what's up?

uptown show

went out at five-thirty am today, up the street to the car show. better half walked me uptown, and pulled my camera bag around for a while. sun was already coming up.

noticed a bunch of classic cars in the rite-aid parking lot. went to shoot them, but they soon started to move over to the main street—they were there to volunteer to help set the show up and direct move-in, in exchange for prime parking.

strangely, as compared to prior years, they weren't starting move in until eight-thirty. we're used to a zillion cars lined up down the street waiting. nope, not much there.

spent time shooting the cars that were there. then noticed cars showing up further down, and went off to get those.

really love to shoot at this time of day, prior to move-in. fewer people, cool, overcast, everyone happy with anticipation. i really took the majority of my pictures waiting for eight-thirty.

then the time came, and it went very slowly. not sure what was going on, but it seemed to take forever to get cars moving. i took the opportunity to get some bfast.

i'm starting off, not with my favorite, best pics, but with the cars of people who talked with me, or asked about what i'm doing with the pics, as usual.

this nova was owned by the first guy that really chatted us up, mainly my better half, of course.

he popped the hood to show us what was hiding there, in spite of me wearing my infamous hat. whatever. here's a shot of the engine. dare a cop to try to catch up with it.

vandolero

first of all, let me apologize to the person(s) on the freeway at four in the morning, who do not think eighty miles an hour is fast enough. it's not like there aren't other lanes you could be in, yet feel the need to crawl up my tail pipe.

oh how i wish a cop on you after you give up and take off at a hundred miles an hour. even a flipped car, but then i take that back--it would mess up my drive to work more than you already have, asshole.

quick post, as i do have to get to the office. this is memo's baby. it was his anniversary show, so had to get a shot of the car. where it was parked, couldn't really squeeze in for another angle, with cars and people congregating in this prime apex of the lot.

pretty sure i've seen it elsewhere, just didn't know it's history. if i tagged it right in my digital garage, i'm sure i could find other shots of it.

gotta get movin'...weekend isn't gonna get any closer if i don't. ttfn.

jack sprat

feel like posting something different. saw this ford last week in south gate. the car was just a car, but it did stand out just because the entire body of it was covered in airbrushed figures and skulls. big modern wheels, with tires so new, the sticker is still on that front tread.

the little back lantern lights remind me of the haunted mansion, or maybe herman munster.

better half has been working from home for over a month now, with a couple more to go. he has his reasons. he has taken advantage of the time to also eat better, since the kitchen is right there. he has a lot on his plate, so to speak, but is dealing with it in healthy ways.

to get to the point, he's lost more than twenty pounds in a month, mostly by eating vegetables and fish, and avoiding sugar. and he likes it.

me, i never liked veggies, and barely can stand to eat a salad once a month. and i think i easily gain five pounds in the same amount of time, without trying, especially since i hit the last big birthday milestone.

don't know how many nights i go to sleep, thinking tomorrow will be the day i will stop drinking coke, only to fail by lunchtime.

i cannot imagine how he can say he likes eating vegetables, it's just not in my vocabulary. they're just gross. maybe my mom just didn't cook them right or just overcooked them to make them unappetizing. maybe i was a picky kid who has become a picky big kid. mentally i know i need to make lifestyle changes to kick my metabolism back into gear, but i never had to think about it before. and i don't know how. how do i say no to the random craving for cookie dough? just don't, i know--diversions.

trying to walk more, now that i have changed my work hours, but i'm inconsistent. mostly, i just want to sleep.

so what i'm trying to say is i'm happy for my better half getting healthy. sorry i've gotten so squishy the last five years; time has caught up with me, and i guess i will have to figure out how to do better just to keep up. it sucks getting old.

exhausted

quick post; i've been up and running since four am. not unusual for me on a weekday, but weekends, i prefer to sleep in. and i've been so busy at work, doing extra hours to meet deadlines—i hate tradeshow season.

anyway, made it out to garden grove and the hillco annual super cruise before the big game. was somewhat disappointed this year in that the turn out at five thirty in the morning wasn't what it's been the last few years that we've gone. add that it was overcast and really a nothing sunrise, with a hint of drizzle, i suppose that could be the reason. loved the overcast though, the big softbox in the sky. kept it way cooler than the average year at this show.

i'll write more on my next post, on another day. supposed to rain the next couple of days, so i will probably stay down at my mom's, away from the computer.

owner of this rat was curious, but only barely. asked if he would be able to search for a picture of it on the net. he could, but that would take way more time than just looking me up. tossed one of my cards through the roof hole...lol.

this shot shows a more overall view of the thing, but i kinda like the profile picture, which maybe i'll put up another day.

off to bed now...

elite green

chevy impala

this is a nice green car. couldn't get a good angle on it, since the front end was hopped up, and i'm not that tall, but this will do. lots of pinstriping and airbrush work. wondering if these are the type of wheels that they have to pull each spoke out and polish them individually. pain in the ass, i would think.

almost xmas. almost forgot that we had today off at work. all right, i really did not realize until last monday, when someone said something about the day off. which really screwed up my project deadlines, since i had factored in working today. oh well.

i guess tomorrow i'm getting baked, err, getting my bake on...a variety of edible xmas gifts. certain family members don't want things, but they do expect to receive their preferred baked treats. vinegar taffy for my dad...i'll do that last, as i'll burn my hands pulling that shit as it cools. but he likes it, so i'll make it for him. he says he doesn't inhale it all in one day like he used to, and his crowns on his teeth don't come out anymore, since he super glued them in.

my younger brother just decided he'd fly his family in on xmas day, so i'll have to make him a danish pastry. have made it for him every year since high school, except for last year, since he moved to the east coast right before xmas. i'm saying he's coming back just for that, but he won't admit it.

gave my kid the choice between some sticky, sweet, brandy-covered mexican bread or a loaf of carrot bread; he went with carrot. went to the market earlier, with a list, and yep, forgot to get the carrots. i'll go tomorrow.

and i think i'll make my mom some zuchinni bread, with cinnamon and nutmeg flavor.

apart from all that, i gotta make a batch of cinnamon rolls too. that takes all day, so i'll start those first. will be a busy day, and i'm going to make a big mess in the kitchen.

island girl

1960 desoto fireflight

promised to post this one. it was different. took several shots early; came back again later, after the sun had moved a bit. it's the tail lights. unusual fins and lights always catch my eye. this one looks like they jammed some cadillac bullets in there.

owner was a nice older gentleman. said it had just been finished two months ago.

peekaboo

1964 chevy impala

i think there has only been one time i've ever seen this car not under a pop up tent. it's a historical car, so sure, they want to protect it and the paint job. the one time it wasn't, was probably five years ago, at the broiler. late in the day, i think it was surrounded by people. i'd have to sift through my hard drives to find it.

typically it's also surrounded by admirers and photographers. found it very early at the imperial's hawaiian gardens show last month. still was under the tent, so i only bothered shooting the front end. i'm guessing when it got pinstriped and painted, the chrome was off, otherwise, why does that squiggle go beneath it?

better half definitely is sick. drove home early from work to take him to some doctor out in arcadia, only to find out they had no more time for patients for the day. we'll try again in the morning.

i'm still not as sick as he is, but i suspect it will hit me full force before the end of the week, just in time for labor day.

so baby

found this car at san fernando last month. pretty sure i've seen it somewhere else, if not just the previous year at the same place. i want to say the tangiers cars are usually here, and a few show up at the showlows st hilary show in october.

it was highly polished, and the sunrise was just popping the light through that clear coat.

i want to ride my...

harley davidson

so, i've been busy doing stuff i'm not allowed to talk about, so i won't talk about it. i've been away from my computer and/or too tired to turn the damn thing on all week.

saw this bike at the viejitos show. one of the few i saw that morning before i bailed. only one i shot.

liked the paint and pinstripes. not a girly girl, so i won't call it pink; more of a mauvey marooney color.

now i think i'll work on another picture until it gets late, which is going to happen quickly...time flies when i'm having fun...then gotta get some sleep.

pain in my chesh

1951 chevrolet deluxe

and i can't breev. one of george lopez' classic stand up bits.

so, saw his car out at san fernando. famous not only for the owner, but for the glittery mexican flag painted on the roof. and check out that interior.

yet another time i wished for a ladder or roof or platform to shoot from, but none of those fit in my camera bag, so maxed out the tripod, and got this piss poor shot of the roof.

curb was higher than the street, and the street had the occasional car driving by, so couldn't shoot too well from there.

golf carti was curious why his car was there, but he wasn't. maybe he's afraid of danny trejo? can't have two celebs at the same show at the same time?

he also had his golf cart there...el mas chingon...it is, it really is.