what's up?

bird feeder

i’m sitting here waiting on a delivery my kid ordered to the wrong address. the people on the hotline were too lazy to do their jobs, and didn’t want to bother changing the delivery location, so there we are.

out the front window, i have a hummingbird feeder. initially, it was very popular with the birds.

then i bought a new mix of food. not so many birds. then another brand, same.

there’s a cat, that likes to sit on the edge of the porch and watch the feeder intently. the dog barks at the cat everyday,

they went away for a while. my work day was a little more dull.

then i started mixing my own bird food with recipes from the internet. and i’ve found one they like. basically sugar water. so what i’m figuring, hummingbirds are just tiny little diabetics. or sugar addicts.

was confirmed this week that we’ll be required to be back in the office next month. i’ll miss the little flying spastics, the barking dog, and the cat that likes to pee in the neighbor’s planter early each morning. that neighbor is an asshole, so my hero, the cat.

i need to go shopping. i hate my old work clothes. i need shoes. i hate shopping. this will not be fun. i’ll miss working in my jammies with messy hair.

i had cut my hair the last time they said we’d go back to the office, then everything shutdown before we did. maybe i should cut my hair again…

i work late, because the work can’t wait, and my better half is still living in whittier.

they gave us a second computer, so i could still do work from home if needed.

better half gets to work from home permanently. he’s moving here next month, so the timing is great. i go back, and he stays home. sort of jealous.

————

watched this beauty drive up and drop down. waited for people to move along to get a decent shot. it’s all right, i guess.

new camera. color is a little off, so i guess the color balance is a bit out of whack.

————

these delivery boys are almost out of their delivery window. i guess i’ll hurry up and keep waiting.

————

update: they just called. almost didn’t answer because of another situation. their truck broke down and had to reschedule. [shocker] did it really, now, or did you just not want to deliver at five o’clock? day wasted, sort of.

right. i’m off to whittier then. ttfn.

bigger isn't always necessarily better

my better half bought himself a couple of new gigantor computer screens. Actually just some tv screens, that with a little hacking are now working as computer screens.

yesterday, he decided that i needed bigger screens to work on. nothing wrong with my current screens. threw in a better graphics card he had sitting around as well.

he was being nice. cleaned off the desk i work on, polished the wood desktop, dusted off all the fans and guts of my computer, and spent several hours figuring out why the new screens weren’t working properly with my computer. updated the drivers, wiggled wires, did some research online. needless to say, i was unable to use my computer yesterday evening.

this morning he told me that he had figured it out. he had two screens for me. one is ok, one is better. the better one is incompatible with my graphics card he installed. now he is online looking for a better card for his computer, and then i would get that hand-me down that he knows worked with these monitors.

so currently, i am working with the one big screen that does work, but not at it’s optimal resolution, but at least it isn’t flickering. i’m not as tall as my better half either, so this is probably the maximum size screen i’d use here, as i can’t adjust my chair any higher to find that sweet spot on the screen and not be straining my neck to view it.

the vibrancy and color are more muted on this screen versus my old one as well, so i have to calibrate my eyes for editing on this monitor.

this olds from chicano park is the first one i’ve fiddled with on this screen. what do you think? too dark, too light? sort of think too much shadow on the wheel and on the door. i’d rework it, but i’d rather start another car.

quiet

currently sitting on my bed at my mom’s house. same bed i used to sleep in at my grandmother’s when i was ever so small. seemed much bigger then.

worked a little bit late today. grabbed some dinner and took it back to my condo, where i ate in silence, amongst my kid’s piles of junk. i’ve given her a deadline to move it out. she hasn’t said much to me since then.

thought about going for a walk, but i’m so very tired. so back here at mom’s, and she is off at church. sings in the choir. gives her something to do.

but the house is so quiet without my dad shuffling around, though i hear every creak. said hello to his box of ashes, which isn’t the same. one of these days i’ll have a good cry, but the slow tears work just as good.

today was back to gloomy, sprinkly weather. i like that just fine.

have to take some pictures tomorrow for work. i don’t have time for it, but will do it anyway. it’s payday, so i won’t stress about it too much.

————

thought this plymouth turned out ok. should have rubbed out those bullet hole stickers…they are so stupid…but i sort of didn’t care to take the minute to do that. this club has cars painted with the brightest colors of the rainbow; maybe it’s a requirement to join?

no what

psst. better half just was sent on an expedition to fetch large wheels of dough slathered in tomato blood and the various body parts of slaughtered beasts. yummy right?

that’s for him. i’m just keeping it simple and getting a small one with processed cow juice melted on it.

when i get home now, i have about an hour before it gets full dark. he delayed me going uptown by having me watch something on youtube, and i sort of got stuck watching it for a while.

now it’s dark and he didn’t want me to walk uptown alone, and he can’t go, so he offered to go out.

pretty sure he’s a little stir crazy. it’s good for him to get out, even for a little bit. even tho he is really very tired…his mom had a bad night, so he was up a lot dealing with that. even overslept a bit when he should have started his work day. oops.

at least it hasn’t started raining yet. and the weather man is always right about when that starts around here…not.

seen this blue chevy around before. i know it’s posted here somewhere from last summer. here it was at the veterano’s show, sitting in the blue car parking area, i guess. purty, ain’t it?

thinking that blue is a little bit too blue, but i don’t feel like toning it down. maybe it’s my eyes, or my monitor.

your phaet in my hands

sticking to cars this time. boring everyone with tales from vacation the last few posts.

i shot this car previously at the uptown whittier carshow, on one of the side streets, on a corner. pretty sure there’s a blog post about it, i just have’t looked it up to link it...i’m sure it’d show up on the search page.

here it was at ruby’s friday evening cruise. had a nice chat with the owner, who hadn’t been around at the uptown show, but had seen my pic on instagram or wherever. very nice guy. my memory is short nowadays, but i want to say he’d put new wheels or hubcaps on it, since the previous pic.

random thoughts

last full day here in the cold north. maybe another time, i will go even farther, up into canada.

i've spent the day wandering around art museums, taking all the time i wanted to read about the artwork, or sit on my ass and watch the videos in the little display areas that loop about various pieces or art. was a decent mix of classic, native and local art. not anything too modern, which i find terrifyingly stupid, or maybe it's me, and i don't have my head far enough up my ass to appreciate or pretend to understand. maybe i just missed that class in college. i do enjoy the artist statements to try and explain why that crap is of importance, or justify it's existence, or price.

still trying to finish off this cold, especially before i get on an airplane tomorrow.

during my tedious hours on the road, i had plenty of time to ponder:

captain crunch is like broken glass when you have a sore throat
not one fast food place between home and here had fountain drinks that weren't flat, even those that used to be reliable. at least most had clean 'facilities'
while most of said dining establishments couldn't serve up meals that were quite right or edible, at least the employees were polite and friendly. just couldn't cook or do a sandwich for crap
i satisfied my daily wish to just keep driving, instead of going to work. maybe i should be a trucker, but then i'd grow to hate that
i do miss big trees and forests, rain and snow of my childhood, and glad i got to see it all again this trip
some people really shouldn't be given driver licenses and/or should study physics when deciding to swerve in front of eighteen wheelers.
oregon has xmas radio commercials selling guns. thirty bucks off on glocks for him or cute conceal carry purses for her. not to mention the adult edibles and smokables commercials. plenty for those last minute stocking stuffers.

i suppose there were other things, but i was driving and couldn't jot them down. mind like sieve sometimes.

second shot

another day, another car. owner watched me shoot the picture to the right, and came over to ask me what i do with the pictures.

i'm sensing a theme. don't see people asking every photographer what they do with the pictures, though i'd always be curious to see them. who knows what they do with them. i know i enjoy mine every day, and share a few here and there.

i suppose it has to do with the tripod. i think the guy that's out there at shows, with the old film camera with the bellows gets the same thing. no idea if he posts his shots, as i've never actually spoken to him...too shy.

anyway, saw the car again, on my way back up the street toward home. shot it again. it's a little more interesting, just because there is more color later in the morning, and more angles going on.

i was heading home to get some suntan lotion, as i felt my skin cooking. ended up downloading pictures from the memory cards, chugging a bottle of water and laying down for an hour. a little too long to sit still...was so sore when i headed back out.

went out, intending to shoot a particular car at the far end of the street, if the owner closed the hood as promised, as well as anything else that may have shown up and i'd missed. there were a few. arrived at said car, but the owner was not there, so didn't bother. shot a few more pics, and went to get dinner and cool off again.

monday

another monday. empty parking structure at work. this early, not expecting too many, but monday is always empty. holiday is next week, right?

made it out to a cruise at manny's el loco this weekend. i seem to be only squeezing in one show a week nowadays...how times have changed. go with the flow at home. not expecting things to get better anytime soon.

anyways, what was i saying? oh ya, manny's...smallish turnout. not sure if that was typical, but there was enough i like to shoot to have made it worth the trip. saw at least two clubs i know, and am always greeted warmly by at least one of their members. good to know someone at a show i've never been to, and when my better half isn't with me.

didn't make it to a morning show, so waited till the end of the day, avoiding the heat for the most part. should have stayed later and worked on some night time images, but i'll settle for sundowners.

don't think my camera sensor is too happy about shooting the sun, but i like catching the rays and sun flares. it's a little different, and need to change things up sometimes.

yesterday

busy day yesterday.

had rained a bit the day and night before. i knew it was completely possible our family member was getting released from the hospital, and that i was going to have to be there with my car, to be the taxi driver.

not knowing the when, i decided to go to the local car show first, check my phone frequently, then i would head out to santa anita, if there was still time.

i was at the los angeles bombs' second anniversary show before eight in the morning. figured, cinco de mayo weekend, and a sunday, i could sleep in a little and still get there to get a parking space.

and i did. my usual parking spot, right up front. and then the club members were there setting up their trophy table and tent.

so i just shot pics of the two or three cars that were there for a good ten minutes, until more cars arrived. the skies were mostly cloudy off and on, and always a chance of rain, but it didn't stop people from showing up.

other photographers arrived, and i met a couple of fellow instagrammers. very nice and talented guys. one had stopped at santa anita first, and realized that the bomb club show had been cancelled because of the rain. thanks. saved me a trip out of the way.

the lot was about half full by the time i took a break, then heard that i needed to get over to the hospital to make my pick up.

i have quite a few decent shots from yesterday, that i hope to have time to post, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

i rather like this buick eight. caught it during a brief moment of the sun shining through, with colors not muted down by the overcast.

made it to the hospital on time. it did pour on us a while on the way home. as unexpected as that was, the wheelchair on the back of my better half's vehicle got a bit soaked. he's currently trying to clean it up, and hoping the electronics and motor didn't get fizzled.

showdown

back in washington dc with my bro. his wife and kids flew in yesterday. their hotel reservations got screwed up and not enough beds. bro stayed with me, since i had two beds.

now she's spending her morning on the phone yelling at expedia customer service, trying to switch hotels. she has already been disconnected once. feeling like we should fetch the kids and take them out while she deals with that.

anyway, a few more days and headed home. has been fun, but missing my better half. hope he will pick me up at the airport. pretty sure he will...ya he will, no worries.

another sunrise shot. tired of them yet? i suppose i should sleep in more often and just shoot when the sun is high and harsh, and see if there is any 'mood' to be found at high noon. middle of a dusty road, shoot-out, just like an old western flick.