here's the first one i took from the dia de los muertos show in whittier yesterday. this was a row of showlows cars. ronnie was kind enough to let me know they were going to be there, and since its right up the street from me, easy to walk to. even got uptown early and got some bfast before they arrived.
i don't think i've seen this one from their club. very exceptional and clean. i liked the pinstripes, which they all seem to have, and it's very well done.
i stopped by the broiler the other day. was a bit more lively than on recent visits, yet still pallid compared to last summer.
as always, i find more interesting cars hiding in the back for whatever reason. this impala was one of those. on first look, it was an eye catcher, with it's shiny paint, glitter and all. but on closer inspection, there are a few imperfections on the pinstriping/airbrushing, but maybe it was just because i was getting up close and personal with the thing. still, it's a pretty thing just the same.
oooohhhhh. this was one spectacular car. really incredible flame job and chromeography. yet another in the land of unwelcome customs and low riders lot at the whittier uptown show. my only question in all the attention to detail, is why they used such a jolly green giant green on the wheels, rather than something from the same range as the hood flames? kinda throws me off a bit.
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question for you: what do you consider a professional photographer? i often get asked if i'm a professional, and am always at a loss as to how to answer. i look at them, they look at me. they blink, look quizzically. "do you work for a magazine?" blink. blink.
i wonder why they bother to ask, most never look like the type that would buy a print, much less pay “professional” rates. i assume they want something for free, to use for their charity, whatever. if i state a price, i sometimes hear that mr. xyz only charges $X. well, then, go buy his/her pictures, it don't bother me none. i don't have the time or interest to peddle my wares or harass the owners.
i think the basic definition, is that if you can sell a print, you're a professional. then, ya, i guess i am, in some fashion. on the other hand, i do this more as a hobby, to do my own thing after a long day at work, without other people telling me what to do.
i'm a professional graphic designer, since that's what i've got a diploma in and how i make my bread and butter, one who farts around with cameras after work, then tweaks the images on a computer—still in designer mode. so anyway, ya i'm a professional.
back in college i collaborated on a gallery show with a painter. i showed my black and white photography, he put up his paintings. i had cemetery images, close up detail stuff, abstract negative space, etc. the one comment left in my guest book that stuck out in my mind, was that "...the work looked like it was done by a graphic designer." i was never sure if that was meant in a good way or a bad way. i developed the stuff the same as a "photographer," so what is the difference? was it the way i cropped the images? the presentation? was it a snobby photography student? i don't remember. i didn't know anyone well at the school, and it wasn't advertised as photography done by a design major, so how would they even know?
anyway, back to my point; everyone with a camera these days can call themselves a professional photographer. but the old rule still applies: garbage in, garbage out. i think people can judge for themselves. i usually just answer to the blinkers, "no," and they go away to stuff more of their flyers into people's cars.
i think i saw this one at ruby's last time i was there. here it sits in the parking lot of old world. kinda cool with the wall•e engine thing and weird finish paint job.
my favorite parts, though are the unused hood lock painted to give you the bird – F.U. too; and the metal rooster on the dashboard. wait for it, wait for it...no, i'm not going there, i'll be good for a change, and not say something about how big (or small) it might be. love the pinstriping on the door too.
i think the owner was sitting opposite the car, and would occasionally make the hydraulics squeak a bit. thanks for not bouncing it while i was taking my shots.
this was unexpected. a fair cadillac; that was typical; but the interior decked out in serapes and dingle balls? seriously? seriously? well...i could only wonder why. maybe i just haven't been to enough car shows. maybe its done all the time. i've just never thought about effing up a caddie with them. come on, the stereotype is a chevy...
and it's for sale. good luck to you.
this is from the mother's day show at canyon crest in riverside. not too many cars were there for obvious reasons.
this beauty drove, or should i say purrrrrowled into the show just before they called it a day. it ran very quiet, and after parking, soundlessly dropped down to the ground. damn fine hydraulics i suppose. obviously, i didn't just imagine it...here's the picture to prove it. i think it even won a trophy, but then, with so few cars, maybe everyone won.
ok, this one is definitely a mercury. says so on the back bumper.
i'd been at the fuddrucker's show for maybe about 10 minutes. there were plenty of cars – an additional row had been made available. problem for me was that, either i'd already shot the car before, a good number of them were muscle cars (yawn) and/or the hood was up. i try to at least shoot one car, to make it worth the stop at the show.
i'd settled on an old ford, and rattled off several sets of shots. wandered around again, nothing interesting. i approached a very rusty 1928 ford of some sort. mostly original rickety bits. i was going to shoot it, when the owner popped up and opened the engine compartment to show it off to some other dude. oh well.
so i proceeded to my car, capped the lenses, packed it up, and got into the drivers seat. i sat for several minutes, checking phone messages, email, etc., all the while keeping an eye on what was driving in. more muscle cars. (yawn), newer corvette. (eh), chevys i'd already shot.
i was about to leave, when this baby drives in. always happens...just when you're about to leave, a good one shows.
since i'd been watched packing it up by some guy in a van nearby, i decided to move my car to another lot, and pretended to leave. i didn't feel like hauling all my bag and stuff out, so i just grabbed my wide angle set up, and the tripod. i felt a bit nekked without the whole bag of fun, but it was much quicker.
walked back to the lot, hoping he'd been forced to park on an edge because of all the muscle cars. happily, it was parked along the curb on the edge, so i had a bit more access. of course, because it was so different, it had attracted a crowd. i had to wait a bit for people to move, and then just ended up shooting anyway. the sun was getting ready to set, and it was casting long shadows, so that limited what angle i could shoot from as well.
different days, draw different crowds. sometimes the regulars are friendly, sometimes indifferent, and other times, they might as well be on the rag. grumpy old men. young teenage posers. frumpy women. overdone girls. lol. just kidding. but not really. can never tell if people will be polite or not. and this particular show, they seemed to be a bit more pushy, and in the way. haven't really had a day that their cumulative attitudes turned me off from a show yet, but one or two, almost.
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so this is not a merc, as i originally thought, but a ford (thanks for the correction gary!). i do have a hard time with id when there's nothing but the bumper and wheels to go by. i'll get the next fer sure merc up tomorrow or the next day.
as i said previously, i keep seeing flame-painted low slung cars. seems to be all the rage, or cliché, but at least there are lots of variations in how they can be presented.
i've seen more than a few flamey mercurys (mercuries?) lately. why is that? i suppose because they're awesome that way.
it was hot and extremely windy when i took this shot a few weeks ago in riverside. it was the glitter painted flames that stopped me first, and that it had a hood ornament – bonus. almost gave up trying to get a shot of it, there were too many people around.
i am at the point where, i figure, screw the people milling about if they're not in focus, just get the car. otherwise, the best cars just can't be captured. i hate the ones that i let get away in the past because people wouldn't move. fortunately, the majority of the time, if you whip out a tripod, people will move, same way i try to stay out of someone else's shots. i have some patience, and i can wait.
anyway, i think i'll hit you all up with a short series of mercs. why the hell not. i keep seeing them, so why shouldn't you?
between work (12 hours yesterday) and computer problems (internet connection and a backup drive that misbehaves and locks up my system), i am surprised i can post at all.
and i finally got out to a few car shows after not going for a few weeks. yippee. checked out foothill ranch briefly. not much going on for the first show. took a few shots, ignored the cars with their hoods up, watched a couple good ones get away.
tonight i stopped over at peris off alondra. first time i've been since it started up earlier this month. fairly good turnout, too many hoods up. did see a few of the guys that i met last year, and a couple of them that like to give me a hassle, but in a good way. you know who you are...thanks guys. lol.
then over to the broiler - haven't been there in several weeks. what the hell is with all the cop cars in the lot? had to have been at least one in the street and 3 or 4 in the lot - one in the back, a couple up front in the show spaces. something happen while i was gone? anyway, they seemed to have scared off the good cars. still a few there, but not much going on. didn't even take one picture there.
i've had a couple of inquiries by owners about pictures i might have of their cars. patience grasshoppa. to those that have asked, i'm slowly getting around to them. ordinarily, i pick a picture at my whim, whatever my mood happens to be, or if a picture strikes me somehow on any particular night i'm flipping through my files. so many to choose from, it gets difficult sometimes.
anyway, these chevys belong to the showlows car club, which includes this truck. they were along the back fence. hey ronnie, what do you think? i also have one of the mercury monterey and the impala – are they in your club too?
not sure what i liked more that evening—the cars or the sunset sky full of clouds.