what's up?

not all those who wander are lost

santa fe springs rotary-7531And9morehdr.jpg

my alarm went off before four am today. had hoped to go to pomona, but my body disagreed with me, so i went back to bed.

when i woke up again, i decided to drive over to santa fe springs, to see what might be at the rotary club show. not too far away, and could turn around if i started feeling hinky. either way, was going to leave when it got too hot. my eyes seem to be sensitive to the bright light lately. i just hate to shoot with sunglasses on; makes it hard to focus, and i end up lifting them or looking over them anyway.

well, the rotary show was pretty small. not a very big parking lot. a mix of everything. lots of hoods up, so that made my stay a bit shorter than it would have been otherwise.

i saw this car last week, uptown at the dia de los muertos show, but it was tight between other cars.

here, it was on the end of the row, a little more room to see it better. has some interesting little details, as well as some painted on messages. the title of this post was painted over the rear driver side wheel; "don't fuckin' die" was painted above the steering wheel.

dark side of town

felt like crap all day. slept a lot. missed a car show. getting closer to halloween, so evening shows will start happening. this is a good thing, being how i hate the heat of the day, so the end of the day will do just as well.

woke up around four pm, and decided to head over to the latin gents show. this one is just monthly, i think, but i'd never been to this location. figured, i'd either feel better moving around, or i'd turn around and go home.

i didn't arrive until after six-thirty, so the sun was already heading down. not very many cars, but enough to shoot, since i was there. i decided that most people were probably home watching the dodger game.

saw my friend ernie, who came over to say hello. hadn't seen him in a while. he wondered which shows were coming up. told him the ones i could remember, that i'd need to check my calendar. really it all depends on how i'm feeling on any given day, in spite of my best intentions to get to a show. hoping to find out soon what the hell is going on with my insides.

owner of this master deluxe turned on his lights while i was shooting the car next to it. of course, that makes it more interesting to me, in spite of the open hood. ;)

he handed me a card for their toy drive next month. thank you very much, i'll add it to my list.

he asked me to

i remember you. you're that guy from the viejito's show in anaheim. ran into you today uptown at the dia de los muertos art and car show.

whole lot more cars than other years...more every year, with a few vendors thrown in between selling skelly stuff.

better half walked me to the show just after the sun came up. figured he'd go back home quickly, but nope, he hung out the whole time i was there. not bad for him, running on about an hour or two of sleep. he pulled my bag around the whole time, which was nice, since my knee was twanging me a bit.

anyway, two car shows this weekend, and pictures promised, and so many others i love. hopefully, there will be lots of rainy days this winter.

anyway, this guy, iou a print. you sure you want one with you in it? i do have a shot without you...maybe i should post it?

gotta get to sleep...

alex

out to st hilary's very early this morning, before the sun came up. watched a few cars head in before i got outta the car. so by the time i was shooting my first car, the sun was peaking out already.

got through two batteries before i got to this car. either they're going bad or i haven't been using them enough. more like the latter.

told him i'd post a picture of his car. he said he'd painted it himself, and knew it wasn't quite perfect. so it is good enough, your car doesn't have to be pristine to get a picture.

i used to help my dad sand his car every year when i was a kid. he always painted it some sort of steel blue, using some giant compressor he got from the navy scrapyard or something. not shiny, but did the trick.

owner of this car apparently has seen my pictures before, and probably reads this here blog, as he offered me a water pretty quickly. it was a hot day, and i was about ready to go find one and/or head out to eat. that helped a lot, i was getting pretty shaky about then.

so thanks for the water, alex. nice to meet you.

piece by piece

so i went out to this show last weekend, after not having been out anywhere for a month. it was good, i had fun. i also did something to my knee.

don't think it's a sprain, more of a strain. i felt it when it happened...not a snap, more like a slip of something, when i was standing back up from a crouch on a low shot. i can still walk and stuff, but if i bend it too far, or have to get on the floor to look in a low cabinet or what have you, oh that does not feel good.

hoping to get to two local shows this weekend, one being just up the street. perhaps it means no low angles, but as long as it doesn't get in the way of pulling my gear. not even going to think about my arms and their inexplicable soreness. maybe i'm getting arthritis, but happening suddenly, over the last few weeks, i doubt it.

saw this car, just as the sun was trying to burn through the clouds. no idea if it was found this way, or was 'aged' for advertising purposes. still sort of cool as it is.

stylish

this car has an interesting color combo; it really stands out. hope the judges came round to the back lot to inspect all of the cars hiding back here.

i really have nothing to say just now. or rather, i could, but you don't want to hear it.

took a quick walk uptown with my better half and his mother...she actually wanted to get out of the house today. so uptown in her wheelchair she goes, with us tagging along behind her.

stopped in the little old bookstore, or whatever they call it now—they're moving out of town in a week, books are on sale; they both spent half an hour looking through the books. i got tired and sat down.

then they kept rolling further uptown, but didn't get very far. she wanted to go into the not ninety-nine cent store to look around. i was feeling a bit off and knew that was going to take a while...she has to look at every little thing...so took my better half's keys and went home. he'll call when they need to get in the house.

they're still not back. my head hurts, so i'm glad i left. i'm happy she's out and about though, and her back is currently not hurting. weather is perfect, and life is short. enjoy it.

got out

went out to the old memories show this morning. close enough, so that if i didn't feel good, i could get home quickly. on my own, i waited until the sun was already coming up, as it was overcast and there wasn't going to be any dramatic lighting happening.

this one was down the street on the corner, and i wasn't sure if it was going to be moved later, so i walked over and shot it first. love me a master deluxe. this one is a beauty.

i did manage to stay and shoot pictures for about three hours, with a break after a couple. the sun came out, and i started to overheat. sat in the auditorium to cool off. really wanted a water, but didn't want to buy a ticket, i assumed for the entire breakfast, which i didn't want.

the front lot got too packed, and so many people in the way, so i made my way to the back parking lot. veteranos parked back there, and no people in the way after they all went off to eat.

i was done after that, and packed it up and called it a day. went home and took a nap.

rag-ged

back at work, and had to do a photoshoot today of some exec types. so out of practice, and had to think for a minute on how i set up lights before. had to use a different room, but that worked out ok too.

they were nervous, i was nervous, but i got a few decent shots of each person anyway.

my face still hurts but doesn't look any worse than i normally do. coping with it, mostly trying not to think about it.

have my cameras with me; maybe i'll stop by bob's big boy after work. might be too early for anyone to be there though, so maybe not.

-------

saw this chevy at the front street show. i sort of like catching the cars before the show, when they're still being polished and buffed. something about the imperfections probably. this car was pretty much ready, but then they forgot to pack up the rag.

get out from behind

still feel like i've been smacked by a baseball bat in the face, but don't look as much as if i did today. seriously thinking of going to legg lake and seeing what's up. >>update: went to legg lake, scoped out all different lots, both sides of freeway--no good times being had. too tired to drive over to lincoln park, so my weekend is done before it begun. shoulda gone out yesterday. 😞<<

wondering if my arms will work, and let me pull my bag and carry the tripod from one end to the other, and have the energy to make it back to the car. seriously. wtf is wrong with me?

i'm supposed to take a portrait of an exec at work this week, and i'm outta practice on taking any type of picture.

but the sun is soooo bright in my eyes, and it's hard to focus with sun glasses on. at least the weather is perfect.

lately, i've gone uptown about once a day or so, to get lunch or dinner, but mostly to scope out any old cars that may be parked there. if i can't get to a show, i go look for any that may come to me. there are the usual few, belonging to people who work uptown, and then there are always classic cars and harleys that drive through daily. shoot em with my phone, and post on instagram...better than nothing.

saw a poster yesterday for the annual dia de los muertos show uptown. last year was more car show than art show. hoping for the same this year. at least it's down the street and i can go home if i don't feel good.

i've shot this car before. friendly father and son usually go along with it, but didn't see them this day, at the uptown show. it's an unusual car, and i can't recall seeing another one like it, so i always take a shot of it when i see it. such a nice back end.

hellbound

i must say, life keeps on keeping on. car shows come and gone, and i missed them, and it doesn't matter. got other things on my mind, and there's always another show, another year.

mother-in-law in, then out, then in the hospital again. supposed to get out later today. guess that's how it's gonna be for a while. that's what we all have to look forward to, if we're lucky enough to live that long. my dad is up to bat next, just needs to get that scheduled.

myself, got stuck for lab tests today. annual physical coming up anyway, and to see if there's something i might be allergic to, though that has never been an issue, like, ever. [say it like a teenage girrrrl]

anyway, things may be going to hell in a handbasket, but i got my hairs done red again. kept that appointment; if anything happens, it doesn't matter if i was there or not.

so i'm gonna look good for about twenty-four hours, then i'll just go back to shabby old me, but with red hair. sometimes i wish i was good at girling...make-up and hair...but i just can't. i'll just keep looking like a pudgy long-haired version of my brother.

------

hoping to head back to whittier tonight, and post more pictures. that i can do.

------

here's a shot of something different from my usual. need to clear my head. fugly, but interesting at the same time, these beaters are distinctly unique [redundant?], and can be slightly challenging to frame up or find which point to focus interest on.