what's up?

shoot your shot

first bunch of cars as i entered the field. set up my tripod and got to work.

first car in the row, a chevy, of course. :) i see that i was not the only one taking a picture of it. i hope he got a good shot.

don’t think it could go any lower than that; it’s basically sitting on the dirt.

home today, enjoying this juneteenth off from work. mostly enjoying my air conditioning. it’s hot outside. i should have taken tomorrow off, but didn’t. should be a quiet day anyway, time to figure out how to solve a design project that is vexing me.

a ray of sunshine

what to write, what to write.

a small contingent of bikes showed up in the parking lot at the bomb club show. there were a couple of exceptional bikes, and others, that could be bought at the dealership as is, i suppose.

this bike stood out, being so bright and colorful compared to the others.

we spent this past weekend down in san diego. no reason. better half just wanted to escape.

it was surprisingly not very crowded, in spite of expected protests and also father’s day. maybe everyone was at the nearby del mar fairgrounds. the padres were away, playing elsewhere, so there’s that. no marathons were happening, so we were able to find a reasonably priced hotel.

could probably have stayed, or at least visited at my sister-in-law’s home, but it just isn’t the same without my brother still there. just being in the city, always brings up memories of when we’d take him with us for the day, out on a harbor cruise, or midway, or balboa park. or they inviting us to dinner, only for us to pick up the check after they both would look elsewhere until we grabbed it.

perhaps we will retire there, though we’re happy where we are for now. as long as we can both climb the stairs. getting old sucks.

good time was had

quick post, as i’m off to my mom’s house for the evening.

better half and i got up early and headed out to arcadia, to check out the bomb club supershow for this year. and again, we should have gotten up even earlier, as we had originally planned—we heard there were cars waiting outside the gate by four a.m., but we both need a bit more sleep.

as it was, we arrived abound six, sun was up, though cloaked by overcast skies, for at least a few hours. we got to shooting quickly. the cars were parked all in rows, and more continued to arrive while we were there.

i like taking pics in the staging areas. cars aren’t so crammed in so closely that you can’t move about, to find an interesting angle. also know, that we’ll see them inside, on the field, and shoot them again, in a more ‘scenic’ location.

although the flyers said roll in was at nine, cars were still waiting when i asked security about getting inside, at nine-thirty. i should have asked sooner, as i was able to get right in after passing through screening. called my better half, who was still hanging out in the parking lot, to let him know he could get in now.

many cars had been let in the night before, so there were plenty to shoot already in place. now that i was inside, i knew it was a race with the sun and it’s heat to get as many cars as i could in my camera.

many cars were still being uncovered and polished in preparation for the day. i found the pontiac above, near the fence in the back to the left of the betting windows. it was a beautiful car. the owner said that i should come back when the sun comes out, so as to see the pearlessence of the paint and how it sparkles.

as it turned out, it did get sunny and hot about eleven, and i simply did not make it back, though i did think to do so. my better half convinced me to leave, over-protective as he is, and as i was looking a bit wretched from the heat.

there was a whole field of cars that we didn’t even see. alas. until we meet again.

why did i come back?

better half and i have recently returned from a three-week road trip. he kept telling me this is what retirement is like—doing whatever we want to do, going wherever we want to go at the drop of a hat—no asking permission ahead of time if it would be ok. so, yes, he convinced me long ago, but i just can’t pull the trigger on that yet.

we drove north up california, to san simeon and lake tahoe. across nevada, utah, wyoming. we experienced cooler temps, light rain, foreboding clouds and even snow flurries in the mountains.

we were thwarted by tornadoes, golf ball size hail, and severe thunderstorms, and had to cancel the planned drive further east, and turned south in laramie, wyoming.

so, we missed an opportunity to see an uncle on the east coast. we then had hoped to stop and see some relatives in colorado, but their age, injuries, and an upcoming surgery caused them to decide they weren’t up to a visit.

we diverted south to amarillo, texas, as my better half had a craving to stop at the big texan restaurant for a big steak. no, he didn’t participate in their seventy-two ounce steak meal challenge. also fortunately, amarillo was just west of a big storm.

it was fairly uneventful, and a whole lot warmer crossing new mexico, arizona, then back to cali, ending in san diego. over one-thousand six-hundred miles and we came home.

we spent a lot of time entertaining my better half’s love of airplanes; it’s only fair, when he puts up with my love of old cars. we hit up air and space museums in every state, and i think we saw at least six b-29 bombers in various locations, which are kinda cool.

maybe i’ll add a tab to my website for some vacation pics and more blather on our various stops. maybe i’ll just post a few on my flickr page.

absolutely would do a road trip again. probably will do another train trip or combination next vacation. we probably wouldn’t go so late in the year, but any earlier, we would have gotten blocked by snow in the mountain passes. it’s a beautiful country, if you just stop to notice.

so, today, was my first day back at work, where to no surprise, one-hundred and thirty-seven emails, a bunch of new assignments, and a ninety-minute required training to look forward to for the next few weeks were waiting. i’m not shocked. it’s always this way. work my butt off before i go, then more work waiting when i return.

my coworkers are great, took over some of my workload, but they are pretty busy themselves.

i’m more surprised that i remembered my passwords.

hopefully, i’ll find some time to get back to my car pics. we went to a couple of shows before we left, and have several coming up we hope to attend.

saw this chevy at the chino corn feed run show from april. the skies had been gloomy most of the day, with rain falling on and off. spotted the los angeles bombs cars at the far end of the street as we quickly walked to find lunch and shelter from a two-hour downpour. we stopped to take some shots after the rain had stopped, on our way back.

the image was a bit darker because of the light from the clouds, so i did brighten it up a little here. the car was darker, even with a temporary peek of blue sky that opened above this scene.

we were mostly tired and wet; headed back to the car at the far end of main drag. more rain was coming, and fortunately didn’t start again until we were safely in our car and on our way home.

save it for a rainy day

better half and i drove out early yesterday to chino, to hit up the chino cornfed run. though no rain was forecasted on the weather app, there were definitely storm clouds overhead on the way out there. driving off the two-forty-one onto the ninety-one freeways, we can see a bright gap in the clouds above where we were heading, kind of like the day we got married. figured that boded well for our day.

weather app finally did start showing rain expected at noon, then revised to eleven.

well, we arrived about six-thirty a.m., and it seemed as if it had just finished raining, clouds still pretty ominous above. love clouds—they emote so well in a picture.

this chevy was one of the first ones we walked up to. beads of water still on the trunk, expecting it to rain any minute, we figured we better shoot as many as we could.

the owner peddled up on a bike to ask where he could see the pictures of his car. handed him a card, told him i’d post it. so here it is, stephen. thanks for the follow.

better half took off to the other side of the road. i made it to the first distant community center building on the right, when the next bit of rain started. didn’t last too long, but i wasn’t willing to get my camera gear too wet. can’t afford to replace it due to a good soaking. a little bit is doable, but nah, didn’t want it soaking into the lens gears, etc. hung out under the arched walkway for ten minutes or so, and headed back out.

happened again off and on throughout the day. after ten, rain was expected for a couple of hours. sitting on some steps under a roofed building, we packed up our gear, and decided to head to a restaurant four blocks away, to have lunch and wait it out a bit. it really started raining and we were mostly soaked by the time we arrived. had to back track a bit, when we realized it was on the other side of a busy street, and then to find the door locked, entrance on the other side. the owner or a waiter luckily opened the door for us, and seated us where our bags wouldn’t get in the way.

happily enjoyed sitting under the overhead heaters for an hour and change, warming up and drying off. we finished eating, and noticed people were starting to line up waiting for seating, so decided we shouldn’t keep hanging out. still raining quite good outside, we put on our jackets, pulled up our hoods, and rolled out. headed back four blocks to where we had been sitting, to find several other people on our steps, so we went up past them to an opposite wall. they left shortly after, so we sat back down and waited another thirty minutes or so for the rain to stop.

saw chevy owner later in the day, with a group of friends, telling them that i had taken pics of his car. i hope he likes these.

early bird gets

we went to chicano park yesterday.

stupid early. parked not too far on the other side of the freeway, and walked back, in the dark, to the beginning of logan street, where the cars would be parked.

we used to get there way early and there would be cars lined up, waiting to get in. we heard this year, the organizers were different and younger, and they thought it would be a good idea to have a car show on a holiday weekend. out with the old, in with the new. let’s not next year, maybe? sometimes your elders know what they’re talking about.

well, there were a few cars at five a.m. this was my first picture of the morning. really incredible paint job. not sure whether to praise the vehicle or the artist, but dayum. so nice.

even later, after eight a.m., there were not as many cars as a typical chicano park show. not completely complaining, and I know there were other shows going on the same day elsewhere. still had fun, but yeah, there were plenty of spaces available for parking, and a lot of the usual clubs were not there.

The weather was perfect, not too cold even that early. went through a couple of batteries pretty quickly. then around eight, my tripod decided to lose a leg and i thought my day was done.

my better half watched me trying to piece the thing back together, patiently. after about half an hour of thinking about it, i finally got the pieces in the right order, but I didn’t have a tool to tighten it up to see if it would stay on.

was resigned to having to leave, but my dear better half set me up with his tripod. he doesn’t mind shooting hand held; i can’t hold still long enough.

before we left, about ten-thirty, it seemed the usual throng of people were arriving and crowding the road. knew it was time to go, when they just start walking through your shots to get theirs.

low men in yellow coats drive big, shiny cars

a stephen king novel, this isn’t, but this kinda feels like a car he would mention in his novels, driven by bad men. polished to a brilliance of hot honey in a fall heat wave.

he often weaves intricate narratives that explore themes of life and death. there are parallels to the allure of shiny cars that represent freedom and aspiration. glimmering under the sun, these cars evoke feelings of nostalgia and excitement, much like king’s vivid characters who navigate the thin line between the living and the supernatural.

oooh, slipping into collegiate term paper lingo for a sec. <shake it off>

this car, at the día de los muertos car show, was in primo parking at the front door of the show host, casita del pueblo.

many altars were set near cars, celebrating loved ones who have passed away. sugar skulls and marigolds were in abundance, though i think it was too early in the morning that this guy hadn’t set anything up yet. i think he might have moved to another location later—i’d have to look through photos of that day to remember.

redundant theme, if you’ve read much of this online confessional, is a continual fight to balance too much work and not enough sleep.

i have shows i hope to get to on the calendar, and another couple that club members have asked if better half and i could attend. i’m always having an internal struggle to yank myself out of a nice, warm bed and get my ass to los angeles super early to shoot some pics.

better half has been exceptionally eager to go shoot his camera and some lightly used glass, but if i don’t go, he doesn’t seem to go. he loves to tell a whole, now often embellished story of the one time i sent him to a viejitos show alone because i was sick—the gist of it—i sent him to the correct location, just a week early. lol.

he’s retired, gets plenty of sleep, and has all the time in the world.

i still have a few years to go until i hit some magic number, where i’m comfortable enough to consider retirement. it’s bad enough that i wake up every morning wanting to say eff it and quit, but i think most everybody dreams of that.

been doing more than forty hours lately, going to sleep late, and juggling time at home vs time at my mother’s house. sometimes helping one of my kids out with my time as well.

car shows fall by the wayside until i have more energy, or just have the need to do something creative and not work related.

sleep gets interrupted by thoughts of the next day’s workload, or figuring out a better way to complete a design problem. what’s a girl to do?

at least better half and i have been trying to exercise more and eat better. he’s lost a lot of his “equator” by getting to a swimming pool for a couple hours most every morning, rain or shine. i could join him for maybe an hour, if i really wanted to, but i just can’t convince myself to hit the pool when the weather is in the forties. or if i did make it into the water, it would be too cold to get out of it.

maybe when summer comes.

i’m so tired. my freshly washed hair is about dry enough, i guess i’ll try to catch the sandman.

charitable

i received an email last week from someone who’d seen my better half and i shooting out at pomona. asked if they could see some pics of their black forty-seven chevy.

luckily for them, there were not so many cars there, otherwise, it would have been a question of “which one?”

i responded promptly, that i was super busy at work—i totally am —but that i’d have my better half look through his pics to share until i could look through mine.

not saying that it bothered me that my response wasn’t acknowledged, since i’d later forwarded some of better half’s pics of it, but it would have been polite. i guess the thank you in the original email will have to suffice. maybe they went to junk mail.

so here’s another cloudy pic that i fiddled with the other day, one which happened to have been a long awaited rainy day (it rained most of last week). pretty sure it’s the car they were asking about.

i have a hard time unwinding after a long day at work, and can’t sleep, so i took the time to flip through my photos and find it. i had a side view of it as well, but i wasn’t thrilled with it.

if you’d like to see my better half’s pics of this car, check them out on his website.

going to throw in a shameless plug for my daughter’s dog rescue, in case you’re feeling charitable and love dogs and cats.

she lives in hell, i mean bakersfield, where there are so many strays, they either will die of starvation, get hit by cars, be abused, suffer heatstroke or freezing to death, or a combo of those. unfixed animals fare no better, and unwanted puppies do not thrive. she’s doing her best to help them, but she’s looking for funding for food, transporting them to no-kill shelters, medical care and fosters. her heart is in the right place, and where there’s a will, there’s a way, as they say. thank you in advance for whatever spare change you might have.

a weekend

better half and i got off our butts this weekend, and hit up a couple of events, heavily attended by cars to our liking.

not difficult for him, since he wakes up at three in the morning every day for no reason at all, but lately, i prefer to sleep in on my weekends. i was the one that mentioned wanting to go to said events, so i managed.

my older brother and his wife were in town visiting my mother. being from the east coast, we invited them to join us at the pomona swap meet this past sunday. apparently, they also like to sleep in, but rallied, and were up and going when we stopped to pick them up at four a.m.

we were in the unusually short line to the gate before five. apparently, the threat of rain kept people away, at least until they woke up and noticed it was hardly a sprinkle. while not as impressive in the quantity of cars in the show area, as there are in the summer, my bro was still quite impressed. they went off to wander the aisles of things for sale, whilst better half and i headed off to do our thing.

was wonderfully cool…i do so hate the heat of summer. the off and on sprinkles of rain before sunrise did not deter us. better half had brought several camera lenses to play with. i stuck with what i know, and tried to refamiliarize myself with my camera.

better half seemed to ambush cars as they arrived, with the owners barely parked, before he was asking for headlights to be left on. i caught a shot of this red truck, after he had his pics, and still chatting with the owner.

i could have happily kept shooting until the swap meet closed, but my bro and his wife had already wandered through the booth area, the cars for sale, and were getting hungry for brunch, so we stopped.

they also wanted to leave. things that caught their eye wouldn’t fit on the carry on luggage, and my brother was in danger of buying a car, but couldn’t decide between two, and knowing he had no other spaces to park one back at home.

brunch in uptown whittier, before going home, where my better half took a long nap, while i downloaded my pics from a busy weekend, followed by a hard time choosing which to start first...

missing my bro

wow, time flies. saw this car back in twenty-three, out at the riverside show n go. used to be an all-weekend show, but has shrunk to a friday evening and all-day saturday, run of downtown riverside, with cars parked all along the streets, cruising as they please. great opportunity to shoot both night and day shots, sunrise and sunset. stay at a hotel there, come and go to the show as needed.

actually was looking through old hard drives, and realized i had only posted a couple of pics from this show, got busy, and forgot about the more than three-hundred other photos i took that weekend. must not have been terribly hot, or there wouldn’t have been so many pics taken.

true, i get too busy to post anything, but not very often do i forget to go back and look through what was a full day and evening of shooting. as always, i started tagging pictures to post when i get time, but i probably have thousands at this point, so what’s a girl to do?

anyway, on a quick glance, there were a dozen that caught my eye, but this one suited my mood for the time being.

probably should get a taller tripod, or step back a bit more to avoid the little hint of distortion from the camera lens, but i thought this was still a decent shot of this car.

went to a memorial service for my younger brother today. i can’t believe he’s been gone not quite four months already. it still just feels like he just hasn’t come to visit my mom in a while.

early-on, i took a picture of the crowd—his wife said more than two-hundred people had rsvp’d, but when i took the shot, it was still closer to a hundred.

he would have loved it. people we grew up with, people he went to college with, his navy buddies, former co-workers all gathered to reminisce, as well as to enjoy seeing old friends. so many stories being told.

a couple of the guys that lived across the street, that i hadn’t seen since we were in high school showed up. i hadn’t recognized them as they walked past, but i guess they recognized me, and called after me. said they recognized my eyes. we’d all gotten older, and i would have never known it was them. so that was nice.

our mother, just turned ninety, was constantly surrounded by people sharing their memories, and i think that made her happy.

a table was set with things from his life: one of his flight helmets from his helicopter days; medals from his military sevice, and folded flag; pictures of his family, souveneirs from his career as an fbi agent [say it like keanu reeves] at lax; a letter to the family, signed by president biden; and more. his favorite drink was mountain dew, and favorite breakfast was kids cereals, so cans of the dew were included, and several containers of fruit loops and lucky charms were sat between the serious memorabilia.

a slideshow ran on a large screen off to the side. catered tables of sandwiches, cheeses, and cookies were visited by the crowd.

both his kids got up to speak. i don’t know how they got through reading their thoughts out loud, but they did. he would have been, and was, very proud of them, and in the scheme of things, they were his biggest accomplishments.

several people, from different parts of his life, got up to speak about him, as you do at these events. they all ultimately said the same things, he was the most kind, professional, funny, compassionate, great friend, social butterfly, and loving person they’d ever hope to meet.

my better half says he was the type of person that you’re all the better for knowing, or something to that effect.

and now there’s another empty chair at our holiday table, and a lot less laughter.

i miss him. and that’s all i want to say about that.