shhh the dog is asleep

he's running me ragged. big, hairy attention whore. remind me never to get a big puppy again. but he is getting me back into some kind of shape, which is good, since i sit all day in front of a computer. still something like forever to go. i hope i make it until his owner gets back home.

so, i gotta get some sleep, but i have already missed so many days playing with my pictures. so close, yet so far. i sit down, the dog wants to play tug-o-war. i stand up, he wants to be chased or go for a walk. but i think i've worn him out for the night.

so, quickly. here's a truck. i don't know for sure what year, so i won't bother to guess. night all...

time is fleeting

mmmm. i'm feeling like seeing a nice, sleek fleetline. i blame danny and several of his fleetliners club buddies. i had gone up to whittier yesterday, and they drove past me on greenleaf. my better half said a bunch of other old cars had been elsewhere in town earlier, mentioning in particular this mercury. where you all going??? sometimes i wish you'd put down some sort of bread trail i could follow...

and of course, later on, walking on the same street from the theatre, passed the tribe guy in his chevy, looking for prime parking in front of the cigar bar.

intended to stop by the latin gents show yesterday, but was too overheated and lazy to get out of the house once we got back from the movie. saw monsters university, btw. not bad, even for an adult to enjoy. guessing the artists at pixar grew up with tex avery and looney tunes, like i did.

as i was saying, here's a fleetline. shockingly without one of the pharaohs members walking into the shot. they'd just driven in, and were setting up their tent and getting stuff out of their cars, so there are random people in several of the shots i took of their cars. some i was just too exasperated and was already getting too warm, that i didn't bother to take them. i'll see them again, somewhere else. hopefully not on hot asphalt.

deep sadness

i just learned today that jae bueno had passed. i did not know him well, and had only spoken with him a few times at shows. he was always very nice, and i was always too shy to just go up and say hello, save one time in santa ana. i barely recognized him when i last saw him at a viejitos show several months ago.

he occasionally took the time to comment on my pictures, if he had a story to relate to whatever i'd said in my post. i admired his work through his blog, flickr pages and in low rider magazine. it is a great loss to car culture and photography.

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this was the first car i shot at the old memories show this past weekend. first of the the phalanx of old memories cars lining the entry to the show area. i preferred this view of it, rather than the other side, showing the line of cars and buildings and a billboard. just so cluttered. keep it simple, stupid, they always said in school; and i would say it worked best in this case, even if it is kind of a cliché image in front of a loading bay. it is such a nice turquoise, even in the morning shadow of the building.

i hadn't realized it, but the owner had been watching from not too far away. i'm not sure if he was waiting on me so he could get something from his car, but he did thank me for taking a picture of it. how could i not? thank you for bringing it out for me to shoot.

just a memory now

i was given a flyer at one of the numerous shows i go to, for the old memories first annual car show. i hesitate to go to many shows in the heat of the day, as i tend to burn like bacon and i just can't sweat enough to cool off and feel like i'm cooking inside, kinda like a microwave.

so, when i do decide to go to these types of shows, i've decided to try and get there very early; at best, would be before sunrise; at least, by drive in time. and this one was out of the way, from where i am currently babysitting a dog. had to drop him off with someone before i could go.

drove an hour to get there, and still was a little later than i would have liked. there were people to tell you where to park, security at the entrance, and what seemed like the full old memories harbor club in attendance at the front of the show area.

thank you to the old memories guy that didn't seem to mind letting me start taking pictures before the actual start time. i kept out of the way, like i said. i have some pictures of your cars coming in the days ahead.

was a good turn out, during the time i was there, with more driving in as i left. too bad it was going to be the hottest day of the week. i would have stayed later.

i'll start with this one, only because the owner was nice enough to come over and chat with me. i think he wasn't very confident in his car having a chance to win a prize, but i thought it was just fine. mostly, i think he was just curious about me taking a picture of his car. i do hope he didn't lose my card, and stops by my blog to see the finished picture.

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i'd forgotten how much work a dog is at one year old. like a big, hairy, attention-starved toddler. only five more weeks to go...thought i'd have a lot of time to work on pictures, but i'm lucky to post one, without giving up some of my own sleep time. he takes a nap if i work on a picture too long, then stays up late into the morning playing with his toys, and getting into mischief.

he likes throwing the pillows from the couch onto the floor. i've caught him sitting on the couch like the king of the castle a few times. but he is sweet, so i apologize if i don't get your car up here as quick as possible. i'm being forced to play tug of war, with dog slobbery ropes and rubber footballs. gotta get to bed, he's getting sleepy...

a fresh look

this guy is the one that torments me uptown, parking in front of the cigar bar fairly often. always tempted to run home for the camera, and then just don't do it.

wonder where the rest of the tribe was, but glad to have found this one at the show. looked really spectacular among the trees. i don't remember the roof being all airbrushed and glittery. same for the airbrushing on the back of it on the spare wheel cover—is it recent? gotta be why i haven't seen it around for a couple of weeks.

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my son is currently en route to cambridge. i'm already worn out with his dog, but i think i got the best of him today, taking him to the park three times. i don't know. he may have out done me...my foot is starting to hurt. probably overdoing it with all the activity.

dog is over at my ex's house tonight, as i was hoping to stop by the old memories show early early in the morning, before the heat sets in. i think now, it all depends on how my foot feels in the morning. i really hope i can go.

dream on

sometimes, i like to imagine owning a car like this. i could cruise to work in style. and they're out there for sale. i could go to the bank and take out a loan and have something like this. 

but then the bubble pops, and i remember, i don't have a garage to keep it in, or the knowledge of how to take care of it. and the insurance...and the gas. no, i'd have to get a second job just to enjoy the ownership, and never have time to drive it.

no, i'll live vicariously at the shows, taking my silly pictures. and appreciate all the work and beauty in these cars you guys bring to the shows. and post them here, and ask, did you see what i saw?

some days i should have just stayed in bed

long day at work, as usual. i like being busy. i had a few days when there was actually very little to do, which is very rare, and i was just bored and falling asleep in my chair.

so the second day with this dog, was ok. took him for a relatively short walk after work. i'm out of shape, i could so feel it in my legs. and then that foot that is already screwed up wasn't too happy about it either. finally made it back home, and thank god my son had turned on the air conditioner. was so hot, and only supposed to get hotter this weekend.

went to the market, and got food for tomorrow. got home and tackled the bathroom, that apparently isn't part of my son's cleaning routine. i feel much better now that i won't be attacked by the slime monster that was living in there.

tried to get this picture posted last night, but first, the web site host was down, so it wasn't going to happen anyway; and second, soon after i figured that out, my computer decided to freeze up and i had to turn it off anyway. then, realizing that it was after eleven p.m., didn't bother to turn it back on to see if i'd lost my work.

apparently, the file was ok, as i'd saved it not too long before the crash. ain't it nice what overcast skies can do for a picture? my better half shot this car too, but from a different angle, and being on the main drag where the river of people walked by, his has quite a lot of people-related blur across the door. maybe he has another shot without so many people. must be the angle i got it, where i don't really see all the people walking behind me reflecting back in the paint.

one of too many other wonderful cars. not sure which one to do next. pretty much need to close my eyes and point at the screen.

and i gotta post the other shots of that pontiac...hopefully tonight. after the dog is thoroughly worn out and doesn't need my attention.

call it a day

going to be transporting my puter to another location tomorrow, so it will probably be a couple of days before i post again. but then again, maybe i'll post one more time before i move it. got one or two car shows to visit tomorrow, so you know, gotta back up my pictures and that usually leads to a post...

did three shows yesterday. well, only really shot anything at two. the one at the elks club didn't have anything i felt like shooting, and only made one loop through the show. usually i can find some viejitos there, but they were no where to be seen.

found this one at ruby's before getting some dinner. i've seen it before. i always love the hood ornaments on these.

anyway, i'm not feeling well, so i'm going to take it easy the rest of the day. ttfn.

who's your daddy?

 

so we drove out to brea this morning, to check out some annual show over by brea mall. if i had wanted to see a bunch of newer muscle cars with their hoods open, i could have just gone to the dealership down the street.

was about ninety percent peenie parade o'cars belonging to middle aged chubby guys who apparently think buying a car qualifies for entry in a car show. how the hell do the judges seriously go about judging these things? they're new, off the lot, or maybe a couple of years old, no effort to customize them has really gone on; i guess you could say they contain all original parts. probably paid the guy swinging the towels around to polish them up too. shit.

you really wanna know what i think about these guys? BFD. ok, don't ask me. my better half says i don't have a filter when asked my opinion on things.

really, we tried to salvage the trip, and wanted to get our cameras out of the bag, but it seemed almost a requirement to have the hood up. and the few and far between cars that we would have taken pictures of, just weren't doing it. too many people, crap location, and how crammed cars were into the spaces marked out. meh.

i did see a couple of guys i know. and i didn't even shoot their cars. even with the hood down. i guess i really didn't feel like shooting today, so skipped the hooters show this evening.

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so the news i mentioned the other day: i have four pictures accepted in the fair again this year. only three of them are cars. you'll have to go look for the other one over in pictures of flowers. of the pictures i entered, i can't really figure the reasoning for what was chosen and what wasn't, but fun just the same. so off to the framer's, and my mother-in-law is already imagining which wall this set will go on.

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oh, and this car is again from chicano park. and really, what dad wouldn't want a mostly nekked chick airbrushed across his hood? i think this is a viejitos car, but from new mexico.

anyway, happy father's day, dad. i know you read this blog, or at least look at the pretty pictures once in a while...

very clean

as i've said before, i don't much care one way or another for the newer cars, the bouncers, the low riders. they've mostly lost the classic curves of the bombs and such that i love. but i can appreciate them. 

this one was pretty clean. interesting pinstripes and metallic applique. the trunk was closed when i got down to shoot the picture, but the owner said wait, and popped it up. i guess it adds to the shot, showing the scroll work back there.

now if i'd only shot it from the back...in the trunk was all the chromed out apparatus to make it go up and down. i'm guessing he doesn't take this to the supermarket.