tonight, tonight

went uptown for dinner tonight. saw a couple of very nice cars. took pictures with my cell phone. i put those up on instagram: #randomcarsuptown. service in the restaurant was soooooo slow.

this one was sitting across the street from the restaurant. i kept an eye on it through the window. it was still there after the meal. got all the way home, and decided to get the camera and wander back uptown, to see if either car was still there.

my better half came along to keep an eye on me, i suppose. or maybe he just enjoys my company. he was suggesting i try shooting some different settings, being that it was night time. told him i'd give them a try after i shot them with my typical settings.

guess i got lucky. they both were still parked. just barely. shot a couple of a pontiac before the owner came back and took off. then continued down the street, to see if the other car was still there.

yes it was. this really cool ford. but the owner was sitting in the driver's seat. looked like he was texting, so i went ahead and started shooting, hoping he wouldn't leave before i was done. takes longer exposures when its dark.

i guess he saw me set up, and was just stalling until i was done.

my better half got his attention, mainly to thank him for waiting me out. he got out and introduced himself, and we got to talking about all the work he'd put into the car, and the plans he had for improving it, and making it go faster. dude just got his hair cut and was dressed for a night of cruising, i guess.

a few random facts, that i can remember: same owner for fifteen years and his daily driver; suicide doors; working on a bigger engine to drop in -- 400 something, sorry don't remember the specific model. (if only my bro were in town with his photographic memory); will be adding additional exhaust pipes on the sides with laser engraved skull and bones; chopped three inches; no back window; flames look fairly prominent here, but earlier were more of the ghost variety; after market racing skirts on the rear wheels.

talked quite a bit about the paint job. said he should have listened to the paint guy about the clear coat. apparently he opted not to follow the guy's advice, and there's some rust starting up under the paint. i suppose he'll eventually have to redo the paint.

i didn't shoot it from the back end, which i should have done while my better half was talking him up. had really unique tail lights. rare, he said. after market add-ons from the fifties, that he got lucky and found on ebay from the original owner. original packaging and screws even. some old dude cleaning out his garage. it happens sometimes. anyway, haven't seen another like it anywhere.

so much info, and i had hurried out of the house without my phone, so couldn't type in some quick notes, before the details fell out of my head. so this is the best my recollection of the info. can't remember the engine specs, but the new one will definitely be faster.

very nice guy. kept him talking about his car for a good fifteen minutes. all the while, he kept ignoring his cell phone ringing; hope his girlfriend didn't get too pissed. really appreciated him taking the time to chat. hoping to see him and the car at the dam on new year's day.

i'll put up the other car tomorrow.

just another day

so its kind of trying to rain outside. just rain already.

vacation time is way better when you've got something or somewhere planned to be. i got nothin. maybe if it was spending the time in my own house, rather than my better half's. but my kid is still living there for at least one more semester.

i guess i'm looking forward to freeing all my stuff from storage. it will be like christmas. then deciding on what i don't really need anymore—been without it for four years—so how much of it is just old baggage from a past life?

meanwhile...three more days to figure out what to do with. still doing backups and copyright filing.

thought this one from bob's big boy was ok. this car parks here a lot. if he's handicapped, that would be the reason. anyway, the car sits, i move. i liked this angle this time.

wondering if more than a few cars show up at the broiler on wednesday nights anymore. might just go over tomorrow if its not raining. week before xmas, used to get the lights on the drive-in and wreaths on the cars, so...

a model car

here's the other car. quick post. time for bed.

an original

took the better half to the showlow's fifth anniversary show in pico rivera yesterday. pretty good turnout. more than last year; not as much as the year before that. perfect weather. overcast that didn't burn off until after noon, and it didn't get too hot. gotta love that.

was shooting pictures of an acquaintance's car, when a couple of his buddies came over to say hello, and tell me they'd heard about me, and could i shoot their cars too.

ya, i'd already shot one of this car before they had walked over, but i went back and shot a couple more. i liked these better anyway.

i'll post the other guy's car shortly. i think i'll be too busy at work the next couple of days to get to others.

voodoo child

so i drove my tired butt over to legg lake today. i had been searching online for something else last month when the flyer for the los boulevardos show popped up. i went there for one before, so expected the same variety of cars to show up.

i bought a new wide angle lens, that my better half had recommended. supposed to be better, sharper than the one i've used for the last four or five years. i've taken it out for a couple of days now. still testing it out, so not loving it yet. gotta find the setting that looks best for what i do.

so, in homage to the hosts of the show, here's one of their cars. clean and low, i liked the small details, the light use of decorative pinstripes, and even the dingle balls. i guess the white furry dashboard is interesting enough, but i can only imagine how dusty it must get and the difficulty keeping it show-worthy clean.

thinking about a couple of shows tomorrow, assuming the weathermen are incorrect as always, and the predicted rain will either not happen, or will wait for monday drive time. oh joy.

goldie but goodie

i used to go to the broiler most every wednesday for a couple of years. and then my office moved farther south, and it made the drive too difficult with traffic to get there so often.

and when i do get there, most often there are only the regulars there, or some low rider clubs, or simply not much.

now the back lot has the back exit closed off and it's dark back there. and there's just a different vibe with the people that are there.

probably all in my head. they never know what to think about me anyway.

i just felt like getting out and shooting some pics, so endured the traffic last month, and drove on up there. it was kinda busy up at the very front. saw a few people i kinda know and said hi.

saw this truck drive in and park while i was shooting some other stuff. saw that the hood had gone up and the owner was showing off the engine to someone. thought i wouldn't be taking a picture of it at that point, and went back to whatever it was i was doing.

by the time i considered it again, the hood was down and no one was around. so luckily i got a few shots.

clean truck, interesting details. the truck bed is all padded, and i doubt very useful for carrying anything. i took a shot of that, but it's late and i don't have it ready to post...maybe i'll add it later.

wasn't daylight savings time yet, so it got dark early. the truck was golden, but around back under the fluorescents, it kinda goes green. so the weird, not stock tail lights look a little off.

ok, i'm done for now. my legs hurt from sitting all day at work. waiting for the weekend, hoping to get to a couple of shows, though it would be more fun if my better half could go. he's hoping he can join me next month at chicano park...hoping his sister can stay with his mom that weekend.

blurtard

since my better half hasn't bothered to post this one yet, i'll go ahead and put it up.

owners were nice enough to me, offered to let me get in and shoot some pictures of it. there was a really old guy, who told the other guy "there's a photographer." and the other guy was a really large guy.

better half had a different experience. paraphrasing what he told me, and you really need to hear him tell the story, with all the affectation and vocal interpretation:

he'd just set up his tripod and mounted the camera. the big guy that owns the car comes up behind him and informs my better half, "that he has long hair, and that his long hair is long, like a woman's hair, and that, people may think he is a woman. a big woman. with long hair. and that he doesn't mean to offend, but in case you didn't notice, your hair is really long."

and my better half stared at him.

and the guy went on to tell him some other stuff, mostly repeating the previous information, and even tried to touch my better half's hair in order to show him that it was long. like a woman's.

at some point, my better half had enough, and offered to let the guy go and not offend some other people, as there were plenty of other people waiting to not be offended.

it distracted him from what he was doing, and he says his pictures of it are crap, because he'd forgotten to set it to the proper f-stop. blurry, with the big blurry guy in the frame.

so ya, i kinda ignored the big guy, said uh-huh a lot, and got the shots. not really a great fan of the car, just the story that went with it. too over the top, too much glitter, just too much too much, it distracts from the car, and renders it fugly. my opinion, but i don't mean to offend...

sunny with a chance of rain

supposed to rain at the end of the week. i think the weather guys are mostly just getting paid to guess. they always seem to be wrong on their predictions.

i bought a new umbrella that has a handle like a samuri sword, that fits in a case that slings on your shoulder. i've been waiting a month to use it. the couple of days i carried it when they predicted rain before, i got a lot of double-takes by the security guys in the office. so that's fun.

so i'm gonna put off washing the car. again. well, i basically don't bother until i really can't stand it. or until i take it in for an oil change, and they do a free car wash.

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found this neon orange ford in an upper lot at the show. so early, no other cars were around it. i like the contrast of the orange and the blue sky. and that the hood was down. bonus.

rat

found this rat rod around back of the industrial park at the super cruise. its pretty beat to shit, and seemingly haphazardly put together. but if you look closer, the small details are really fun to discover. seems to have a thing for skulls too. wonder what freud would say to that?

the mottled paint is the color of rust, but it really isn't rusted at all, and it adds a wonderful layer of texture to the thing. and hells yes, real bullet holes instead of the stupid stickers!

work in progress, or will they stop here? 

  

  

up and coming

not much to say today, and it's late.

one from dia de los muertos show here in whittier. usually pass these kind of cars by, but the little blue bottle caught my eye. gives it that extra "get up" and go i guess.