what's up?

it’s getting hot in here

fuck, it’s hot outside.

i’m uptown waiting on dinner. usually i’d just walk here, but it’s after five, and still ninety outside. if i could take my shirt off, and go topless, like the two fat guys across the street, i just might consider it.

this restaurant has no air conditioning. so i've bogarted their coldest standalone blower by sitting at a table next to it. no one else in here yet, so why not?

hell week is winding down at work, and my body is feeling the last of the stress. i am tired.

here's a picture from last year's front street show. it's coming up soon. if it's this weekend, i probably can't make it, since i have to meet up with my kid about moving the rest of his stuff out of my place.

nice car, wasn't really sure what it was, until i posed the question on the internet. someone said a lincoln, so i'm going with it.

sonic

it has been a hell of a week at work. sometimes being salaried sucks.

on the plus side, working late on monday, afforded me the opportunity to stop by an evening car show for a change. i'd been forwarded a flyer for it a few weeks ago, but usually, my schedule just makes it impossible to get to weekday shows anymore.

out at the sonic in anaheim, i initially pulled up and only saw a few cars under the drive-in lights. that's disappointing, i thought, but figured i'm here, i'll shoot what there is.

one old chevy, i'd seen before, and initially skipped it. i went to the other side, to shoot a nice mauve colored thirty-eight olds. of course, as i set up, the owner decided that was the time he wanted to leave. he did wait for me, so that was nice of him. as he drove away, i noticed another parking lot behind some bushes. that's where the action was, so i headed over.

there were about twenty cars over there, and a lot of people. the flyer mentioned all photographers and models were invited. needless to say, there were at least two crews of full up lighting and camera gigs trudging through the cars. big friggin octabanks of lights, and additional light peons, serving the man behind the lens.

only a few models sitting on the vehicles, though i heard the week before there had been more. i really don't care, as i'm more interested in the cars, but there are definitely a few photographers more interested in the models. hope they got lucky, for what it's worth.

the overflow from the lights and activity surrounding them, messes with my shots, so i mostly went to cars opposite side of the lot from them. and the darker it got, the more the people walked through my long exposures.

all that is to be expected. i haven't been out shooting at sunset in a while, so i'm rusty on my settings, and determinely persevered with my typical setup, whereas i should have turned the dial a bit. i really hate the noise bumping the iso up though.

anyway, i waited out the people, and managed to get a few decent shots that night. here's danny's car. pretty sure he and his friends took off not long after i got it.

waiting/stressing

why is it repairmen and plumbers always give you a two-hour window for their visit, knowing they will always be there in the last five minutes of said window? i know they are padding their time from the previous appointment, or are they expecting you to be the one running late?

i’m punctual. i’m on time. hell of a day going at work, and i had to get home to facilitate their schedule. dude has another forty-five minutes, then i’m just going to wait some more.

i will have to go back to the office to make up time, then probably stay later working on some hard deadlines.

the only bright spot in the day is that i knew about the staying late part. i brought my cameras, so i could possibly, actually make it out to the orange county cruise night at sonic in anaheim. i may be on my way back to whittier during show hours. hoping there may be a few cars to shoot anyway.

———

here’s a merc i saw at pomona a few months’ ago. i liked the color. the fisheye distortion is a little much, but it just makes it look like it’s smiling.

the only one

yesterday there were several car shows to consider. i can only pick one, since my better half has things he has to do, and i need to stay with his mom while he's out.

the big shows were mooneyes and the viejitos annual show. mooneyes is closer, but i've been several times, and find it hard to shoot what i do, and the cars are so spread out along the main street, with intermittent parking lots jammed with cars. there's a wide assortment of cars, to be sure, and if you're looking for the noisy cruise-bys, that's the place to be.

i chose the viejitos show. i wanted the bombs, the low lows, the big curvy-bodied cars. and a lot of them before any crowds showed up.

i arrived there in the dark. i always expect there will be cars from the host club very early, for the set up. there were two cars at the far end of the lot, but i didn't see any people, except the random homeless guy picking at trash at my end of the lot. i'm by myself, and i just wasn't going to walk over there in the dark with my camera bag, until i saw faces i recognized, or more cars anyway.

so i sat in my car, watching the sky start to turn orange, instead of watching it color up behind a car, as i'd wanted. pretty, but not a very dramatically intense sunrise.

about sixish, more cars started to show, and vendors started setting up, so i headed over. several of the club guys were there, and the president, raynbow, who shook my hand and welcomed me.

started shooting the club cars as they arrived. then there was a lull in new cars. pretty sure i leaned up against the chain-link fence in the shade for at least fifteen minutes. consoled myself that if everyone was over at mooneyes, i still had shot enough pictures of the cars i liked to keep me happy for a while, right here.

the pity party didn't last long. the closer to the real drive-in time it got, the more cars and groups of cars began to show up.

watched this cherry fleetline show up on the back of a truck. after it was unloaded, they parked it in the corner by itself.

it's a show stopper to be sure, but obviously not a daily driver.

the owner seemed to not want me to shoot it, as he said it was still all covered with dust from the freeway. i argued that if i waited, the light hitting it would be gone. i told him i'd come back around when it was as pristine as he imagined it could be and shoot it again.

i don't know if he understood, and i went ahead and shot it then anyway. he went ahead and started setting up a pop up tent right next to it, so i'm glad i got my shot before he moved the monstrosity up next to it.

i did go back later. he had moved it over a bit, another car parked in next to it. monstrosity of a pop up right up next to it. shows up in the reflection of the perfect cherry red paint. light was no longer specifically hitting it, just busy getting more generically applied to all of the cars.

as always, i liked this show. as always, i was up against a time limit, the heat, and the need to pee. i needed breakfast and to get back home, so i was on my way about start time.

all the other photographers must have been over at mooneyes. sort of missed those familiar faces; can't wait to see pictures from whatever event they were at. always good to see different points of view, how different people see the same subject. i have seen some other pictures from this show, so they did eventually turn up, but i was already gone.

left it alone

been having hot flashes. nothing new; i've had them for a few years, and thought they'd stopped finally. but here they are again. hot flashes on hot days, and i want to be like pedro and shave my head, because it was hot.

pretty sure i'd look a bit funny with no hair. i like being able to hide behind it, or tie it up when i want. really wishing i hadn't let the hairstylist cut so much off last time, but it's growing back out.

anyway, i want to go to shows this weekend. i will get to at least one. thing is, i have people wanting a piece of my time here, and at my house, and at my mom's. so, shuffling, juggling, prioritizing, however you want to term it.

i do not feel good, but i'm pushing through it, and ignoring it most of the time.

was leaving the show at chicano park, and came across a club and some few solo riders parked in the street by the market and apartments. i liked how this chevy was parked, probably deliberately, next to the big arrow, pointing out a nice car—shoot this one. ok, i did.

rude awakening

i've spent the last few days at my old place. kid moving out, kid wanting to move in, but can't quite yet. enjoying the air conditioning more than a bit. what a hell outside. happy, in spite of no tv, no cable, no wifi.

friday, daughter was going to be out very late, and probably end up staying at her friend's house one night, so i figured i'd take her dog over, so he could start getting used to the idea of a new home. i also had to take my car in for service on saturday early, so it was going be good going, all the way around.

i think i've mentioned before, that she's never trained the dog to stay off furniture. not too much of a problem right now, as the only real furniture he can get onto are the beds my kid left behind. i thought he'd be unable to get on the bed i will be using, as it is a monstrously high thing, with a thick mattress, aloft on a high bed frame, because of deep underbed drawers. but the dog, with his gangly legs, figured out that he can easily jump up, if he just took a little running leap from the top of the stairs. like, no big deal. ugh. who knew there was a long jumper in the house?

i found the other dog’s toy stash, and let him help himself to all of the toys that were left behind, so the evening was spent checking out every tennis ball, kong toy, and squeaky thing there was. spent a lot of time playing tug-o-war with him. he walked around working a tennis ball in his cheek, like it was chewing tobacco. wonder what the psi on his chompers is, if he can mostly flatten a ball like chewing gum?

i made dinner, and was closely observed. purposely made more than i wanted, knowing i'd be giving him some, just to get him to stop staring. shame on me.

later, got ready for bed, then wished for a step to get on the bed. had to heave myself up backwards, using the side bedframe for footing.

barely under the covers, when the beast jumps up, with a squeaky ball in his mouth and parked himself up against my back. sort of a pacifier effect, he munched on the ball until it fell out of his mouth onto the floor. squeak squeak squeak.

about midnight, he suddenly jumped off the bed, barking loudly...really he has a deep, loud bark...and down the stairs. barks echoing in the empty space. it was nothing but the ice machine in the fridge popping out cubes. he isn't used to the sounds yet. calmed him down, imagining the neighbors falling in love with him already. them, with their football size yappy dogs. not that sorry for them.

he did it again around two am, this time a noisy car driving by. i have a hard time getting back to sleep, so rolled around a bit. big bed, but the dog kept parked up next to me. he'd jump off, get a toy occasionally. in the dark, squeak, squeak, drop. at some point, i finally managed to get a few hours of sleep.

toward early morning, i rolled over, and opened my eyes. looking into the red eye of the dog's ass in my face. he'd parked himself up against the headboard. doberman, so no fur to hide anything.

did i mention he's also a very flatulent boy? so that's not the end you want to wake up to. i moved out of the way just in time to see the muscles start to relax...wondered how many times i was fumigated while unconscious. omg, and they are foul. nothing to do with whatever tidbits of my dinner he had, and all about the dog food he eats.

ya, daughter apparently snuggles with the dog, so he had been trying to get under the sheets and blanket. air conditioning too cold?

anyway, not the way to start the day, believe me.

i had to leave him alone while i ran my car to the shop. too hot to walk back, even early in the morning, so caught an uber.

dog was fine. was up on the other bed, looking out the window. noticed some drops of blood on the sheet. he had a cut on his knee, been there for a few days, that had opened back up, or he had licked it open. he'd played too rough at the dog park and some dog must have caught with a claw or a tooth. decided he needed to go to a vet for stitches, or at least to be reassured it would heal ok. but i had no car. found a vet with a later appointment, and called the shop to see if they could push my repairs quicker.

it all worked out, made it to the vet with minutes to spare, and now the dog has five staples and a cone head now. he bumps into everything. expensive day, but got through it.

——-

had to come back around a second time later in the morning to get this shot. parked next to vendors’ booths, there was too much action going on around it, and the owner unloading stuff from the trunk. such a beauty. i should lighten the sky a bit; it was overcast, but this looks gloomy and almost malevolent—and the opposite of how i feel about the picture.

fourth of july

away from my computer, and not finding any pics on my ipad with flags waving, so i’ll just put up this old one.

early morning out in south gate, waiting to go onto the golf course at the azaelia festival. pretty sure this was a majestics car. very nice, with the sunrise orange sky behind it.

standard airbrushed, large-breasted women painted down the side. at least they are fairly well done—kudos to the artist—i’d be afraid i’d fuck up a paint job on a car. same goes for all the pinstripers out there. cuz omg, there is definitely really bad work being done, and what are you supposed to say to the owner? blow sunshine up in there and say, “yes that’s great, definitely looks like your kids and/or wife/side chick.” nah, i just don’t take pictures of them...too tempting to me...if you can’t say anything nice...

i think this was the year they wouldn’t let me in early, so i had to fend for myself in the parking lot until almost the time for spectators to be let in. that really sucked. if you see me sitting out there, let me ride in with you in your car; otherwise, i may just go find another show to shoot.

————-

holiday, and here i am, sitting in a pollo loco, josé feliciano singing soulfully, “light my fire,” while i enjoy the air conditioning. no one here, except the employees, and i guess a kid that belongs to one of them, quietly staring at a cell phone.

woke up this morning in my half emptied house. kid still has a lot of stuff to get out of here. he’s leaving the beds, a kitchen table, and a desk behind...won’t fit in his new apartment, or has otherwise upgraded with new. ok, i can use the beds, since mine were tossed during the six years he was in here, but i have a table and desk elsewhere, so need to decide what to do with them.

can always put them in the alley in whittier—lots easier and quicker than trying to sell stuff. i have no patience for it. or i can continue to have them in storage until my other kid moves out and give them to her.

very quiet and cold at my house, which my deeply introverted self is enjoying, almost like a vacation, from the house in whittier.

a large number of porsches, ferraris, and lambos roared by early morning. never saw so many pns cars on the road before. must be an old douche white guy car club, out being weekend warriors, taking advantage of a holiday mid-week. all going over the speed limit, engines roaring, but no cops around, of course. if i drove eighty in a forty zone, no doubt one would happen to be around and give me a ticket.

there is a lot of fixing to do here after this kid is out, but the other is impatient to get in, so we’ll see what i bother to get done. her big beast dog will hinder remodelling; probably will have to send him to stay at my mom’s while anything is done.

pretty sure i’ll rip up the flooring and replace the cabinets, especially since a pipe burst last month, and there seems to be some issues with the wall behind the dishwasher. you know the drill, replace one thing, and soon you’ll be replacing so many other things, so it all looks good. don’t know the first thing about doing these things, but my ex has offered to help or at least find people to do it.

i need to walk back to my place, but the sun is full up, so will be flitting from shady spot to shady spot the whole way. if i start feeling too ill, i’ll get an uber.

now that the eagles are singing, “peaceful, easy feeling,” i will be on my way. have a great holiday!

led zephagain

interesting zephyr from the bomb club show last week.

i don't see very many of them, or maybe i don't recognize most of them, but they are relatively similar to a chevy of the same year.

also liked how he parked in a little "picturesque" spot, next to the alien looking plants.

sunday. another day waiting to see if i have to be here to watch my mother in law. better half's coworkers have not let on to what's going on with the scheduled photoshoot he was supposed to be doing.

my kid is currently moving out of my house, so, yay! wonder how long i can wait until the other one wants in. i'd like to redo the kitchen and maybe the flooring, but since they both have dogs, the flooring can wait.

i do look forward to the hottest days of the summer, and being able to escape to air conditioning. one of my main complaints about this here house in whittier—no air conditioning.

one of these days

one of these days, i'll get to the weekly cruise out at the in-n-out in covina. i did make it out to this show that happened on a weekend back in march. good weather, lovely sky, beautiful cars. in some ways, way better than summer and it's heat.

veteranos are good guys. as long as they were parked altogether here, and not too many people walking through the shot, did a quick pano of the group.

i have such a headache today, and i'm tired. shocker, huh? better half still waiting for a call to head in to the office for a photo shoot. might not happen if it gets too late.

wore a dress and heels to work yesterday. just bought the outfit the night before. two gift cards burning a hole in my purse for a year, plus me trying to avoid hanging out with a doberman all evening, so i ended up doing my least favorite thing...shopping.

best part, was that since i hardly ever wear more than jeans and a casual shirt to work, the reactions are priceless. especially, since they've said we can all wear shorts on fridays for summer, and here i am dressed up.

i believe that one of my coworkers drew the short straw, and when i walked back to my desk, asked why the dress? all i could say was that i felt like dressing like a girl for a change. that was really too obvious an answer, but i was not on my toes to come back with a more interesting response. at least i still didn't bother with makeup.

hardly ever wear heels, so i tottered around stomping like a horse. maybe it was just because they were new. more likely, i am just out of practice, and walking like a kid in mom's shoes.

someone said there were bagels on the next floor down, so a group of us took the stairs. glad i didn't fall on my ass or twist an ankle.

on the inside

spend the day at work, screaming on the inside. fuck, fuck, fuckity fucksticks. i’m tired, but it’s probably just stress.

i usually have a constant stream of work, and/or multiple overlapping deadlines, and i usually thrive with that. after all, idle hands, find trouble.

also years of being busy in front of a computer, have gotten me curvier than i want to be, so i really need to do something about that...doesn’t help that my better half gave me a bag of m&ms, though it’s the thought behind the gift that matters. thanks, d.

i’ve had a couple of slow days, and i’m fighting to stay awake, and just want to go home. i find something to keep myself busy, but i can feel my eyes wanting to close.

it’s almost a holiday weekend, and summer, so a lot of people are probably on vacation, hence no work or responses to my emails.

didn’t want to fight traffic home to whittier, so staying close to work, and heading to bed early.

————-—

i see someone has been searching my posts for a particular name. he is in my thoughts and prayers, but i don’t think it’s my place to share his challenges here. you know who you are. take care, hope to see you soon.

—————

this shot was from a cruise at in-n-out in covina. i seem to be shooting a lot of steering wheels and dashboards lately. probably subconsciously intending to make another book to go with the one i gave away at xmas a few years ago, of hood ornaments.did you get one? probably not. they are still for salesomewhere...probably on amazon...they own the world, don’t they?