this pretty little model t was at the broiler last week. it’s old, but looks so new. aside from the chrome wheels, the young whippersnapper cars next to it, and the modern location, it looks as it has driven from an older, simpler time. i like that they have not jazzed it up or overcustomized it. just a classic look. even if i have to squint past those wheels.
finding an awesome car can be both great and full of suckage at the same time. it's great cuz you're just saying to yourself, "wow! i gotta get me some of that!." i also sucks big time because it usually draws a big crowd of people just milling around it, getting in the picture, asking for the hood to be opened, and the owner to be strutting about proudly.
exactly the problem with this glitter paint tangerine fluorescent caddie. skipped it a few times because of all the folks just standing there in front of it. meanwhile, the sun is going down, and now i know my chances of a clean shot are diminishing, because i'll be needing longer exposures.
i saw it clear of people from across the lot, so hurried back over. then my better half saw it too, and i had to wait for him to get his shots first. nevermind, i like the back end of these babies better anyway. by this time, they were opening the hood for someone to look inside too.
apart from the owner of the mustang next to it constantly polishing it and milling about next to where i was shooting, and me standing in the ditch to get this shot, i still kinda like it.
now this one is just a favor. owner watched me shooting some other car at pep boys, and asked some questions, looked at my prints, and asked if i'd take some shots of his car. told him not with the hood open...he closed it immediately, of course.
well, this one seems the most interesting of the couple that i did take. several people just mosied through the other shots. well, if you like it, mr. owner, send me an email and let me know if you wanna buy a print.
favorite parking spot. check.
sun setting. check
reflections. check.
hood ornament. ooooohhhh. check.
pinstripes. check.
lots of chrome up front. check.
mary poppins...practically perfect in every way. check.
i realize that most photographers would be irritated by lens flares, but i kind of like them sometimes.
here is yet another chevy in the primo spot at chubby's diner. another perfect car. with yet another reflection of me in the bumper. arrrrggghhh. i suppose i could photoshop me out of it, but that's not what i saw, and what better way to prove that i took the shot?
i like the grill on these and the overall curviness of the car. just screams classic. oh, and of course, the hood ornament works for me too.
yet another chevy (shocker) from chubby's diner last week. i got there very early, and this was the first of three shows i hit that evening.
i've seen this lime bomb here before, and also over at angelo's, and possibly/probably at garden grove last year. i think it belongs to one of the latin gents.
it's just beautiful and was parked up in one of the spots you can see from the street. you can't help but notice it. they always put nice cars out front to get people's atttention, get them to stop, have a look, and maybe go and eat in the diner, i suppose.
that bunch of cars in the background are also probably owned by latin gents club members. you know how i feel about cars with the hoods open...but in this case, they just make me think of the star and his backup singers. open up and say ahhhhh.
so when i got to chubby's early last friday, this truck was one of the bunch of cars already there. guess he really wanted to pick a good spot. yet another of the latin gents squad, he was waiting for his buds to show up.
i took a bunch of shots, different angles. shocker here...it has hydraulics, and of course he angled it up on one side, so i took some more. unfortunately, shooting from the other side wasn't so interesting, so they all pretty much look like this, except for a couple from the front.
anyway, i liked this one best out of all of them. he moved the truck later, and perhaps it would have been a better spot, but i didn't take anymore of it...my memory card was getting full, and there were other cars to take. another time, another shot.
just now realized this is the third green car in a row. oh well. they match my eyes, if you need a reason. i dunno. maybe it just gets more difficult to pick what to post...i've found so many spectacular cars the last few shows. i'm on chevy overload again. it's only january...i'm gonna run out of room on my hard drive before the year is over if i don't watch it.
found this one at angelo's on thursday. this belongs to one of the latin gents car club members...maybe one of those guys on the left there. they're very nice guys, love their cars. i've seen them here and there before, and they said the same about me.
all the awesome chevy's i've seen at chubby's the last couple of weeks are theirs too. damn, you guys, they're beautiful cars. anyway, they flipped when i showed them my pictures, and seemed interested in me shooting some pics of them and their cars at chubby's on friday. i don't do a lot of pics with owners in there with their cars, but i was willing to try it again.
i got there too early for most of them on friday, and the majority of them were driving in as i was driving out...maybe next week...i'm feeling kinda ill right now, and think i'll go lay down.
this is the other car that was at chubby's diner that was being photographed opposite this one. both were pretty wonderful. guessing they're part of the same car club. i am really curious what the other photographer got with his shots. also guessing they look nothing like mine.
off to bed...i've worked all day...hit a car show...gone to disneyland...stick a fork in me, i'm done.
i'll be out and about tomorrow, so here's another merc for tonight. found it at marina del rey last sunday. very extraordinarily nice, but left before i could get a few more shots of it. well, i did get a few more, but meant to get an additional couple from behind. wait, i did get a couple, but not enough. i'll shut up in a couple...
this car was awesome. i watched it drive into the lot, and then head straight to the back corner in the darkness, up against the fence, in front of others of the group. that would have been the shot i wanted, but it was one of the bad boy's cars, and i wasn't about to go into the dim light with a small crowd of guys and my camera gear. i was resigned to not get the shot.
it was like a ghost in the shadows.
later on, i noticed it had been moved under this light on the other side of the lot. positioned in an angle formation with another car, which i'll post another day. turned out there was another photographer there, i guess it was a "photo shoot." not sure what kind of camera...canon or nikon, i'm sure...but he was using a flash up top, and shooting all around, both cars as a set, the details, etc. almost expected him to toss the camera aside and say "i'm spent." i heard one of the owners asking about getting it all on a disc. i hope he was getting a fair price for his work.
anyway, i digress. the two cars are practically perfect. i noticed a minor blem on this one, but maybe it was a trick of the light. there was just a hint of pinstripes here and there, not overdone, very nice and simple. just not the best location and lighting. have to make do – i shoot'em as i find them.
i don't like when people walk into my shots, and i try very hard not to get into other's. at some point the photographer noticed me standing there, at which time i told him i was waiting my turn. he kept doing his thing, he was working it. i can wait, not in a hurry. i suppose he stopped either because he was done, or so i could take some shots, and he walked away.
i took a few of each, before the organizers came over to judge the cars for the raffle or contest or whatever they do. had to wait for them to get out of the way. took a couple more pics before one of the judges mentioned that he'd talked to me earlier in the year. chatted a bit, wanted to know which car i like best at the show. i showed him my prints.
next time i look up, the photographer was back, but this time with the owner of this car. he was decked out in some nice duds. time for pictures of him and his car. that was it for me.
i had to get to my car before i started to laugh at something that occured to me at that moment, and didn't want them to think i was laughing at them. i can't share my thoughts on what was making me laugh here; i'll get in trouble, but damn it was funny.