paranoia will destroy ya

story time, boys and girls.

the other night, i went to the broiler. really hadn't planned on it, but my better half wanted to go, so off we went. was pleasantly surprised to find a fair number of cars, especially after my last couple of trips there. so we did a walk-through to see what was there worth shooting, and sat down to get the cameras ready.

probably spent an hour shooting various cars, my hubbie being mr. marketeer and showing off past images on his ipad in between his shots. i did my thing while he did his. several cars from the sultans car club showed up; a couple of them i've shot at other places in the past. some of the cadillac guys also showed, as well as this hot rod. there were a couple of really beautiful 1957 pontiac star chiefs in the lot, one you can see pieces of here.

anyway, to get to the point of the missing piece above, it was my last shot of the night. ready to go, but waiting on my hubbie to get done taking a shot of the pontiac (that's his tripod off to the left). i'd seen this particular unnamed car elsewhere and even taken some shots of it's pinstriped details. it is really a well done pinstripe job, and the car is not bad either, but i digress.

i was just finishing the long exposure for this shot, when this guy, whom i'll refer to as "richard" here, walks up between the cars (in my shot, i'll add), and gets in my face and says in a not so friendly tone, "you taking a picture of my car? what do you do with the pictures?" dude is practically looming, all puffed up like a bullfrog. my hubbie hears/sees this guy talking and walks on over...

"richard" proceeds to insist, loudly, that he doesn't want any photos taken of his car, and that i not post any pictures of it. he'd be happier if i deleted them, but doesn't wait/ask for me to do so. at this point, i'm wondering what he intends to do. if he plans on grabbing my camera, my hubbie will make him very sorry about his choice, but he backs off a bit instead.

he blathers on about how thieves will see the license plate, look it up on the internet, and get his address, then come and steal his car. claimed three of his buddies' cars had been stolen, and apparently, they'd decided this must be how it was done. seems like too much effort and intelligence for the average car thief to me.

of course, i'm sure that happens, but to get on with the counterpoint to this lame excuse for a non-picture. not getting into a pissing match with an <insert obvious expletive here>, we countered with the fact that he'd made the point of driving from his home, or wherever the car is stashed, through the city, to this show, for the sole purpose of people seeing and admiring it. pointed out that it was in a public place, albeit a restaurant lot which happened to be hosting this car show, with many people taking pictures of all the cars on the lot. he didn't hassle any of them.

i can only assume he zeroed in on me, because i had a tripod. probably thought i was with a magazine and was going to publish it without getting a model release or something. i did tell him, it was for fun, and that i post stuff i like on my website. told him, had he wanted, i could have removed the plate or blanked it out, but he insisted it not be posted.

he actually had the balls to tell us we should always ask first before taking pictures, because most people would not want their cars posted anywhere the bad guys could see the plates, and thereby steal the cars. pull your head out, "richard." seriously.

didn't matter that anyone could have followed him at any point on his route to the show, and copied the plate down, or just do what someone did to my ex's truck...followed him home, then do the thievery while the owner slept. if he's so worried about it, just stay home in your garage, and keep it all to your little bitty self. no one would ever know...

anyway, didn't want to argue with him, he's not worth it, and since i respect his request (or anyone else's, for that matter) to not post a picture of his car, here's a picture of all the other stuff that was in the shot. too bad really, because it was a decent shot of this "richard's" car. big mistake, richard. big.

kma

continental succulence

also from the big boy's in orange, this juicy lincoln was in the bigger lot. not really sure if it was part of the show, or just a spectator's vehicle, i couldn't not take a shot of it [sorry about the double negative]. i do that a lot...take pictures of cars owned by people who have come to check out the other cars, but not to participate in the competition. if it's in a public place, it's good enough for me. some of them are quite nice.

very nice paint job, airbrushing and pinstriping, in your face, and yet somehow subdued. the owner was nearby with a group of guys. watched me closely, asked what i was doing and for whom. i handed out my card to all of them before they headed off to grab some food at one of the restaurants.

la chona

so i'm in a rough and dirty mood. been too long since i threw a beater up here. a nice rat rod made of bits and pieces of various years. i'm tired and don't feel like spit-shining pixels tonight.

this assembly seems to be based on a ford body of some sort. i like the unfinished surfaces, with the engine compartment a matte black with pinstriping. interesting to the spend the time and money for a touch like that, or even for the dice on the tire valve stem, when the rest of it seems destined to remain “aged.”

at least it doesn't have a huge, obnoxious engine, which in a chop top would inhibit the view from the driver's seat. i don't believe i've seen it back again since then, so maybe its been transformed into something more interesting by now...

gypsy rose

i attended the duke's show & shine over at bob's in downey this past weekend. incredible congregation of car clubs, lots of representation from each. really for me, it was chevy overload...it was a plethora, yes a plethora of chevys of many years, mainly 1939s–1950s, with some odd years and some impalas thrown in, and this one opened its petals to me.

so many to choose from, so many similar cars all jammed into the entire parking lot. i even had to park a few blocks away, since there was no parking nearby. i didn't know where to start, or what to shoot, much less, i'd been away from shooting for a couple of weeks and was a little out of sorts, so i did my usual. i started by walking around the entire show, seeing what's there. then sat down and took out my cameras. then went back through and just picked random cars—they were all so delicious, but so crowded together, as well as being overrun with people, i could only really do a few.

by the time i got there, they were already doing raffles and giving out trophies. really big, tall trophies. i saw many cars stuffed full of plaques and trophies from prior shows. these guys really know how to do a show right.

anyway, i am rambling. this car has a remarkable paint job. lots of detail. real crowd stopper. parked right up by the trophy table. perhaps you know it? according to my flickr friend, kid deuce, it's known as the gypsy rose. he was there the same day, but i don't know if at the same time. i've never met him, so if i walked past without saying hello, i'm really sorry i didn't recognize you without your western attire. :) he's posted lots of shots from that afternoon, so check them out.

also, thanks to jae bueno for posting the notice about the show, or i would have missed it. he takes really good shots of cars as well, and again, if he was there, i did not recognize him, or i would have thanked him in person. waiting to see what pictures he got of the show.

found nemo

so i'm getting over my cold. they've let me back in the house, but i'm staying away from my mother-in-law — not because of the stereotypical reasons; she's wonderful, but doesn't want to catch anything respiratory at her age. missed the ruby's show; was supposed to take a picture of someone's car, and didn't have any way of letting them know i wasn't going to make it besides not showing up. now there's only one left for this year. tried to get my better half to go take shots for me, but he ended up working late. hoping to hit up a car show tomorrow or the one in foothill ranch on monday, if it doesn't rain as promised.

——————

another member of lifestyle car club, this 1949 chevy truck was found at the whittier uptown car show back in august.

i think these guys do their own painting and pinstriping; one of the guys (the owner?) was touching up the pinstripes on this when i went by it later in the afternoon. devil in the details? nope, just little roses, down by the wheels.

sweet, swirly and fun, the curves of the car and the color theme just make me think of clown fish, but in a bad ass kind a way.

flamed trifecta

well i might as well make it a complete triumvirate of flamed vehicles with this motorcycle. i don't often bother with them, but i do make exceptions when i'm bored, or the opportunity arises for a decent shot of them.

found this one back in april at the foothill ranch show. parked near the raffle booth, and probably belonging to one of the people running it. i think it was the red glitter paint with the sun hitting it that made me take this shot. if i remember correctly, the owner even moved another bike out of the way.

hot rod lincoln

my best guess is that this a 55–56 lincoln of some kind. just not finding one with exactly the same bumper set up. guess i should've asked the owner — i think he was the guy who asked me "what is it you've been doing all these weeks here?" my answer was, "having fun," but maybe i should have been a smartass and stated the obvious answer, "taking pictures." nah, he was curious enough to ask, so i didn't feel the need. anyway, i handed the guy my card, so i hope he sees his car, if it is indeed his.

nice pinstripe job, and interesting paint. didn't quite overhear the whole story, so i'm not sure if he was saying he painted the car himself in his garage, or he took it somewhere. its kind of a matte finish, which is a little unusual when its not primer, but then this car was a bit unusual, and i don't have another one like it in my files.

i also think i've seen that guy in the doorway...i think he owns this hot rod, and is also currently selling an old cadillac.

hot and pink

posting another picture tonight, because i already know i won't be able to tomorrow.

anyone notice that it's getting to be a little on the hot side this week? i gotta get something to wear besides blue jeans; they just hold the heat in and i'm just gonna have a heat stroke.

stopped by three shows this evening: one in anaheim (too early, hardly anything there yet), peris, and bob's big boy in downey (only stayed fifteen minutes). lots to choose from at the peris show, stayed about an hour.

this ford hot rod stood out from all the other hot rods there. probably because it was hot pink and had pinstriped flames. even had an airbrushed portrait of a hot rod and the tasmanian devil on the back.

anyway, it was neato. i've got a shower waiting for me now...gotta go.

i want candy

first up from this past weekend's whittier uptown show. i hope everyone got a chance to see the group of cars from the lifestyle club. they were parked up at philadelphia and bright. incredible candylicious colors, pinstriping and airbrushing. nothing like them in the whole show. just wow. this impala was simply stunning. i'll have to post the back of it sometime. apart from it's continuous curves, there's a mermaid airbrushed on the tire cover.

another thing i noticed that made me laugh, and one i just don't understand: i'm off with my tripod doing my thing early; there's another guy with a tripod, taking his pictures. i remember seeing him last year. i'm not really following him, i've just finished walking up and down the streets seeing what's there, and getting started actually shooting. just so happens i'm going in the same direction as he is, from car to car. i'm not taking everything, i'm getting pickier lately.

anyway, i notice i'm shooting the car next to the one he's shooting a few times. seriously, i'm not stalking him, i'm in my own world, but i notice as we get to an intersection, he turns to the right and practically runs. i decide to go the other way. i was at the show off and on for about 5 or 6 hours, and i never did see the guy again the whole day. am i really that threatening? a girl? my gear? what?

which brings to mind a comment someone made to me the other day, about competition. another photographer at a show, peddling his wares. "here comes your competition." did not realize i was competing with anyone. i assume other photographers are doing the same thing i am, practicing photography. but i don't think they do it for the exercise, sheer enjoyment of the cars, of taking the pictures, or making something beautiful.

i don't try and force anyone to buy a print from me, but when they do, well, bingo, it keeps this website going another month. i assume people will buy what they like, and/or if you like something here, make a comment, let me know...don't be the silent majority.

hey, if you don't like my pictures, then thanks for stopping by, and be on your way.

gonna drive me to drinkin...

sweet lincoln at downey's bob's big boy. can't quite figure out the year on it. anyone know?

teraforce thinks it's a 1960 lincoln continental mark v