dodge'm

spent the weekend hanging out in riverside. my son's last season playing baseball (unless he gets drafted) is gearing up. watched his team play some practice games.

of course, i had to check for any car shows in the area. unfortunately, the grand national show was out in pomona, so i think a lot of shows were sucked dry by that one.

found this one a decent size show in norco at the big boy. don't recall having one of these in my digital garage, so i shot several of it. the owner even offered to close the back window for me, then fussed over how he'd gotten fingerprints on it, so he had to polish those off. thanks for that. they probably would have shown up from this angle.

the telephone pole and wires sort of bother me, but not enough to remove them from the shot...i'm tired, and they were really there after all. it is what it is.

anyway, big lot, and about 100 cars there. probably go again, should i happen to be in the area. gotta get some sleep...back to the grind tomorrow.

sweet dreams

so i went to the broiler the other night. end of january. temps in the upper 70s. weirdest weather i can remember.

anyway, lots of cars were already in the lot by the time i arrived. these pretty little things were all spit shined for an official photo shoot for a magazine i can't remember the name of, but i'm sure you'd all recognize it. quite the production, with a large team of people setting up fancy lighting and lots of cameras.

got this one fairly early on, though i was intercepted when i first arrived by someone interested in pictures of their own car. he's a regular. already had posted his car, and tried to show it to him on my phone, but the signal wasn't that great. had to go fetch my ipad out of the car, and finally found it to show to him. dude, if you're reading this, i sent you an email. waiting for a reply...but i digress...

story i heard from the owner of this lovely nomad was that it was the third time his car had been featured as a work in progress, only this time, the car had just been completed. hot spanking new paint job. perhaps it was really featuring the paint shop, as three of these cars were completely awesome and similarly pinstriped and metal flaked up in lollypop colors.

anyway, i got my shots in between their set ups and all the people milling around. only i didn't use a flash or their lights. i'll look for the magazine, but i'm perfectly happy with my pictures, even if they aren't perfect.

take me to your leader

i've seen this t-bird several times at the broiler. never can quite get the angle that i want. as i've said before, i should probably start carrying around a ladder, so i can get higher shots when the cars have detail on top.

the funky art deco paint pattern in off-white on a rusty-type matte brown, make me think of a alien craft that has traveled quite far, and by alien standards, is a late model for them too. the pattern is reversed out on the roof, with rust and white on an off-white or silver background - i can't remember right now. strange colors from the lighting only add to the atmosphere. now if it had just been a bit foggy...

it has "slow dancer" painted on the side of the roof, which running through my mind, points to several different interpretations, and i can only wonder what it really means.

xmas spirit

i'd intended to go to a couple of shows today. made it only to this one at the santa ana elks club. was going to also hit up the john force show, but as i approached the freeway ramp, the radio was reporting a big truck spin out up the highway and a motorcycle cop had just got on the freeway and began the zigzag pattern...didn't feel like driving the surface streets out there, so i skipped it. maybe next year. i guess i'll peek at dave lindsay's pics when he posts them.

anyway, as soon as i walked into the lot, i met up with danny, from one of the clubs at last week's show. he's interested in shots of his club's cars, several of which were there. i'll see if i like any of them another day.

the guy that belongs with this truck also asked if i could take a picture of it. said it was the first time he'd had it out since his dad died. well, i would have even if he hadn't asked. it's a pretty clean ride.

interesting zebra stripey airbrushing pattern and big red bow on the front. might have liked it better if it wasn't parked next to a white iron fence, which reflects on the paint and just confuses the eye with the competing zebra pattern.

i think it was a member of one of the host clubs for the show. hope he sees this. i threw a card on the seat.

hoochie mama

another incredible car from yesterday's show. this one from the sons of soul car club, is black, with brown paint, covered with rainbow flake paint over the wheels and on the roof, pinstriping on the inside and out by kelly n sons, an airbrushed painting on the backseat. the painting on the window names it "hoochie mama." i found it visually stunning and practically perfect in every way.

spill the wine

today a went to only two shows, skipped the third by choice. wanted to see stuff i don't usually see. this one is from the viejitos cruisin on a sunday afternoon show over in fullerton. i've seen a few of their cars here and there, but was interested to see what a show hosted by them would pull in.

i was not disappointed. a virtual chevy buffet, some of los angeles and orange county's finest showed. and the people were very nice too. i was greeted by the president of the club when i got there. as i walked about and shot the bunch that were there initially, other clubs showed up and filled the lot, until they were parking two cars wide up the aisle. it was really not a huge lot, and i had to park down the street.

several people came over to talk to me, and ask to be sure to get their cars. guess i'll be busy over the next few days posting some. and there were so many more extraordinary cars that came out, i'll be busy for a month on just this one show if i wanted.

anyway, the owner of this car, who happens to be the guy taking a picture of his friends, found me at the front of the lot, and specifically asked if i had taken any of his car. at that point, no, i had passed it by, because the hood was up. he went directly back and closed the hood, just for me. it had a nice big chromed engine, but no interest for me.

i took several shots, but this one was my better half's pick of the bunch. hope you like it.

bloody mary

ok, so maybe too many warm, red cars lately, but i had this one ready to go, so deal with it. i'll post something from the other side of the color wheel tomorrow. maybe subconsciously i'm wishing for the warmer days, now that winter is moving in again? nah. i like it cooler, able to bundle up and keep warm. in the summer, once you're down to that last layer of clothing, you can't get any cooler even when you take it all off.

i like the car, but the color...red is a bitch to shoot sometimes. too saturated, loses a sense of detail. might also be because of the time of day and the position of the sun on this one. bright, tomato red, with pinstripe detailing.

front end was up against that truck practically, and not that interesting. i like the chrome contrast on the back, and even the tail lights on these, but haven't decided if the spare wheel attachment adds or subtracts from the look, but at least it's all matchy matchy.

fresh and fruity

the owner of this t bucket was one of a couple of people that came over to talk to me at this show in pasadena this past summer. the usual question: are you a professional photographer? my usual response: just a hobby. really am not in the mood to sell sell sell. she did ask if i sell my pictures; of course, if you're interested.

i suppose she's given up hope of seeing it by now. i think at the time, i'd already posted another t bucket or two, and hesitated posting yet another so soon. orange you glad it's here now?

she also pointed out her husband's car, which was parked on the other side of the other car there on the right. turned out to be some kind of muscle car i can't recall right now. hood was up, so i passed it by, so don't hold your breath on that one. :)

don't know why my price scares people away, i don't think it's that outrageous, unless you compare it to others, who must be selling cheap or just giving them away. i actually have had people ask me to give them a print for nothing. do they consider the cost of good paper or how expensive ink is? and i don't print on my desktop, typically; i send mine out for a more professional output.

everyone's a photographer nowadays. look around. people with incredibly expensive cameras, with no clue how to really use them. figuring paying more money will automatically generate a better picture. just a status symbol. might as well be flashing rolexes or pimp daddy jewelry around—either way, i am unimpressed. whatever.

i do what i do. if you can get the same shot from someone else, by all means, go ahead, and be happy with it. kinda thinking about closing this here digital garage. costs me more to keep it going than i've ever made back on prints.

but not quite yet. i'm still getting my yayas out of posting them, whether anyone looks or not. more of a visual journal for me than anything. and, heck, gives my better half a glimpse into inner thoughts i mostly don't verbalize out loud. keeps me sane as much as anything. i think i'm just going through a period of dark and twistiness...the holidays are coming...and he knows how much i'd rather go hide in my closet until they're over.

bump uglys

darn rain. love it, but not when i plan to go to a show. weather guys can't call the weather right either. stupid idiots.

anyway, i tried to stop at hooters on friday night...no rain, as was previously predicted...apparently no real show. not the first time either. think i'll stop trying this friday night show anymore. there were two cars over by the tommy's burger, very nice, but i didn't feel like setting up without asking if the owners minded—and i assume they were having a burger and wondering where the hell the other cars were, just like me.

would have stopped again at hooters for their monthly show today, but by the time it would've/should've started, the rain had finally arrived. and it poured. so, pfft.

so now, i'm going to just play with my cars all evening, since my better half needs to get some work done, and i apparently distract him, so i'll leave him alone in the other room.

_______________

here's a rat rod i saw a couple of weeks ago at the broiler. sun really is setting early by the time i get there now. doesn't bother me; just the people that get in the way, walk through the shot, and aren't polite enough to move out of the way. at least these people were on the other side of the truck in this shot; they'd already messed up a previous shot, and were heading back this way, so at least i got one ok pic. they couldn't hear me yelling "numbnuts" and worse under my breath, which is probably a good thing.

santa’s ride

quick post...got things to do, places to go, people to see.

found this at the senior center in mission viejo, where the boy scouts were hosting a pancake breakfast. i think it might be the same car i'd shot before, but i'm not sure.

anyway, the owner looked like santa when he drove up and jumped out. white beard and hair, though not quite as jolly as he should be. maybe because the holidays are stressful.