material under their vehicles. one did have a pack of card strewn about on the blanket.

hot hot hot

1948 chevy stylemaster

engraved wiper thingyi think this was the last shot of the morning, before the sun officially became a pain in the ass at the imperials' show.

simple chevy, with just the slightest embellishment on the wiper blade arms.

do they consider this a panel truck, or just a wagon. i'm not sure.

it's sticky out there. sticky in here too. no air conditioning and fans blowing hot air around sucks. just want to walk around nekked, but i can't. don't think my mother-in-law would appreciate it as much as my better half undoubtedly would.

at least the big job at work is out the door, and best of luck with that, so i can get back to fiddling with my pictures.

hoping to go to san fernando tomorrow, but it's gotta be way way early, since it's going to be hot out there. i hope, i hope they will let me in early, its a bit of a drive. but i would turn around if they say no. i'll either get busy shooting, or i get busy driving. gonna be too hot to wait around. all depends on who is minding the gate.

busy day

chevy truck

spied this wonderously painted truck driving past mooneyes a couple weeks ago. watched it go through the intersection, and turn into the parking lot of the offices across from all the action at the burger joint. by the time they showed up, it was pretty hopeless to find parking anywhere else.

the lot was bordered by short hedges, but tall enough to conceal a few gems, if you just scanned for where all the spectators were congregating.

look at that pinstriping and airbrushing job. just in awe. or awwww.

crazy busy at work this week. should let up quite a bit next week. thinking of asking for a few days off, to fly out and see my brothers, or north to see my daughter and her new doberman puppy.