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best intentions

1951 chevy truck

this is a very bright orange truck. brighter than a del taco sign. whack you in the face with a wet squirrel to wake you up bright. i think my head would explode looking at that color every day bright.

fortunately, the overcast dulled it down a bit. my head didn't explode, and my eyes didn't bleed.

clean and shiny, it's a perfectly fine chevy truck. that color tho...

i had intentions this weekend. intended to go to the front street show in norwalk, which is not too far away, and to which i've never been. X.

failing that, intended to go to the latin gents show in cypress. X.

intended to be at the pomona swap meet gates at five this morning. X.

my better half says sometimes you gotta listen to your body, and my body said, umm, no. not today.

yesterday, woke up late, felt yech all day, slightly off, moreso than normal. i was exhausted by about four in the afternoon, and lay down for a quick snooze. quick snooze lasted about four hours.

better half wanted to go to pomona this morning too, but his one caveat was that we wouldn't set the alarm. he's being overly protective, but i let him without fuss this time. if i was up, we'd go. shouldn't be difficult, since we get up so damn early on workdays, right? neither of us woke up until almost eight this morning, so, not going to make it. supposed to be over one-hundred out there today.

so, didn't shoot a thing this weekend. haven't looked at my pictures for most of the week. better half has stuff he has to get done around the house. his niece and family visiting for the weekend, a belated birthday suprise for gramma. gramma's worn out, and still sleeping at ten in the morning; they took their one-year old to disneyland for a few hours, so its quiet now.

i'll get a few pictures spit shined today, ready to post for the week. not going to be fun this week at all. work and other stuff.

road trip coming up that i gotta plan out, going to washington state to visit my daughter, taking a truck full of her crap to her, again. really hoping the rental place doesn't give me a big ass diesel truck instead of the smaller one i've reserved. i got the strangest looks from people when they saw me driving a big moving truck last time i rented one to move stuff from my home to storage unit and to whittier. it's kinda scary, but you just gotta step on the gas, and not think about it.

also our anniversary trip coming up quick...we used have that planned out six months ahead, now its been getting booked a few weeks before for the last couple of years. never seems to be enough time to think about where to go, yet i seem to have plenty of time to waste, mostly sitting on freeways, to and from work thinking random thoughts about what to write about here, only to forget because i couldn't write them down while driving, and siri is a bitch and won't wake up to take note.

stripper pole

overdue at posting a picture i'd promised to show.

i get behind in summer spending weekends shooting at shows or recovering from tough work weeks and/or the long drives back to be with my better half. lucky him that i think he's worth the drive, because otherwise, i'd really just kick my kid out of my house and have a quick drive home after work, and everything would be so much simpler. love makes you do crazy things, i suppose.

this car was in a corner at the imperials show. i like chevys, the hood was down, so i shot it. lady asked about who i was shooting for...me, myself, and i. anyway, told her i'd post something. was a choice between this one and a profile shot. profile is nice, but i like angles that show a bit of the front, to help give it a bit character and to identify the year easier.

the little details were interesting too. i guess a stripper on the antenna is appropriate as my pinstriped hat here at a car show with kids running around.

one of those days

1952 chevy deluxe

sleeping in sounded real good this morning. really thought about it. for five minutes. then got up and got ready to head over to signal hill.

smeared sunscreen all over my face and arms, expecting the blazing sun that just seeks out my pasty white skin, or rather already sun-damaged skin. sunscreen makes me look more ghostly, or ghastly, especially later when i start to sweat it off.

stuck my phone in my back pocket, grabbed my camera bag, and a bottle of water. brought my pinstriped hat too, just in case. parked all the gear by the back door.

thought i'd take one more pit stop before heading out, since i never know what facilities will be available at the shows. so i go to drop trou and hear a plop...i hadn't even sat down yet...shit shit shit...the phone...in the back pocket. totally forgot about it. fortunately, i hadn't done anything yet, and blocked the fact that i was reaching into the toilet, and went after the phone. ewwww.

so, a couple of seconds in the drink, and the phone still worked. or at least i thought it did. actually, everything except the sound, that is. negates the whole point of a phone.

siri never liked me anyway. but the bitch wouldn't read me the directions anymore, so i had to write the directions down and/or keep peeking at the screen.

and i was going to stop for a donut on the way, but i left so early, the shop i would have stopped at wasn't even open.

apart from those little tragedies, the rest of the morning was perfect. got my favorite parking spot for this show, was there before the sun came up, and it stayed overcast and cool until i left at ten. seriously, the sun started coming out as i drove away.

the sultans are all very friendly and organized. and for a change, one of my better half's fans chatted with me several times, not quite gushing, but extremely pleased, about a print he had been gifted a few years ago. it is a very nice shot of the guy's car. i was there the night he shot it. but my better half wasn't there, had stuff he needed to get done, and perhaps get called in to work, so i've passed his regards and happiness on to my better half.

it's a good show, a good variety of cars, plenty of chevys. it's good to see some different cars once in a while.

oh, and their, ahem, facilties, were the taj mahal of porta potties, really a portable building. oh so refreshingly cold from the air conditioning. it was warm outside, and to open that door to the frigid air, was divine. and three separate stalls inside, and sinks with the automatic faucets...so fancy.

hoping my phone will dry out by morning, or i'll be making a stop at the apple store tomorrow.

this car belongs to one of the sultans. when i got there so early, member cars were the only cars there. and this one was clean. and beautiful. i wouldn't mind a car like this. my hair is an unruly mess anyways, so a convertible would be nice.

happy eighty-ninth birthday to my mother-in-law. let's have cake!

pain in my chesh

1951 chevrolet deluxe

and i can't breev. one of george lopez' classic stand up bits.

so, saw his car out at san fernando. famous not only for the owner, but for the glittery mexican flag painted on the roof. and check out that interior.

yet another time i wished for a ladder or roof or platform to shoot from, but none of those fit in my camera bag, so maxed out the tripod, and got this piss poor shot of the roof.

curb was higher than the street, and the street had the occasional car driving by, so couldn't shoot too well from there.

golf carti was curious why his car was there, but he wasn't. maybe he's afraid of danny trejo? can't have two celebs at the same show at the same time?

he also had his golf cart there...el mas chingon...it is, it really is.

cat's spots

1961 chevy impala

this impala is a little over the top, on the paint job.

airbrushing, pinstriping, etching, and to top it off, cheetah or leopard spots on the little side panel space. i'm thinking cheetah...it's a faster animal. though leopards are pretty bad ass too.

no doubt about the quality of the paint job, it's very good. it just overwhelms and detracts from the car, which seemed to be in good condition.

completely my opinion, which means diddly-squat. it's a beautiful car, if i just go with it.

was kinda sad it was backed up so close to the plants behind it, and close to the car next to it and pop up on the other side. just got in the way, and couldn't get a clean shot from the back angle.

1961 chevy impala

somewhere near the raynbow

1957 chevrolet bel air

got up slightly early, and drove up to the viejitos show. wanted to beat the heat of the day, knowing this one is on pavement. at one point, some clouds blocked the sun, which gave some relief for about half an hour.

i am noticing that shows that used to be packed, even this early, and are more slow to fill lately. great for uncrowded photography, but the real bulk of cars start showing up about the time i have to pack it up and go, either because its too hot or because i need to find breakfast or i'll faint.

guessing there are more parties going on these summer nights before the shows, and people are busy dealing with the aftermath. or they don't care about parking with their groups, since they figure one member can just save spaces for the whole club. not fair to that one guy, or anyone else who understand roll-in time.

there were plenty of cars here early, the club members themselves have awesome cars, so i could have just spent three hours with them and be happy.

found this one in the back parking area, where the bicycle guys were setting up. nice car, interesting little mural on the garage doors, and no people in the way. so yay.

then back out to the main lot, where i noticed the viejitos' president, raynbow, riding around on a bike, directing cars and people. just not something i'm used to seeing him do everyday. most shows he's sitting under a tent.

i think it's a good, sharp picture of him, if only i had caught him looking my way, but then again, i am already too shy about taking shots of people, i snuck this shot in from a row away.

raynbow

hot hot hot

1948 chevy stylemaster

engraved wiper thingyi think this was the last shot of the morning, before the sun officially became a pain in the ass at the imperials' show.

simple chevy, with just the slightest embellishment on the wiper blade arms.

do they consider this a panel truck, or just a wagon. i'm not sure.

it's sticky out there. sticky in here too. no air conditioning and fans blowing hot air around sucks. just want to walk around nekked, but i can't. don't think my mother-in-law would appreciate it as much as my better half undoubtedly would.

at least the big job at work is out the door, and best of luck with that, so i can get back to fiddling with my pictures.

hoping to go to san fernando tomorrow, but it's gotta be way way early, since it's going to be hot out there. i hope, i hope they will let me in early, its a bit of a drive. but i would turn around if they say no. i'll either get busy shooting, or i get busy driving. gonna be too hot to wait around. all depends on who is minding the gate.

busy day

chevy truck

spied this wonderously painted truck driving past mooneyes a couple weeks ago. watched it go through the intersection, and turn into the parking lot of the offices across from all the action at the burger joint. by the time they showed up, it was pretty hopeless to find parking anywhere else.

the lot was bordered by short hedges, but tall enough to conceal a few gems, if you just scanned for where all the spectators were congregating.

look at that pinstriping and airbrushing job. just in awe. or awwww.

crazy busy at work this week. should let up quite a bit next week. thinking of asking for a few days off, to fly out and see my brothers, or north to see my daughter and her new doberman puppy.

winner, winner, chicken dinna

1962 chevy impala

this guy asked about my pictures, and asked that i don't forget to take a shot of his and his friend's cars. not sure which car belonged to who, since i didn't write it down; but for sure it belongs to one of them. i'll add the other, a sixty three, in a little while.

after another hectic week at work, we made it out to the fair yesterday. great day, great weather. would have been perfect for a car show...like the white wall nationals. but a girl can't be everywhere at the same time, and my better half was sort of on call to go in to work, so we went to costa mesa.

second day the fair was open, and we wanted to go see my stuff hanging in the photography building. found the first, a picture of one of the dancers blessing the cars, from the dia de los muertos car show back in october. no dice, i mean no ribbon. still looked good hanging there.

then over to the where the transportation pics were...same area as last year...in the corner. there's an impala, there's a fleetline; nope and nope. and there's a nineteen fifty two chevy hood ornament. yes! a ribbon! and not honorable mention! third place. good enough. never have done better than a mention, so yay, right?

and then there was one more picture to find. and we both had a brain fart, and couldn't remember what we were looking for. lol. so, while my better half called his mom to tell her the news, i had to search my phone for the entry tag, since i just couldn't picture what it was in my head at all. finally found it, and took a few minutes to locate it, but there it was, a lighthouse, in the landscape section. and nope.

so, one bigger ribbon out of five pictures hanging on the wall is good. better half's mother was overjoyed, but they're both just that type of people. i called my mom. my dad answered gruffly; he was waiting for a call from an air conditioning repairman. heat makes you pretty grumpy. my mom got on the phone quickly, and she was happy about it, but had to get off the phone quickly.

my dad doesn't have the best of hearing, and i don't have the best communication skills. i think i'm out of his auditory range most of the time, so it's just easier to let my mom translate info to him. apparently it didn't translate all the way, as he sent an email at some point in the afternoon, asking if i'd sent a picture of the first place shot and ribbon, so he could get bragging rights with the relatives. no dad, just third place. don't be too disappointed.

1963 chevy impala

sunny

1936 chevy

as usual, working my way through a few promised pictures, not going in any particular order. going pretty slowly: the time spent in traffic, the workload, my constant state of not quite fatigue, and my better half preventing me from having time to work on my pictures. better half simply reminding me that its already late and i should get some sleep. maybe i have insomnia. i have a hard time falling asleep, unless i'm completely exhausted or completely relaxed. i guess i will be posting when i post for a while. all i need is time, and its on the short end for a while.

firme bombs plaqueby the time i got to this car, the sun had burned through the clouds, and was climbing pretty quickly. it is purely by chance that you are where you are as the sun rises and you see how the light is hitting things. just have to shoot what's in front of you in that moment.

i remember the way the sun was hitting this car and the one next to it, from the other side of the car. it was nice, but there was also a pop tent behind them, and i just couldn't get low enough to get it out of the shot, and time was a-wastin'

as i've said before, turn around, look the other way. there might be something interesting you won't notice if you don't look.

so this was a better angle for this car. the trees framed it better. and i like how they sort of filtered the sun, keeping it from flaring out or just being a white blob in the clouds, adding some definition.