dying wish

no, i'm not dying right now. i was at the fuddrucker's in el toro the other day, trying to take a few pictures of some really spectacular mercuries that had pulled into the lot. minding my own business, lost in my car zen. zoning out after a day of work.

an older couple came over to inquire about what i do with the pictures. told them i do it for myself, and post them on my blog. they walked away.

five minutes later, the lady came back over and asked if i'd take a picture of their car. said she had some dying relative she was going to be visiting, and wanted to show him/her the car. ok, i'll take her word for it. it was a really nice car anyway.

i wouldn't have shot it otherwise, because both the hood and trunk were up. i took several shots of it, but i think this one probably turned out best. sun was starting to go down, so the shots from the other side had too much of my tripod shadow in them, and i don't feel like retouching them.

so here is the shot, and i think i'm done for the night.

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also, anyone who is stopping by here on the referral from my better half's blog, looking for macro shots, search here for hood ornaments, or over at my flickr site for more [search for hood ornaments or check out the flower set].

thanks for the shout out d.

luxe

this chevy was truly beautiful. not sure why it parked way over here by itself, but it was fine by me. fewer people milling about, and had room to shoot whatever angle i wanted. and thankfully, he didn't open the hood and walk away. in fact, i'm not sure where the owner wandered off to; maybe he went inside for a burger.

better half thought this shot was better than another i was considering, so here. he took pictures of it too, so i'll wait and see his interpretation of the same car.

thinking i'll go to spires and bob's on wednesday, unless i get stuck late at work.

impala

didn't make it to either of the two morning shows that i'd thought about going to, but then it's really difficult to convince myself to wake up early on a sunday, much less get out of bed. i knew about this one out in lakewood, and had been to it once before on easter sunday. it starts later, like 2pm, so figured it wouldn't hurt to see what else might show up when it's not a holiday.

wasn't disappointed. and my better half, now having a super computer that can probably reprogram the laser and magnetic tractor beams on the death star, all from his big desk in the back room, has rediscovered his enthusiasm for photography. his computer can now work with his gigantor files from his a850 without taking a couple of hours to contemplate it.

there were several cars that really stood out, and a couple of times we had to wait for the other to finish taking their shots. i don't what he might post over on his blog, so i'm just going to post this baby and hope we don't post the same one. i couldn't choose which view i liked better, so i asked my better half, and he thought this one was more interesting.

it's really in remarkable shape for it's age, and the glitter and airbrushed paint job on the roof is something to behold. neither of us could get the camera high enough to get the shot we really wanted, to show it to its best advantage, even from the small incline behind it. so you'll just have to squint and see the little bit you can see.

the owner did stop us as we were packing up to leave. young guy, very nice. asked about what we did with the pictures, which only one other person asked me about, and so i gave him my card. he said the paint job was 10 years old, though you couldn't tell by the look of it. he did admit that it stays hidden away in the garage mostly, so that does help explain the lack of scratches and dings.

those that ask are usually the ones that get first consideration when i think about what to post. so here's a shot of your car, hope you like it.

the chevy on the left was pretty awesome too, but the owner unfortunately decided to prop open the hood with a wooded machine gun, so my loss...

magic bus

nothing frames a picture like a city bus, right? right? so awesome. not. lol. really it was just parked in the middle of the street behind this puppy, and i got tired of waiting for it to move, so you takes what you gets.

before this shot, there was some "professional" photographer with "people" shooting pictures of it, with models in '30s and '40s garb draped upon the vehicle. at least two side lights for the model, even on this sunny day, almost straight up noon. maybe because the models already looked a bit harsh, the side lights would soften them up?

whatever. i waited and squeezed in a few shots between their takes, and then they moved on to a car off to the left of this one, so i took a few more. i dunno if i owned a car like this, if i'd let models sit their asses on the bumpers and such. i do assume there was some sort of arrangement with the photographer and the owner to do so.

anyway, there's a car club sign in the back window, but i can't read all of it. the smaller type i think says PHX AZ. i liked the car, but the bus...not so much.

caboose

wow, has it really been almost two weeks? work, a conference, and baseball have kept me MIA long enough, right?

so at least once a year, i can talk my bosses into sending me out and about to get some training on the software i use everyday—to keep current, to learn from the people that develop it and the tech gurus that teach it—this year i chose a 3-day conference in san francisco, with a couple of extra days thrown in.

as usual, time leading up to being out of the office is crazy busy in the office trying to not leave jobs hanging or to be handed off unnecessarily. then the way to early trip to the airport, the kiss goodbye, then waiting for the plane.

i love san francisco. but it kinda sorta sucks when you're on your own. my room wasn't ready when i got there before 10am, so had to check my bag and kill several hours. walked around the westfield mall over on market by the end of the cable car line. never really knew it was as big as it is. even had a movie theatre inside, and that's where i blew a couple more hours watching whatever it was that was starting at the time. meh.

you know how it is when you go out of town, where there are moments that stick in your head, pictures frozen in place. here are few from several rides on the streetcars: an old chevy; a long line of low-riders—a club i assume—waiting at the stop light on third street; two "men," one wearing 6-inch clear acrylic stilettos running down the sidewalk, and the german tourists on the other seat obviously commenting to each other about them; the clearest sunset, sky glowing reds and yellows over the golden gate. ya, didn't have my camera with me for any of these, so they are just taking up space in my head.

and the conference, it was very good. hard to find me one that makes me feel challenged. and depending on which seminar i sat in, i either learned a lot or learned a lot and felt like an idiot. anyway, my head hurt from all the info by the end of the three days.

and here, i'd like to thank all the guys that have taken time to chat with me the last couple of years at the car shows. i've always been such a wallflower, hoping to fade into the background, please don't call on me for an answer in class...my original social ineptness has been greatly improved by your conversations and storytelling. it really helped me during the conference, and where i'd usually try and avoid the set-up socializing events and networking sessions, instead, i went to the meetings, and sat at the dinner table. still awkward, but i did manage to ask and answer some questions to the other attendees.

they even had made available free printing of business cards from the same place i order my own sets, so i had more of them printed up, and had some to trade with the other people. other people mostly had standard business cards, or had missed the deadline to order the free ones and had none. so mine, with the cars on them, helped to break the ice and start the conversation about my hobby.

even better, at one particular lunch break, i found someone who reminded me of myself at an earlier age: hardly acknowledged that she had company, didn't say a word, avoided eye contact, ate quickly, and got away as soon as she was finished. i've come a long way, but i'm still going to be a lifelong introvert.

also, my son's baseball season is winding down. now just three more games and he may be on his way to law school. unless he gets drafted at the beginning of june...waiting is the hardest part.

it was all good. but i have missed my cars. and when i got home, my better half had decided to build a new monster computer, and i do mean monster. the thing is big enough to fit small children inside, or maybe park a mini cooper. well, maybe not that big. anyway, he'd had to borrow my computer to download software, and then the internet connection was whacked...so couldn't post if i wanted to for a couple of days. time has been very limited.

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well, here's to getting back to my old routine, hitting up more shows, and meeting more people.

this one is from cinco de mayo in riverside, at the show and go. i'd seen it driving around the circuit. and then it was gone. i wandered about the side streets taking lots of pictures, passing others by (close your hood!), and discovered it parked way out in a side parking lot over by the courthouse, or was it a civic plaza? someone asked if it was mine...no, but wouldn't it be nice...why do people ask if a car is yours just because you use a tripod to shoot the picture? anyway, no owner around, so helped myself to shooting it. cute little matching trailer, isn't it? not quite sure what year it is, but it was so shiny.

nudge nudge, wink wink

as i said, i'd been at the show on saturday, but never did spot my sort of bud, gary and his car. on sunday, with fewer cars, it was easy to spot him and this car. i stopped and shot the car nearby, as he was busy spit shining it, and well, the hood was up.

finally walked over when i caught his eye, to say hello. he immediately went around to the front and closed the hood, proclaiming, "kathy's here...hoods down." yep, he's been reading my blog for a while, and knows what i like.

then he had the nerve to say, just kidding, you don't need to take a picture. come on, gary, you have a pretty car, and the hood was already down...i'm gonna take it.

he waited patiently while i took a few shots, and chatted a bit. hey, he said he'd won a trophy for the third year in a row...something like top 40...i don't know exactly, i'm not familiar with the categories. congrats dude.

now i gotta go pack a bag. off to san fran in the morning for a few days on business, then back for a weekend in fullerton for baseball stuff. meanwhile, my better half has to stay behind and miss me lots. so ya, no posts for a few days, and i won't have a car up there, so i can't get to the few shows in northern cali. so it sucks.

el canas

went to ruby's first show of the season last night. pretty good turnout—about five rows of cars with some cars up the aisles.

ran into the owner of this truck fairly early after i arrived. have joked around with him for about a year now, but hadn't seen him in a few months, since i hadn't been going to many shows. he asked me a couple of times if i'd taken a picture of his truck. not at the time, no, but i did get a few shots later, including this one. sun starting its way down, and this is from the darker side.

he asked for another one of my cards...lost the other, enjoys reading my blog...i think he's just collecting the whole set. each one has a different car on the back. lol. nah, he probably just keeps losing them.

met one of my flickr friends for the first time...hi there steve! he got some good shots too. go see a few of them here.

anyway, not sure what to do this weekend. big airshow in chino. big car show in riverside. definitely have to go to my son's baseball games. my big bro and family is in town from florida. better half is working all weekend. i think since it's getting late, i'll hit the car show before tonight's game, then do a few hours at the airshow in the morning before the afternoon game.

now if i stop at the train station in riverside, i'll call it a planes, trains, and automobiles weekend. :)

times are changing

as i've been saying, my life has been getting very busy. not clearly an absolute yet, but i may soon also be packing all my worldly possessions up and stuffing it into storage. nah, i'm not going anywhere else, everything's fine. change of environment, sort of.

had hoped to get some pictures yesterday at fuddrucker's in el toro, and drove over there, but since the weather has been overcast and sprinkly, there was just a couple of newer corvettes and a 1930's ford. didn't get out of the car.

today i intended to try a new sunset show in laguna niguel, but figured since you really couldn't see the sun, and would have been colder near the coast, figured it wasn't worth the drive yet.

so, i'm really hoping the sun is out on friday for the first ruby's show of the season this friday. i'll be there, won't you?

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found this one from the easter show over at fuddrucker's in lakewood. i think i've mentioned in another post, that there wasn't much at this show because of the holiday. i'll have to go back again soon on a typical sunday. i've heard it can be a very busy show, and more cars equals more to choose from. lots of practice, only makes you better, and i've been out of practice. 

rumble

the thing i really like about being at a car show—apart from the taking of the pictures—is not even having to look around to know when these beasts are rolling in.

i can be low to the ground, focusing the camera, blocking the shot, and i can hear the low rumbling, like those dinosaurs in jurassic park, of the old cars blocks away. i don't even have to turn around, to know by the rumble if my next picture is driving up.

there's a big difference in the deep, low growl of old chevys, from the high pitched whine of the rodents running in the engines of say, a civic, driving down the street—eeeeeeeeeee—you know what i mean.

those lovely clouds...oh these are the kind of days i wait for all year.

full monte

another car that i usually pass by, but i liked the reflection on the hood too much. frankly, i don't get the tiny wheels they put on these cars. i suppose it has something to do with the hydraulics and bounceability. otherwise, this one was rather plain compared to others i've seen all tatted up, relatively.