what's up?

why bother?

beautiful fifty-eight last month at the veterano's show at the whittier elks' lodge. with these, it's either the back end or this side panel that's worth the shot. kicking myself, that i didn't move my pesky camera bag somewhere else.

please excuse, the following rant:

i see a lot of flyers posted online that are barely legible, and more than a few where the date has been cut off, but that was just the poster's fault.

some make my eyes metaphorically bleed, trying to pick out the important info. they make me want to cry, as i'd really like to share the info, but they're almost too painful to look at.

too many fonts, too many "special" effects, too much, too much... more stuff doesn't make them more cool; they are just cluttered and less useful for the purpose they've been created for.

not calling out any particular show/club, but omg.

thanks, and sorry. been a long day at work, and my eyes are tired.

uptown

so while i haven't had the energy to get out to any shows lately, i did walk uptown today for lunch. pretty fortunate that whittier is a popular place for low riders, and i can pretty much count on at least one car cruising by the house on the daily.

usually post walkabout cars i spot on my instagram, since all i have on me at most times is my phone. not much lately, since i've been out of town a lot, but posted a fifty-six bel air today. i drove past a thirty eight chevy out on whittier blvd, i didn't shoot it. being in a moving vehicle kinda makes it a bit difficult, though i have been known to pull over and walk back once in a rare moment.

anyway, this here car is from uptown, but on purpose. once upon a time, there was the low down in uptown store on the corner, and a couple of times they invited their friends to town for a little car show action. usually until the cops showed up and mentioned the fact they hadn't pulled permits or the neighboring businesses didn't appreciate the type of crowd or just the crowd that came with the cars.

if this is the car i'm thinking of, i believe it's sailed off across the ocean, to japan or australia or some other far away place. shame. it was such an interesting car.

deferred

i guess my impromptu roadtrip will be put off until the end of the month, or even to next month. looking forward to it even less them, as the weather will only get worse through oregon and washington. i wonder how much it is to just ship a car north. or my ex could just fly up and find something local, but he doesn't have time or trust the cars up there for some reason.

at least my boss is cool with whatever i need to do, whenever i need to do it. so many things intersecting, i don't know how i'll get through, except to just do it.

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pretty bel air out on the street at the old memories' pancake bfast a couple of months ago. almost kinda want one, just this color. but then i remember i'd rather have a fleetline.

sweet

saw this truck at the dia de los muertos show last month. that paint is so cherry red and delicious...so appropriate it's in front of the candy store.

my kid had spun out on the freeway on some ice last month, and insurance totaled her car. her dad has been looking for a decent used car for her—he said on friday that he may have found one. i'd previously offered to help drive it up there, but now he can't get the time off.

so i may be taking a not completely unexpected road trip north to washington state this week. just wasn't expecting to have to go so soon. i guess i'll have to tell my boss as soon as i know for sure.

then i need to get a one-way ticket back asap, before the price gets much higher.

my brother may go, or i'll just drive it alone. either way, i like being on the road. he's gotta be back by a particular day, cuz he needs to get somewhere else, so timing will be tight.

just saw my kid last week, and pretty much will be handing over the keys, and maybe get a meal, then outta there, and back to work by monday.

they've said i need to use my vacation time anyway.

seventy-sixers

antenna balls. could say he's got balls for the post title, but i've probably already used it before.

this car belongs to tj friends car club. they pretty much fill up this section of the elks lodge parking lot for these past couple of years. mostly convertibles, they were booked for last year's whittier uptown xmas parade, chauffering all the pretty, pretty princesses and bigwig city butts down greenleaf.

not sure if this car was there for the parade, but i probably already told the story about that day in another post.

owner of this car stopped for a quick chat at this show. asked me to shoot his car. i liked the back end the best, of course. so, there you go...

down, boy

owner of this car asked me to take a picture of it. i took a few.

being that it was wedged in pretty tight between the others, i like this view best. maybe i'll put up another angle when i have time. family in town, things to do, going to be away from my computer for a couple of days...the usual excuse for not posting.

i really don't like the hoods up, hence the pinstriping on my hat, but since the guy asked, and it was a nice car otherwise...

boo

got home from work late yesterday. didn't sit down, which made all the difference in me staying put versus heading over to frisco's trunk n treat show. really wanted to sleep.

traffic getting over there was a bit challenging, but it ended up being worth the drive. the lot filled quickly, cops showed up, but i hear everyone behaved, so it didn't get shut down. i was there for about two hours, until costume judging and trunk n treating.

lots of cars decorated with lights, spiders, cob webs, and skeletons. not this one. i've seen it elsewhere, but never really met the owner until after this shot.

i suspect those are just lens flares above the car, but who knows...maybe they're ghosts...

new day

sitting in the dark, waiting for my workday to start. contemplating the next few days.

my daughter is coming down to visit for the next couple of weeks, with her boy toy and one of her dobermans. she's leaving the albino one back at home. trying to find a new home for it...if you're interested in an untrained, unhousebroken sweet rescue dog, let me know.

i have a few doctor appointments coming up, so hoping to figure out whatever my issues are. hoping it will be just a take this pill and you'll be just fine, but that's probably too easy a fix.

at least it's relatively quiet at work. rare couple of weeks that i'm not busting my ass juggling projects. it won't last, so trying to enjoy that. have had to shoot several portrait/headshots, which mostly have turned out ok. will need to get a roll of gray background paper on the xmas list, and a dedicated room to set up some lighting...just making do for the time being.

people just don't sit still looking pretty, like a car, so it's been a bit challenging for me. different camera settings, with a camera i'm not completely familiar with. it's all good. keep learning, i guess.

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last few shows i've been to. have chosen different times of day, just for the challenge of pushing the camera to see what i see. mostly i get sunrise shots, like this one, because i'm out trying to get the pictures before the sun brings the heat.

slightly easier than the evening shots, where the camera settings just have to get dialed up to where i can still get an image and not have it too noisy without a flash, or the exposure so long, that people tend to just walk through the shot thinking you're not doing anything.

this picture kind of has an african plain feeling, but those porta-potties kind of ruin for me.

dark side of town

felt like crap all day. slept a lot. missed a car show. getting closer to halloween, so evening shows will start happening. this is a good thing, being how i hate the heat of the day, so the end of the day will do just as well.

woke up around four pm, and decided to head over to the latin gents show. this one is just monthly, i think, but i'd never been to this location. figured, i'd either feel better moving around, or i'd turn around and go home.

i didn't arrive until after six-thirty, so the sun was already heading down. not very many cars, but enough to shoot, since i was there. i decided that most people were probably home watching the dodger game.

saw my friend ernie, who came over to say hello. hadn't seen him in a while. he wondered which shows were coming up. told him the ones i could remember, that i'd need to check my calendar. really it all depends on how i'm feeling on any given day, in spite of my best intentions to get to a show. hoping to find out soon what the hell is going on with my insides.

owner of this master deluxe turned on his lights while i was shooting the car next to it. of course, that makes it more interesting to me, in spite of the open hood. ;)

he handed me a card for their toy drive next month. thank you very much, i'll add it to my list.

he asked me to

i remember you. you're that guy from the viejito's show in anaheim. ran into you today uptown at the dia de los muertos art and car show.

whole lot more cars than other years...more every year, with a few vendors thrown in between selling skelly stuff.

better half walked me to the show just after the sun came up. figured he'd go back home quickly, but nope, he hung out the whole time i was there. not bad for him, running on about an hour or two of sleep. he pulled my bag around the whole time, which was nice, since my knee was twanging me a bit.

anyway, two car shows this weekend, and pictures promised, and so many others i love. hopefully, there will be lots of rainy days this winter.

anyway, this guy, iou a print. you sure you want one with you in it? i do have a shot without you...maybe i should post it?

gotta get to sleep...