greeter

lafayette

strange car i saw once at a weekly evening show they used to have at a sonic in anaheim. not even sure it still happens in that location now; i want to say i saw a flyer for a different spot recently.

shame it was parked under the walmart signage, where it welcomed cars into the lot by the entrance, though the sporting goods sign might be more appropriate with a car like this.

---

walked uptown today. totally wasn’t thinking, or i’d have gone to the little museum, where there was a small car show and an exhibit unveiling. walked to lunch, and was just a couple of blocks away, but didn’t notice any strange activity down the street. usual couple of cars cruising through on greenleaf; there’s always a couple of cars cruising through.

in fact, i didn’t remember the show until about three pm, and figured it’s too late, people leave after trophies are given, and it’s too hot today. yesterday was in the sixties, today over eighty. tomorrow the same.

going to south gate tomorrow morning early. last couple of years, i was there before anyone, and though maybe i’d gotten the date wrong. some years, they let me in before show time, other times, there is some stickler for rules at the check-in table, and i’m stuck outside the gate, shooting video clips of cars driving in. sometimes wonder why none of the people i know don’t offer to let me hop in their car to get in the gate. i’ll get you a free print…ah well, don’t want to crush your upholstery.

going to use better half’s cameras, the big heavy things. don’t think i’ll use the battery grip, makes it too damn big for my hands, but just right for his big hands. i suppose the wide angle lens will also be one i’m unfamiliar with, or will be that big heavy chunk of glass he used to use. nice pics, but my arms will be screaming by the time i leave after hauling it around. it will probably kick my butt into gear about looking to get my own cameras fixed and/or buying something else.

where the naked ladies dance

1952 chevy deluxe

spent a few days in france. i like the feel of it, can almost imagine living there, but then i don’t think i would. they do have large, beautiful open space parks, where you can really relax, listen to music, eat a croissant, and drink an expresso, if you are so inclined. i am not a coffee drinker, so coke works for me. and when they do not screw up and give me diet or zero, it is the same stuff we drink. they do not seem too big on using ice here though...have only had it in my drink once or twice in restaurants. really strange.

finding i do not have enough time or energy at the end of the day to get to writing here, but i am trying to post vacay pics on instagram, if you have any interest. not that person to foist them on unwilling viewers, and this space is just for my car shots anyway. i suppose i should be taking pics of their cars, but they just seem a little odd and nothing special, aside from their size. 

have already been to venice, italy, and stayed in a very nice home, with far too many stairs. we’re airbnbing everywhere, btw. perhaps i should write about just the homes. common so far is the size. spacious, but economical in the use of the space. they have modernized the centuries-old buildings they are in, and have all moden conveniences, including wifi everywhere, hence i can post my pics. 

we seem to me walking about ten miles a day, so i’ve gone from about a thousand a day to twenty-five thousand pretty quick. i’ve adjusted, with a lot expletives. the backpack doesn’t get any lighter, and though it really isn’t very heavy, i’m getting too old to be hauling stuff around on my back. i am using almost everthing i did pack, so i didn’t overpack.  

sounds like others are waking up and/or back from a morning jog. i should have gone out for morning pics, but i hadn’t set an alarm. 

hopefully i’ll find a moment to write about venice and florence before we move on...two more stops before going home. 

---

stopped at a weekly monday evening show at sonic in anaheim a few months ago. surprisingly crowded, but i managed to find pockets of cars with no people milling about, even if it is next to a clothing bin. still a nice car.

sonic

1950 chevy deluxe

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.

a surprise

1962 chevy impala

so got my better half away for a night. didn't go very far away, but he got the rest he so much needed.

we were out in fullerton, picking up some breakfast/lunch at a northgate market before heading home. this particular location doesn't really have a dining area, and it was way too hot to sit in the car under a blazing sun.

so i suggested we stop over at the sonic around the corner, order drinks and just eat under the overhang. that, or go to a local park, or we wait to eat until we get home. we pull into the first spot, roll down the windows, and just order drinks.

roller girl waitress brings the drinks and goes away. we start eating our carnitas, listening to the music in the background. then better half notes that they don't seem to be able to select a song to play.

i'm looking in the rearview mirror, and note that there are two lowriders back there. figure that the sonic employees are playing more appropriate music for their customers, or are taking requests.

then i note that there are pop up tents, and i see a guy in a club shirt seeming to be setting up traffic cones in the lot, and carrying caution tape. i joke with the better half that i believe a car show has found us, and i don't have my cameras with me.

from my window, i ask the club guy if there is a car show today, and he explains, yes, he's the club president, he actually works at the establishment (he didn't use that word), and they're just setting up. hoping to get it to be a more regular show. maybe start with a flyer?

then a couple of viejitos cars pulls up. my better half is finding this all very humorous, as he starts thinking i'd planned it this way. come on, if i had, i would have brought the cameras! lol.

anyway, we get out and walk around. say hey to the viejito that i have met before. he said other guys were going to show up. the club president hosting the show said they expected up to seventy cars. i think that should always be taken with a grain of salt...it's more of a hope.

anyway, we tell them we are going home to fetch our gear, and we will be back.

i don't think they believed us, and better half said they seemed surprised to see us again when we showed up a couple hours later.

hmm. not so many cars as mentioned. no additional viejitos, or either of the other two clubs that had been mentioned. 

oh well. we're there. we take some pictures.

found this one on the other side of the building. told the owner i'd post it. i want to say we've shot other cars from this club elsewhere. i think i may have even shot this one before...go look on my search page, type in 'one family'...i think it's the first one that pops up.