what's up?

sultry

during the course of the two hours i was at the anti-bomb show, i felt welcomed, both personally and as a photographer. the people that know me, greeted me with hugs, the others were very friendly.

i, of course, was slowly dying from the heat, and bartering in my mind how long i could stay, vs how red i was willing to let my skin get. top it off with a hot flash while standing in the shade, and an instant slick of sweat on my face, and that feeling of that one drip sliding down my spine, pretty much sealed the deal, and had me considering buying an ice cream from the little ice cream cart vendor.

i wanted an ice cream sandwich, but those get too messy with the chocolate on the fingers, so then decided on a bomb pop. nope, he didn't have the one i wanted, so passed on the ice cream.

was heading over to the hosts' door, where everyone seemed to be hanging out, to buy a bottle of water, when my friend from the veteranos offered me one. that guy saves me every time. gotta pay him back with a case and a print of his car one of these days.

this car is simple and clean. i just like the angle in this shot, not too distorted by the lens.

smokey

woke up this morning around three am. windows are open, cool breeze, and an overwhelming smell of smoke. being near the hills of whittier, had to get up and see if the hills were glowing nearby.

nope, but worrisome enough, breathing that strong smoke, that i couldn't get back to sleep.

alarm went off at four. so about five hours of sleep. going to be a long day.

dressed quickly, hoping to get out of town, on my way to work and away from the smoke. hungry too.

fifty miles away, still smokey. turns out camp pendleton/san clemente had a fire going too.

anyway, two more days to a four-day weekend, and i have no plans. one or two car shows, and backing up files i guess. kid wants to go see that aliens covenant movie that all but disappeared quickly. did it suck?

hoping the smoke keeps the temps down, but doesn't force cancellation of the bomb club show at santa anita for a second time.

nice green pontiac found at slick's anti bomb show. i had the cars here all to myself for the couple of hours i was there--everyone else in long beach at the bombs magazine show.

got there at start time, after driving up from orange county. brief stop in tustin, to see if anything was at the biweekly show at enderle center. hadn't been there in a couple of years, being that it's more out of my way since spending more time in whittier.

was busy, but on a quick look around, only saw a couple i would really shoot, so didn't pull my camera bag out of the car, and left quickly, hoping for stuff i like out in montclair.

driving into the lot at slicks, almost thought it had been cancelled or i had the date wrong. there were just four or five old chevys parked, and a tent setup but not much, compared to the memo ortega show there earlier in the month.

parked in the shade, unloaded my bag and was about to go see what was going on or not, when one of the guys asked if i could move my car around the corner, as they were expecting more cars. bag back in the car, move to another shady spot under a tree. he starts taping off the show area.

about that time i hear a siren, as the veteranos club shows up, and some other cars. so, ya, i had enough to shoot and keep me happy, until i couldn't take the heat anymore.

melting

nice to look at pictures from the winter months, and think how cold it was, or the rain and the clouds, on a sweltering day like today.

really hate summer. in whittier. no air conditioning in this house. fuck.

i like how this picture turned out. i want those clouds in the sky. not just for the added drama, but simply because california blue skies are boring.

was sitting in traffic on the way home today, listening to the news on the radio about how the latest way state government is trying to twist the truth and bend taxpayers over a barrel—squeal like a pig, boy. wheeeeeeee! started thinking where else would i move, if i ever decided to leave this place. not really sure.

figured i'd have to schedule some reconnaissance vacation time in various cities, at different times of year. don't want to end up in florida like my brothers, and then act all surprised by the weather and hurricanes and bugs and gators.

i'm thinking someplace cold. just walk out into the snow and disappear. maybe not into a little cabin, typing out my silly manifestos here. i ain't that crazy.

rain is nice too. barefoot in the mud.

maybe i just have a travel bug without the funds or the better half to cure it.

drop off

did anyone even notice i haven't been out and about much lately? not posting as much? well, maybe not. it's sort of an out of sight, out of mind relationship, right?

i have posted from elsewhere when i'm out of town, like a squirrel with pictures squirreled away for those days.

the usual song and dance: been busy, tired, sick, burned out, taking care of our healing resident patient, some cooking, some cleaning, some baking. just not a whole lot of photography going on here. just busy living life, or just vegging out...in some semblance of balanced way.

do i miss it? yes. can i live without it? reluctantly. there are priorities, right? but it is one of the few ways i get any exercise, so it's bad for my health not to get my ass out of bed and out to a show. i see a few coming up, that i very much look forward to each year. i've already missed a few, so will really try and go, if possible.

anyway, all i've done so far today is to get out and drop off my entries for the oc fair and walk around the swap meet there. better half was able to escape the house for a couple of hours, before his mother woke up, and his sister was left to take care of any immediate need. rare treat for him to get out, and also not to drive—simply being a passenger is nice sometimes; the ability to just take in the sights you can't pay attention to while being the driver, should not be overlooked.

time for chatting, just us, which has been in short supply for a while. not quite a date, but still time spent together lately is rare.

shot the back end of this impala, only because it belonged to tudy's friend. they'd stopped by and said hi earlier, just down the street from here. the friend asked if i'd shot it yet? no, didn't think so. told him i'd go check it out, which i did right away, before i forgot about it.

found the car, with the hood up. umm. bugger. decided it's the back end that has the identity anyway, so took this shot, just so i could say yes, yes i did, if i ran into the guy again.

went back past it later in the afternoon, before i went to find lunch, but the guy was no where around, and the hood was still up, so, oh well.

rimshot

here's ron's 'burban again. pretty sure i've posted one or two others over the years. i've noticed little tweaks to it each time i see it.

these rims aren't entirely new, and i've seen them on it before, but not sure if i've posted it with them. so simple and clean, with minimal color-coordinated pinstriping.

last couple of times i've seen him out at shows, he's been driving his beauteous fifty-nine impala. and i admit, i am more partial to that than this car, but this is nice too. sort of sounds like someone saying the big girl has a nice personality, when you think about it, in a twisty sort of way. might just be me.

lost weekend

clean truck from the uptown show. not the first time i've shot it, but this is definitely one of my favs. shiny like candy.

mostly been sitting in the house, avoiding the sun, helping my better half help his mom. did not go to any car shows. i've seen pictures from one of the shows i might have gone to, and am only slightly bummed i missed it.

i have walked uptown a couple of times, driven my car once, that's about the extent of escaping for short periods of time. so hot outside, makes me feel like my head is on fire when i have a hot flash on top of that...maybe it's time to cut my hair.

i hear my sister-in-law is about to be a gramma for the third time, today, so maybe she'll come back here in a day or two. crossing my fingers. really hate working from home, when i actually have work i need to do...the connection to the office is sooooo slooooowwww, and only sees one of my screens, so i have to work on everything in small windows. PITA.

probably won't go see my dad today, father's day, since that would take me out of the house for a minimum of three hours. i took him out to eat last week, and i'll see him in a few days, when i am free to go back to the office too. happy father's day, dad, whenever you happen to lurk here.

found a picture from when i was a kid, on an old computer. i think i used it as a wallpaper at one time, before they put a standard wallpaper on the computers at work.

there's my little bro and his friend, skippy, holding a big damn bullfrog that i found in a swamp, under a board. they caught it, and brought it home for my mom to take a picture. all the guts, all the glory, but i think i was mad, since i had found it in the first place.

look, look, i had a pissed off face even then, so don't take it personally, ok?

if

i'm helping my better half this weekend, taking care of his mother. not sure if i'll get to any shows. might be a long night.

it's possible i may if i go to the closest show—foursquare church—and if i go first thing, before she wakes up. we'll see. i may get there, only to have to turn around quickly and head back home.

i still have plenty of pics from the uptown show i haven't had a chance to consider.

like this one. was parked in staging, waiting for them to let the cars in. took a set of pics before this shot, just a normal stance. then the owner, i think that guy there, stepped in to the frame, and dropped the car down like this.

it did look better this way, thanks.

adult beverages

i was heading back to the house when i noticed the bridgetown guys parked over on bailey street, near the barber shop, the one with the motorcycle in the window. it was getting pretty warm by then, so i was taking a break in the shade, leaning on the wall.

couple of the guys noticed, and offered me an adult beverage. no thanks, don't drink. another guy offered water, but i was ok, almost home, so declined.

asked if they were going to pomona the next day, as i know from experience, they are usually the first club there by the grandstands every time.

they laughed, and said that some of the guys would be there, but doubted they themselves would make it, at least first thing. by then, one of the guys seemed to recognize me, another asked for a card.

anyway, thanks for offering the drink(s); if i was going to keep going, i would have taken you up on it.

pretty sure i've shot this fleetmaster elsewhere, but thank you sir, may i have another?

hello gorgeous

saw this one very early in the morning, and couldn't quite tell if it was all black or what i thought i saw, a little purple tint. the light was muted by clouds, so i thought my eyes might be tricking me with a reflection of something else. what that would be, i dunno, since there wasn't a purple car nearby.

here, i found it later in the morning, and with the sun hitting the paint, i see that my eyes told the truth. it is purple and black. and simply, gorgeous.

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just got some emails. only got three pictures accepted into the oc fair this time, and those were not the ones that i would have expected. the one entry that i totally thought would get in, didn't. oh well, winning there isn't the thing to obsess over; just getting on the wall is the big win. anything else is frosting on the cake.

change of plans

pretty sure this picture is from the azaelia festival show, because i've been to very few shows this year that had the cars parked on grass. thirty-nines are one of my favorites, after fleetlines. the sun is bit high for my taste, but i still like the shot.

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i was showered and ready to pack up my gear for a show when i noticed i had missed a phone call.

was my kid, no message. so i called back and he said, "wassup?" i said, "i dunno, you called me, or was it a butt dial?" i can hear he's in his car, and the signal isn't the best.

apparently, he woke up this morning, and just had a thought that he wanted to take his wifey wine tasting. she likes it, he doesn't particularly, but he likes to keep her happy. solvang is one of her favorite places, so he booked a room.

they usually take her mum and/or sisters, but they were all working. so he had called me, knowing how much i like roadtrips, and to mention they had the dog with them. i guess they had hoped i'd say i wanted to go, and they would have swung by to pick me up, but by the time i'd called back they were already to calabassas.

my mind was ready for a car show, but my heart put the kibosh on those plans, to spend the rare opportunity to travel a little with my boy and his little family. threw some clothes in a bag, better half cleaned the windows on my car (thanks d!), and i hit the road. sad part was driving off, waving bye to him. one of these days he will travel again, but he can't right now.

and it was really a perfect perfect day, weather-wise for a car show. overcast, and in the seventies. damnnit. there will be other shows...

so here i am in solvang, sitting in the dark and typing on my ipad. had expected to be sitting in my own room with the dog, while they stayed out late at a wine bar or the beer garden. after a late dinner, they were both very tired, and decided to call it a night.

beer garden is open until midnight, and is pet friendly, so they could change their mind, but i'll be asleep.

i could have still taken the dog, but then i'd have to get up and walk him in the middle of the night and in the morning, so nah. and i'm in a hotel down the street from them, so if he got too hyper, i'd have to walk a block in the dark.

going to meet them after checkout, for lunch, then pick up some fresh pastries for my mother-in-law, then head home.

only brought one camera, no tripod, so even though i know of a few car shows on the way back to whittier, i won't be stopping.

it's going to be a weird week at work, so i guess i started it off weird too.