ok, this post is a gimme. the owner wanted to see it. only shot i have of it.
they had it parked in the dark, under a broken or burned-out light. this shot is getting hit from behind and from the headlights of an oncoming car.
there is an interesting little scene airbrushed on both sides, if i remember correctly, of a little cabin or house, with two or three old chevys (?) parked out front. again, it was too dark to take a close up shot of that to show you here, and a bit out of focus.
had such a busy morning, that i couldn't get out to two shows i wanted to get back to; did drive past one at original mike's in santa ana, but they'd already done the raffle and prizes, so everyone was bugging out an hour early. didn't bother to stop.
so i thought i'd try a new show today. went out to diamond bar or was it really walnut, at a show at yet another bob's big boy. have they cornered the market on shows? they're trying anyway. i've been to some that have so few cars, that they eventually stopped the show. this one, as told to me (was that you howard?), has only recently started.
taking his word for it, one can only hope more people will hear about it, as there wasn't much there. i'll give them a break — it's technically still a holiday weekend.
and was i seeing things, or did i see redd's ubiquitous plymouth here as well as at original mike's earlier, or is there an evil twin plymouth out there?
ruby's always has a good selection of cars to dazzle car enthusiasts. too bad it only runs in the spring/summer/fall.
i'm not sure if i like them better in full sunlight or with sunset or nighttime reflections. nighttime shots are more difficult to get, with the long exposures and people always walking around, more often, even through the shots. i can wait for them to move out of the way or stare them down. somewhere in between, i usually can catch what i want.
so check out so cal tribe member's cars: reine's 1960 cadillac coupe de ville; danny's 1959 chevy impala; and ron's 1963 chevy suburban. was this back before they started their club? i dunno. they usually are together whenever i see them.
this shot from the broiler, in july. the back end is just delicious. below is a shot from a long time ago...actually the first time i ever visited the broiler...but with the tire thinga-ma-bobber on the back, and i don't know why i never posted it before now:
while the wheel thingy is designed to blend into the lines of the car, and is all chromed out, as well as serving to hide an ugly spare tire, it just kills the curves of the trunk. i vote for leaving it off, it's more pleasing to my eyes. but then, it isn't my car, so do what you want. lol.
<begin rant>
i stopped by the broiler tonight. second time in three weeks. big disappointment in turnout. two weeks ago i didn't even bother to get out of the car; today, i figured since i drove all the way out there, i might as well take a few shots, since i was in no hurry. only a handful of cars, and one that i really wanted drove off just before i got back over to it. high fives to the diehards that were there. thanks for saving me from another fruitless drive.
one of the owners said it's too cold. well, what a bunch of wusses. put on a coat why don't you? at least it wasn't raining. sure i know tomorrow is turkey day, but that was no excuse for the other week. and it doesn't only happen at bob's now; just about any evening show, except the one in garden grove is pretty sparse. didn't seem to bother you all last winter.
i think i'm just torqued up because the holidays are coming and they are my least favorite time of year, with forced good will and smiles, and i hate going shopping.
so i'm mostly going to have to hit the weekend shows during the day or sift through my hundreds of pictures i've taken this past year. could be worse.
<end rant>
have a happy thanksgiving anyway. lol.
i met up with my dad at fuddrucker's the other night. he was curious about how i shoot cars. he's seen me shooting old planes up at the chino air museum, so it really wasn't going to be much different.
guess he'd driven by the last couple of weeks expecting me to be at the show, but the first one i'd already left, the next week, i'd skipped it. so we walked around and looked at cars, i took shots of cars i wouldn't typically shoot. i took shots that he didn't think were worth taking. like this car for instance. he wondered why i'd bother to shoot this old rust bucket.
first i'd never seen one of these before. second, they make really cool pictures. all the details really like to pop. driver was as interesting looking as the car, but i didn't get a shot of him.
anyway, spent time with my dad, had dinner, then went home. was a good evening.
i made my first visit to the monthly show over behind the honda center, at the bob's big boy in orange last sunday. didn't seem to be too much else going on elsewhere on sunday. i missed several shows on saturday that i have been meaning to get back to and always having something else on my calendar to keep me from them. ah well, maybe next month...
maybe i was a little early, even though i got there an hour after start time, but there didn't seem to be too many cars. there were a few in a small lot on one side of the building, then a few rows of scattered cars on the other side, though there were a few other rows taped off but empty, so i suppose more show up later or whatever.
i have a few shots that i will post at some point from this show. i'll start with this one, since the owner seemed to be very interested in what i was doing, especially after showing him my book of prints. he was hesitant at first to close the hood on his baby, but i guess i proved it might be interesting to let me have a go. he kept an eye on me, of course, but no worries, i didn't get near enough to damage the goods.
it was pretty clean, and had he not closed the hood, i would have been satisfied with my shots of the dashboard. i usually like the tail end on the older chevys but this model year doesn't really do it for me—almost too plain—so i passed on that.
the frame on the back plate proclaimed him to be a vietnam vet...so is my dad...so thanks to both of them for their service, belatedly.
so i'm in a rough and dirty mood. been too long since i threw a beater up here. a nice rat rod made of bits and pieces of various years. i'm tired and don't feel like spit-shining pixels tonight.
this assembly seems to be based on a ford body of some sort. i like the unfinished surfaces, with the engine compartment a matte black with pinstriping. interesting to the spend the time and money for a touch like that, or even for the dice on the tire valve stem, when the rest of it seems destined to remain “aged.”
at least it doesn't have a huge, obnoxious engine, which in a chop top would inhibit the view from the driver's seat. i don't believe i've seen it back again since then, so maybe its been transformed into something more interesting by now...
well, it's halloween time. it had also been the day to dress up for prizes and what not at work. used to be one of my favorite holidays, but the last few years haven't really had the time or money to think about a costume. being that i've been at home sick, i've had plenty of time to consider things, but no energy to put something new together. so i dug into my box of old costumes.
one thing about being sick is that you have no appetite, so i've lost a few pounds, though not enough to get back to what i used to be. anyway, i got back into an old leopard costume i'd worn in high school, though i filled it out a bit more than i used to, it was still doable.
went to work, where at first i didn't see anyone else dressed up. for some reason, they like to keep their costumes a secret until the competition begins, so i was the only one for a while. people were having a difficult time talking serious business with me, while looking at my cat face paint job. that was pretty funny.
no, i didn't win anything, mostly because i'm too shy to walk across the stage and strut about fabulously, so i didn't enter anyway. but lots of people liked that i had the nerve to dress up.
i drove straight to the ruby's show after work. it was the last show for the year, so i expected it would be very busy. i was not disappointed. lots of cars. at first i didn't see too many people dressed up, though it had been announced at previous shows that there would be prizes for costumes and decorations. took a bit of nerve for me to get out of my car, but i said screw it, and went about my business.
yes i did get stared at, and i really had to ignore that or i'd just turn around and leave. funny how juvenile some of the guys are – one guy pretended he couldn't read something on the hood of a car, wanting me to bend over for a closer look. nah, didn't give him the satisfaction, but he did have the balls to try asking me again, even after i told him from where i was what the thing said. nice try, little boy.
whatever, get your jollies my friends. at least other people started showing up, and i wasn't the only one in costume.
i delivered a couple of prints at the show, so i really did have a reason to be there anyway. the owner of this black chevy saw one of the prints his friend bought, and i guess he liked what he saw. he asked me to take a picture of his car. here it is...what do you think?
there were guys with cameras there, of course, so i suppose a picture of me will pop up somewhere eventually, or maybe i'll post one here after i'm over the trauma. you can always squint real hard at the front bumper and see me behind the tripod, as always.
here's another car from the duke's show. i forget which car club (my bad). one of the many jammed in the back lot, this one up against the wall. this was a more typical model chevy there in abundance, but no two were exactly alike.
i liked the two-tone paint on this one, but especially liked the reflection of the sky in the fender. don't forget the hood ornament — don't know why i love those things. didn't notice the broiler sign in the shot until i got home and downloaded the pictures from the camera, so bonus. too bad downey still uses overhead lines...stupid telephone pole right in the way. oh well.
i attended the duke's show & shine over at bob's in downey this past weekend. incredible congregation of car clubs, lots of representation from each. really for me, it was chevy overload...it was a plethora, yes a plethora of chevys of many years, mainly 1939s–1950s, with some odd years and some impalas thrown in, and this one opened its petals to me.
so many to choose from, so many similar cars all jammed into the entire parking lot. i even had to park a few blocks away, since there was no parking nearby. i didn't know where to start, or what to shoot, much less, i'd been away from shooting for a couple of weeks and was a little out of sorts, so i did my usual. i started by walking around the entire show, seeing what's there. then sat down and took out my cameras. then went back through and just picked random cars—they were all so delicious, but so crowded together, as well as being overrun with people, i could only really do a few.
by the time i got there, they were already doing raffles and giving out trophies. really big, tall trophies. i saw many cars stuffed full of plaques and trophies from prior shows. these guys really know how to do a show right.
anyway, i am rambling. this car has a remarkable paint job. lots of detail. real crowd stopper. parked right up by the trophy table. perhaps you know it? according to my flickr friend, kid deuce, it's known as the gypsy rose. he was there the same day, but i don't know if at the same time. i've never met him, so if i walked past without saying hello, i'm really sorry i didn't recognize you without your western attire. :) he's posted lots of shots from that afternoon, so check them out.
also, thanks to jae bueno for posting the notice about the show, or i would have missed it. he takes really good shots of cars as well, and again, if he was there, i did not recognize him, or i would have thanked him in person. waiting to see what pictures he got of the show.