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.

payback isn't always a bitch

one of the first cars i decided to shoot at this show, and oh how i wished the photo album was off the hood. the owner did finally come over and offer to move it, but i was already done with his car, starting to overheat and running short of time. chatted a bit, showed him my book.

he said he'd helped the original owner paint this car, i think back in the '70s. turns out he'd inherited it from him a couple of years ago. if i remember what he told me, i think he's still tweaking the engine, but it looked nice, glittering in the sun. glitter and pinstripes. not a bad way to say thanks for your help.

solvangian dream

whilst on a lost weekend in solvang several months ago, i was on the hunt for an old ford i'd seen tooling around the town. had even gone all the way back to the hotel to fetch my gear, and headed off to the main drag and public parking lots, hoping to find it somewhere. 

usually, it's quite busy on the weekend, and parking spaces are full. most any day of the week, one can find this here chevy. it's owned by one of the shop keepers. i was told by one of the employees watching from the store's doorway, that he also has another old car, and that she did as well...told her to tell him to bring his out, as well as hers the next day. (they didn't — i checked)

i've passed it by often over the years, but never had the interest prior to a couple of years ago, nor a good opportunity to shoot it. being that it was a rainy weekend, and fairly windy and chilly, here it was sitting with an empty space next to it, not many cars on the street. booyah! i took a couple of shots from the front, and from out in the street behind it. i liked this view best.

never did find the ford. must have been out just for a cruise.

everything's eventual

ah yes. eventually, i'll think of an appropriate (or inappropriate) title for this post. inevitably, i need to get some sleep. someday, i'll finally sort through my to do list at home. soon, i'll order the blinds for my windows...the list goes on and on. things that always get put off. i suppose in the end, it will all catch up with me.

for now, i'm still choosing to distract myself with my pictures. but today, i think i've had enough of sitting: driving to work for 50 minutes; in front of a computer for 8 hours at work, driving home for another 50 minutes; eating dinner and chatting with my better half for another hour before he has to go back to the office for the evening...then sitting a bit longer to play with my pictures. enough already. i'm off to bounce on my trampoline, and then finally a chance to lay down for a few hours before starting all over again.

the clock is ticking. i doubt any of us will look as good as this car when we reach the same age.

like buttah

i suppose the guy that owns this chevy gave up hope of ever seeing it here long ago. such a rich, creamery butter color, i think it may be just a tad too dark here because of processing, or just that my monitor is out of calibration again.

i think the owner was one of the few guys that bothered to chat with me, and he and his buddies took the time to flip through my book of prints, and ooo'ed and aaaah'ed all the while. it is always fun to see people's reactions to the pictures. mostly they are tickled by them, not believing they're pictures; there a few photography purists, who screw up their noses, and say it isn't their taste, which is fine. you like what you like.

anyway, was a nice car and a nice guy.

órale

stopped at the broiler last week. expected a lot more cars there, since the time change, and it was sunny and fairly warm. had time to kill before heading out to LAX, and wanted to have lots to make it fly by. well, not so much, so i just ended up take a lot of fewer cars.

if this truck shows up, this car is usually not far behind. either same car club or bestest buds i suppose. i haven't taken too many of it in the past for whatever reason, but this day, the light was good, and there weren't too many people milling around. really is a nice car.

and i took this one early enough, that the guys weren't sitting inside it yet, as they were when i walked by it later in the evening. i figure if you've brought your car to a show, you want people to see it, and it's available for shooting, whether you decide to sit in it or not. so word to the old bitties that glare down at me from the passenger seat. if i end up liking the car overall, i'm gonna post it with your pissy, constipated face in the picture for all posterity to enjoy. :)

hey to angel, who usually stops to chat with me, and had his brother with him this time—nice to meet you. yes, i always recognize you, but you were unexpected, since i hadn't seen your wagon in it's usual spot...he'd driven an old truck instead—his father's, that he's been fixing up.

diamond in the rough

i've been going to work all week not quite sick enough to stay home, particularly with deadlines to meet. i think i caught the "sinus infection" that my dentist's hygienist was telling about while cleaning my teeth the week before, while coughing with that little white cotton mask over her face. ya, i don't think it filters out the germs much, so thanks for that.

somehow i would make it through the day at work, then drag my sorry ass home to bed. to the house away from my mother-in-law, and away from my computer. so basically, i couldn't post if i wanted to, so sorry about that. i really miss playing with my digital garage when i can't get to it. better that i got some rest anyway.

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best part of traveling is the chance to see some different stuff. like this here truck. i've never seen one. it was just distinctive and old enough to catch my eye. and it had an old harley in the bed in a matching paint job. too bad it was parked in the shade.

crackle

i admit that i wasn't going to shoot this car. i had ducked under the overhang to get out of the sun and was contemplating packing up my cameras. the hood was up for one thing, and it was half in and half out of the shade. oh, and the owner was sitting in it with the door open, chowing down on some fries, and perhaps what were the remains of a hot dog.

he made some comment about my hair, i think. something to the effect of how it was so red. i told him it came from a bottle. he asked what color my hair really is, to which i had to say, that it's been so long that i've made it various shades of red or blonde, that i can't say for sure. let's just say, the pictures from high school have me with light or strawberry blonde, and be done with it.

anyway, some other car with flames painted on the hood drove in at that moment, so i was going to follow it to wherever it was parking. unfortunately, after backing into a similar space, half in the shade, the car was instantly surrounded by the crowd, and owner promptly popped the hood, and that was that.

the owner of this car noticed me still standing there, and inquired about my photography. i told him not without the hood down...and he volunteered to close his hood. it's like magic sometimes. my better half has been to shows with me, where a group of guys will wonder aloud why i always pass their cars by, to which he tells them, if the hood is up, she won't even bother. at which point, there is a quick slamming of hoods...lol.

so, since i still had some time before i had to leave, i took several shots, from several angles. had to move at one point, as another car pulled into the empty space next to it. i liked this view, and also another from the front, a vertical shot.

i think he said the paint on this puppy is at least 30 years old, and he for some reason kept apologizing about the chips and cracks in it. i kept telling him, i love it, and it gives it character, i wouldn't change a thing. hell, if it really bothered me, i could kill it in photoshop, but i like it just the way i found it.

i handed him my card. told him i'd post it, if he wanted to see what i did. he asked why/what for? strange question; most people are curious to see their cars here. i guess he was suspicious, maybe that he would have to pay. no, no, nanette. it's here because i liked it, because you took time to chat with me, and tell me a story or two. so thanks for that.

piece of tail

  

i think this truck was one of the last group of cars to enter the show, horns and sirens blaring, look at me, look at me.

i was really just digging the cloud reflections on all the cars, and this truck was no exception in its glossy finish that caught them.

not sure if the owner of this was one of the few guys that stopped to talk with me or not. if he's the guy that i cropped out of the picture, then no, and i don't think i threw a card in the window. oh well.

and the fox tail appeals to me. guessing it has been dyed to have stripes. too orange and full to be racoon. i have several tails from canada, fox and wolf...much too big and pretty to carry around, as well as the old racoon tail that i've had on my key chain for close to 20 years now. it keeps wanting to come apart, as it is drying out now, and i keep sewing it back together. i suppose i'll have to find another. hard to lose your keys with that thing on it. only ones i've seen for sale are thin, pathetic things. maybe i'll get back to canada soon and find a decent one.

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i tried to hit several shows this weekend. two of them were no shows; a third i didn't have the energy left to go to after all, and will try again next month. mr lindsey might need to update his cruise night list. either several that i have tried to hit up are summer only, or they've been cancelled. at least i didn't drive out to them specifically; happened to be in the area, and made the effort to stop. oh well.