another from chicano park. i'm sort of on the fence when it comes to cars painted in this matte finish. some of them just look meh, and then others really stand out.
this one stands out. sort of sedate, with subtle pinstriping. this one just sort of looks good enough to eat.
saw this taxi recently, when it drove past the window. i usually hear cars before i see them, and know to stand up and take a peek. some days i've seen a dozen old cars of all types drive by, which sends me for a walk uptown to see what's going on...where are they going?
anyway, as i was saying...i happened to be watching a hummingbird that sometimes sits on a tree outside, and saw this car drive past. not quite as fast as the ice cream truck...how the heck are kids supposed to catch that guy?
i've never seen the taxi before. told my better half to look out the front window, but he was deep in conversation with his mom, and didn't quite hear me. it was gone by the time he figured out what i said.
few days later, here it was at founder's day. owner was a youngish guy. i want to say he was telling the group around him he was recently home from the military, but i might be remembering another group of guys and another car.
he seemed nice. i think he was telling everyone about the guys that helped get the car done. looks nice.
went over to central park yesterday. founder's day celebration in whittier—history, local kid dance classes doing their thing, booths featuring local clubs and museums. and a half street of old cars, mainly the model t club, and a few odds and ends.
most the same cars every year. but it was overcast, and as always, i shoot the same cars again; different spot, different light, different picture. never know when you'll get it right. and then think next time, will "the one."
even ran into one of my flickr followers. always nice when that happens. i suppose it's the tripod that gives me away. i'm waiting to see his pictures.
he was letting his son shoot with his camera a bit...that's why i passed by and asked him if he was getting any good shots. then to hear him quietly say, "kathy?" after i had walked past. then introduced himself. so hi there.
i took a break early to go get some breakfast, but saw this cadillac drive by as i was packed up and walking away. came back around afterwards, just to get a shot of it. by this time, a lot of the people had already checked out the cars, and were more toward the booths and watching the performers. yay, not so many people to get in the shot.
i liked this one, with an old house behind it, that somehow looks good with this car.
i think i might be catching a cold. you know when you don't quite feel right? scratchy throat, overheating? but i did get some pictures selected and entered for the oc fair. now it's just wait and see time.
was my birthday yesterday. low-key, cause that's the way i like it. rained...which i love, so i didn't mind that one bit. had dinner with my son and my parents, so that worked out great. got back home just before my better half was getting into bed, having given up on me coming home for the night.
so my thoughts on birthdays: don't care anymore. even if it is a "milestone" in one's life. just a number, so statisticians can keep a tally on life expectancy. i thanked my mom for, you know, squeezing me out...it should be more of a celebration of the one who did all the work that day, right?
now that i've had my kids, and no sign of grandkids anytime soon, save the hairy, four-legged one that sheds a lot, i just see things as ways to fill time until the game's over. and what's with the time-warp? time seems to go by so much quicker the older i get, yet i move so much slower. except when i'm at work; then the day just seems to go on forever.
i remember when summer used to take forever to get here. now all i do is work, and with no real seasons to speak of in this state, if i didn't have a calendar, i wouldn't know the difference. my office cube looks out over the freeway. all looks the same, every day.
so, i fill my free time with car shows. and this is the place to be for those, right? nuff said. birthday done for another year.
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wandered up on the grass in the main section of chicano park, and found these latin bombas cars under the trees.
this one stood out, mostly because it was red, so it just "popped" from the green background. love the chrome and the headlights on the master deluxes. and the evolution of the hood ornaments with each year.
it's late. i'll have to edit it this later, but wanted to post something.
i think this should do nicely.
looks fast just sitting still, no?
not quite sure why it was sitting all alone in this parking lot, here in chino, on the edge of a very big car show, but i took full advantage of it. no people, nicely framed by the trees, i like this shot the best.
i did notice later on, that other cars moved in next to it, so i just got lucky, i guess.
got there relatively late this time. had to stop at the market to have breakfast, since we pretty much skipped dinner, and i was just gonna faint if i didn't eat.
we decided to start at the back of the park this year, then move to the street, before the crowds showed up.
i liked this plymouth, just sitting there glowing in the middle of the lawn. stupidly, i didn't take any shots of the hood ornament, and i love hood ornaments. oh well. next time.
i suspect there's some custom stuff on the car, since i don't think plymouths sat like this back in the day.
so many chevys were at the show, it's hard to pick just one to show you.
i liked the color of this one up against the mural's colors.
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looking back down the street, before we left, noticed someone with a huge octobox lighting umbrella. really curious who it was, and what they could possibly be trying to light up around noon. maybe trying to make the shadows less harsh? heading for something hiding under the overpass? just was really weird to see one out in the crowd. and i thought my tripod was a tripping hazard.
was lucky enough to catch a few shots of this motorcycle, right after the owner parked it, and before too many people got to this end of the street. really clean, and the muted turquoise and off-white paint caught my eye. little pinstriping detail on the fenders was nice too. i'll have add a few detail shots when i get back home to my computer.
positioned like he had scoped out the location and knew exactly how and where he wanted pictures to be taken. framed by the mural, it's almost like it belongs there, blending in just so.
i've seen a bunch of other people's pics of it, so i'm not the only one that thought it.
walked past it right before we left, and there was no way i could have taken the same shot, with the crowds around and the owner lounging nearby in his chair.
even though my better half had joined up with me and walked to the end of the street, where the majestics were having a mini picnic/party, and then back on our way out, he says he didn't notice the bike or the mural. i guess it can happen when you're on chevy overload. ;)
found my better half talking to the owner of this fleetline. we had both been taking turns shooting it -- front, back, side, details -- so much to see. my better half yells over the din, that the owner was "busting his balls."
uhhh, what?
said the guy wondered why, is this ocean of beautiful cars, why the heck were we taking pictures of this one?
all he could think to tell him was, "that it had character."
could have added all that fun texture, the pinstriping, the fact that it isn't ashamed of it's blemishes, and even emphasizes them. and hell, it still has all the curviness that i love about fleetlines.
it may be the pig's ear in that old saying; but way more interesting than a silk purse.