what's up?

not quite good enough

here's the other car that was uptown last night. didn't quite have enough time to get a good shot.

owner took a few minutes to let me finish this shot, but he seemed like he needed to get going, so i didn't want to keep him waiting longer. shot this one before the previous post, but didn't have a chance to mess with the camera settings, so it is what it is. 

as always, can't pass by a pontiac. it's the hood ornament. and no, didn't get a good close up of that, since i didn't take the time to bring the macro lens. just as well. would have had to delay the guy longer.

and now i can't remember what year he said it was...

i've seen it before; i'll see it again. i'll have better luck next time.

tonight, tonight

went uptown for dinner tonight. saw a couple of very nice cars. took pictures with my cell phone. i put those up on instagram: #randomcarsuptown. service in the restaurant was soooooo slow.

this one was sitting across the street from the restaurant. i kept an eye on it through the window. it was still there after the meal. got all the way home, and decided to get the camera and wander back uptown, to see if either car was still there.

my better half came along to keep an eye on me, i suppose. or maybe he just enjoys my company. he was suggesting i try shooting some different settings, being that it was night time. told him i'd give them a try after i shot them with my typical settings.

guess i got lucky. they both were still parked. just barely. shot a couple of a pontiac before the owner came back and took off. then continued down the street, to see if the other car was still there.

yes it was. this really cool ford. but the owner was sitting in the driver's seat. looked like he was texting, so i went ahead and started shooting, hoping he wouldn't leave before i was done. takes longer exposures when its dark.

i guess he saw me set up, and was just stalling until i was done.

my better half got his attention, mainly to thank him for waiting me out. he got out and introduced himself, and we got to talking about all the work he'd put into the car, and the plans he had for improving it, and making it go faster. dude just got his hair cut and was dressed for a night of cruising, i guess.

a few random facts, that i can remember: same owner for fifteen years and his daily driver; suicide doors; working on a bigger engine to drop in -- 400 something, sorry don't remember the specific model. (if only my bro were in town with his photographic memory); will be adding additional exhaust pipes on the sides with laser engraved skull and bones; chopped three inches; no back window; flames look fairly prominent here, but earlier were more of the ghost variety; after market racing skirts on the rear wheels.

talked quite a bit about the paint job. said he should have listened to the paint guy about the clear coat. apparently he opted not to follow the guy's advice, and there's some rust starting up under the paint. i suppose he'll eventually have to redo the paint.

i didn't shoot it from the back end, which i should have done while my better half was talking him up. had really unique tail lights. rare, he said. after market add-ons from the fifties, that he got lucky and found on ebay from the original owner. original packaging and screws even. some old dude cleaning out his garage. it happens sometimes. anyway, haven't seen another like it anywhere.

so much info, and i had hurried out of the house without my phone, so couldn't type in some quick notes, before the details fell out of my head. so this is the best my recollection of the info. can't remember the engine specs, but the new one will definitely be faster.

very nice guy. kept him talking about his car for a good fifteen minutes. all the while, he kept ignoring his cell phone ringing; hope his girlfriend didn't get too pissed. really appreciated him taking the time to chat. hoping to see him and the car at the dam on new year's day.

i'll put up the other car tomorrow.

eighty-eight

there's a number of "interesting" definitions for the term "eighty-eight." i'm not really referring to any of them here; just the innocent model number for this car.

nice, round back-end here. duke's car. always get a hug from the old guy.

pulled it up on an old computer. this is from last year. haven't seen it in a while. wonder if it's still rollin'? guess i'd have to go over to buena park to check it out.

ghetto blaster

getting late. almost time for the fat man. guess i'll head to bed. 

worked from home, made cinnamon rolls and pan de elate. making some taffy for my dad tomorrow...didn't feel like burning up my hands pulling it today. he likes it fresh anyway.

quick post. i think this is a cadillac; i didn't pay attention, i was just looking at the pinstriping.

now, in my sleep-deprived delirium, all i can see is an upside down angel that took a nose-dive onto this hood. and on that deranged thought, i'll wish you all a merry xmas, and that you get what you want in the morning.

double double

i like to watch other photographers doing their thing sometimes. so, the other day at legg lake, chicano soul (thanks to his wife for his business card, btw --good woman behind the success of every man, right?) had gotten a couple of guys to pull their cars off to the side so he could shoot with the trio of models he had with him.

he spent a lot of time with the first model that i watched. she moved a lot. i pulled out my other camera and took a handful of shots. don't shoot a lot of people, and usually its off to the side shots, while someone else is actually getting the girls' attention. better half says they would have been better if i had closed down the aperature on the lens, but i forgot; its always set up for macro shots, so err. and its a really good portrait lens when i do remember, so my bad.

i figured i'd wait for a break to get in a few shots of the cars together. i'd already taken the regular pictures of them before they got moved here. still farther away than i like to be, but i didn't want to get in his way. i liked they way the cars were parked, and the trees in the background.

got my shot, then this other model got in position, so i went ahead and shot this one, since i hadn't moved the camera. still prefer the cars without a girl draped on or against them. maybe i'd like this better if she had been more dressed in the style of the period. what do you think?

feels like fall

about time too.

made it out to the usuals bbq at legg lake today. glad i didn't head over at sunrise, because i suspect it would have been me and a hundred canadian geese.

as it was, i arrived just about the stated start time of ten in the morning, and it just seemed to be maybe a dozen of the usuals' cars and them setting up cooking gear and pop-ups. didn't take too long for more to roll in. gotta cut some slack on sunday morning shows, expecting a lot of people are at church, or more likely nursing a hangover.

i took plenty of pictures, and chatted to a few people i've met before.

a nice selection of cars turned out. showing this one because i really just liked the shot, with the fall colors, and that it seems like its the only car in the park.

anyway, could only stay for a couple of hours, since i still had to head down for my mom's birthday party. if you could call it a party, with only about seven people. both brothers are now in florida, and i guess my sister had been by on friday. whatever. happy 80th bday mom!

p.s., steve...my better half recommends you get a metabone adaptor for your sony 7r, then you can use your canon lenses on that body.

reflecting

last day of vacation. i walked around uptown. thought i'd try to find a red dress. my better half has been commenting on all the red dresses in the shop windows. trying to remind him, i am no longer the same size as the mannequins, but he doesn't care; he likes my curves.

i looked in every clothes store in town. i did not like any of the dresses i saw. probably just me. i hate clothes shopping, and i haven't had to shop for girl clothes in a long time. good old casual dress code at work, only really need to wear a sort of business casual shirt, i.e., polo, and then jeans are now ok, so no reason to shop anymore.

back home, playing with my pictures again. thought about going to a car show, followed by a few hours at disneyland. there's an elvis impersonator performing tonight and tomorrow...young, bad ass elvis, not chunky butt elvis. but meh, i was tired. maybe tomorrow night.

my mom's bday is on sunday. there's also a car show at legg lake on sunday. i can pull off both.

then back to work on monday. not looking forward to the work that waited for me, and more new jobs. already getting a headache, so i'll push that thought out of my head until then.

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one more tonight. i like the back end of cadillacs. this one is like an xmas present—the colors, the pattern, the glitter and shine.

got to the show early early, and managed to wade through all the waiting cars, and found this one stuck in the frozen river of cars.

i don't like this one

nope. don't like this truck. its not the color—matte, no shine, plus a glitter top. its slightly chopped. simple color, plain hubcaps.

i don't like the lines. i don't like the headlights. there's just something that makes me queasy about it. i suppose it just isn't my cup of tea. no offense to the owner.

but i do like the pinstriping work, which is the only reason i bothered taking a picture of it. it happens sometimes.

eevil

jingle bells. maybe i should have saved this one until next week, being all xmasy green and glitter baby.

guessing its a chevy. nicely chopped. eye catching. caught me anyway, sitting next to the rust bucket next to it.

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i think i need something better to do on a vacation. my space, i can whine here. planning more time off through out next year, so this doesn't happen again.