what's up?

got the blues

missed the imperials’ show this year. dug up this pic from a couple of years ago for tonight. i remember there was a pair of impalas up at the front, but irritatingly roped off, so you couldn’t get a shot without the blockade there. more of a keep off / don’t touch the cars move, and i don’t blame them – they were pretty nice cars.

liked that they used blue lights on a blue car.

no idea where i might end up this weekend; all depends on how hot it is and what time i wake up…it’s been a tough week at work so i’m kind of burned out. gotta listen to my bod. probably will stay close to home.

would have been my dad’s birthday today. missing him extra.

sad and tired, so i guess i’ll go to bed.

decisions, decisions

another summer saturday. another decision to make. a handful of car shows to choose from, all running at the same time.

was at my mom's last night, without my camera bag or tripod, so that cancelled out the early morning show on my list. the other evening shows...i could run all over the place and stay a little at each, or pick one or two to get some variety.

or none, tomorrow is another day.

things are quiet at home, so i can get out for a bit. i still have a few hours to decide, for the outside to cool off a bit.

found this piece of eye candy at the imperials' show. tj friends club member. so nice.

fair day

was my turn to run all over hell and back today.

decided to run down to the oc fair really quick, to see my pictures on the wall. had to go down to my office just to turn on my computer so i can do an unexpected/unplanned work from home day tomorrow, and the fair was on the way.

got there just before they opened the parking lot, so got a good, close parking spot near the entrance. then, since i already had my ticket, got to head straight to the entry gate, where i ended up being first in line, which meant i got to stand under the tent cover, out of the sun until official open time at eleven. you don't know how much i needed that.

they let us in at eleven on the dot. i stopped for a drink before heading to the visual arts building, where i had to sit outside until i finished it, since i wasn't going to trash an eight dollar drink.

found my pictures in the usual place, the far corner of the building. two cars, one ferris wheel...ferris wheel got an honorable mention, wouldn't you know. hope my better half can go see them sometime.

spent an hour looking at all the other art in the building and enjoying the air conditioning. so chill. the weather outside was actually pretty good, being relatively close to the ocean, a breeze blowing constantly, and some cloud cover as i headed back to my car.

another ten miles down the freeway, five minutes in the office, and the return trip to whittier, with three stops at various stores, with a brief shopping list at each. hot in whittier, and managed to miss whatever they were doing uptown and streets were open again.

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damn stunning paint job on this impala at the imperials show. usual internal whining about needing to drag a ladder with me sometime. i do love the back ends on these cars, sleek curves up to the arcs of the fins.

sparkly

really liked the paint job on this one. and since the owner came over and said hi, thought i'd post it.

talked to some guys that drove down from fresno. they said this heat was nothing to them. one of them chatted about my cameras, which sony models i'd used or liked and why. he said he's seeing more people interested in getting them. he knew the difference between full frame and cropped sensor, so not a novice.

forgot to ask him which car was his, or i'd post it if i shot it. maybe he'll read this and let me know.

three hours

i headed to hawaiian gardens early this morning. not too early, and not sure i'd get in anyway. had to be somewhere else after ten, so had my fingers crossed.

my usual parking over there was already full, so i had to find somewhere else in a nearby neighborhood to park. that put me closer to a different gate than i usually go through. pass the guys at the crosswalk, directing traffic, ask them where i could get in. they said it was kinda early. i said my time was limited. they pointed me to a gate with a security dude in front of it. i think the vendor gate.

asked the security guy if i could get in, that i only had a short time to shoot, etc. he says there are hardly any cars there yet. i can see a dozen from the gate. i should have been a smart ass and said is there one? then that's enough, but i just said there was enough for me. more will come.

anyway, he asked some other guy, and they just said sure, so wizard, i'm in.

moved as quickly as i could. it was already really hot, and on the grass, it was just humid.

got over here near the new life club cars, heading back to my exit. was shooting the fleetline, and the owner of this impala came over and chatted a bit.

loves his old car. talked about the sentimental value that gives him his happy place. old cars remind him of when he was younger, memories of his parents who are gone now.

he is still working on it, seems to never be finished, even after spending so much money on it. time, just takes time. looked ok to me.

i told him i love the classics. they just make me happy. i'm not beyond shooting other cars, so i took a couple of his car.

hope he sees this and likes it.

seemed like it was going to be a very good show. sorry i couldn't stay.

hot hot hot

1948 chevy stylemaster

engraved wiper thingyi think this was the last shot of the morning, before the sun officially became a pain in the ass at the imperials' show.

simple chevy, with just the slightest embellishment on the wiper blade arms.

do they consider this a panel truck, or just a wagon. i'm not sure.

it's sticky out there. sticky in here too. no air conditioning and fans blowing hot air around sucks. just want to walk around nekked, but i can't. don't think my mother-in-law would appreciate it as much as my better half undoubtedly would.

at least the big job at work is out the door, and best of luck with that, so i can get back to fiddling with my pictures.

hoping to go to san fernando tomorrow, but it's gotta be way way early, since it's going to be hot out there. i hope, i hope they will let me in early, its a bit of a drive. but i would turn around if they say no. i'll either get busy shooting, or i get busy driving. gonna be too hot to wait around. all depends on who is minding the gate.

sunny

1936 chevy

as usual, working my way through a few promised pictures, not going in any particular order. going pretty slowly: the time spent in traffic, the workload, my constant state of not quite fatigue, and my better half preventing me from having time to work on my pictures. better half simply reminding me that its already late and i should get some sleep. maybe i have insomnia. i have a hard time falling asleep, unless i'm completely exhausted or completely relaxed. i guess i will be posting when i post for a while. all i need is time, and its on the short end for a while.

firme bombs plaqueby the time i got to this car, the sun had burned through the clouds, and was climbing pretty quickly. it is purely by chance that you are where you are as the sun rises and you see how the light is hitting things. just have to shoot what's in front of you in that moment.

i remember the way the sun was hitting this car and the one next to it, from the other side of the car. it was nice, but there was also a pop tent behind them, and i just couldn't get low enough to get it out of the shot, and time was a-wastin'

as i've said before, turn around, look the other way. there might be something interesting you won't notice if you don't look.

so this was a better angle for this car. the trees framed it better. and i like how they sort of filtered the sun, keeping it from flaring out or just being a white blob in the clouds, adding some definition.

thanks

chevy deluxe

just a quick thank you to the guy and his friends that let my better half hang out with them for a while, as i spent time taking more pictures. the sun came out, it got hot, and he was done. i hope you enjoyed his jokes.

and thanks to the imperials guy at the gate, who let us go early. i know the show didn't officially start until eleven, but it really is the best time for shooting pictures. always cross my fingers that we'll be able to get in, versus being out on the sidewalk shooting the cars driving by.

been a long day, another hard week ahead. gotta get to bed.

Update

on 2016-07-13 00:49 by kathy

edward [owner] writes:

A weekend with the wife turned into a purchase of this car; instead found this vehicle, a gentleman from San Francisco had just purchased it from an estate sale. The man had it running— keep in mind stereo-type project car—picture this, all primer beige with red stock rims, black front grill and rusty, missing outside moldings, etc. and interior 2 bench seats with torn headliner...not a nice sight but a nice canvas to start with.
The owner at the time had a 1964 Chevy Impala that needed interior work to be done to complete his own project, which was why he was selling the 1952 Chevy Styleline Deluxe.
My wife is a trooper, my better half—lol. She has been through it all with me she and loved the car. She gave me the Green Light to make the purchase but under one condition: that I started the vehicle and didn't stop until it was completed, because she didn't want it to go through the process, then stop in the middle and let it sit without completion... Oh, also I owed her a real weekend get away in San Francisco again. LOL
A 4–5 year build but well worth it. My wife and I enjoy the shows, the cruising, and the stories told...Thanks again to Kathy and her Husband. See you again out there—good times!

la harley

rained this morning. for about five minutes. seriously thought about going all shawshank in the rain at three-thirty in the morning, but the bed was too warm, and bid me to stay put.

it sprinkled a bit while i was out for lunch. that big, dark cloud over the hill, promises more, but will probably just keep moving on. at least it's cooler today.

no real plans today. i should sift through vacation pics. my dad always wants to see them. he won't travel much anymore, so i guess it's the vicarious thrill. he saw the world while in the navy, so i suppose he just wants to see how much things have changed. or not.

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saw this harley on a hot day, at the imperials show in hawaiian gardens. one of the few bikes i noticed that day, in two huge fields of lowriders and old iron. end of the aisle, and no people in the shot, so had to take it.

then there's this guy

went to the imperials show last sunday. wow. huge show. right up there with the legends' san pedro show. two baseball fields, plus in between, and a parking lot full of cars. a good amount of the stuff i like, so i was in chevy heaven.

hot day though, so took several more shade breaks than i normally would, which also cut back on how many cars i got to. big thanks to my friends, the latin gents and old times clubs for sharing their shade and the coldest damn bottles of water i've had since i went to canada, and brushed my teeth with water from a glacier.

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this guy, i see at a lot of car shows. drives a really nice '39 master deluxe. always calls me juera. i suppose that's better than gallina--my ex would tease me and say, "catalina, la gallina, puso un huevo in la cocina." he thought it was funny and our kids liked the rhyme.

saw him early at this show. took a few shots of his car before it got crowded in by other cars; but that's for another time, another post.

later in the day, i'm way over on the other side of the other field, and who comes strolling by? yup. says his friend has brought his car, i really should go check it out. won't see another like it, and it's back over next to his car. of course.

so last thing i do, while i still have enough energy to get there, and then get back to my car, is walk back over there.

he was there, with some friends. the car was pretty nice, with real wood panels, not just painted to look like wood. and a convertible, to boot. broke my own rule of not shooting cars with their hoods up, but since i'd walked all the way over, might as well.

and then he wants to pose for a picture with it...and it's not even his car. i guess he really liked it.

oh, and you can see the car without him in front of it, here.