giving you the bird

been a busy few weeks/weekends.

to san diego three times: to take my brother home from a visit with mom; then the following weekend just because; then the next week, for chicano park, followed by a week vacation and visiting with my brother and bringing him back home with us. probably enough of sd for a while.
spent this past friday and yesterday in riverside, at the show and go.
thought about heading to lincoln park on the way home today, but i think i sprained my knee a little yesterday, so unfortunately had to skip it. perfect weather for los angeles. really wished we could have gone. :(

regardless, i have a zillion pictures from the two shows my better half and i did get to, so if i told you i’d post your car, be patient. really busy at work on weekdays, so it may take some time, but it will get up here eventually.

here’s a t-bird from the grassy knoll at chicano park. dappled shadows on a rough paint job—it’s seen better days, with that post-sunburn peeled look, sort of like my face—but the car itself is otherwise in pretty good condition.

next post is almost ready, of that red pontiac next to it. both of the lady owners asked to see the pictures. i’ll get that ready while i import my riverside photos this afternoon.

shark attack

yesterday was my boy's birthday. twenty-seven. how'd that happen?

they invited me to join them for birthday dinner. some restaurant down in laguna beach. because they're foodies, and know where to go when they want good stuff.

i haven't been to laguna in probably twenty years. no reason to go, and i always hated the crowds and traffic. i stopped going to the beach because there was no point in me trying to get a tan—i just burn then fade to white again. and then all the sand that gets in the car and in places sand just shouldn't be, if i went in the water on a boogie board or to jump the waves.

at least laguna main beach isn't too run down, as beach towns go, but i had a bit of a time remembering how to get around, and finding parking.

restaurant was hopping busy, and i got there early and put in my name to save a table. still would be about forty-five minutes. everyone else arrived and we walked across the street to the water, and some park benches.

flashbacks to places i'd been there when i was younger and dating my ex. and later, a building, where we'd attended a xmas party for work. so long ago.

remembering seeing a random man on a corner, wearing very loose dolphin shorts, with nothing under...and the wind blowing at the wrong time. ewww.

my sister lives out there somewhere, with her boyfriend/landlord/whatever he is. never have visited. i have issues with him. i see her once in a while at my mom's house, but mostly on holidays.

ya, probably be another twenty before i bother to go back.

anyway, it's difficult to find a gift for kids as they get older. they've already bought the things they need, and they have their own likes and decoration style.

so i fall back on their sense of humor, and just get them silly, just so there is something to open. found him a rubber shark puppet, and with some cash in it's mouth, he was happy enough. he's a lawyer, so he got the joke right away.

ready for the uptown show tomorrow. camera sensors cleaned, batteries charged. i should get to bed early tonight, but i probably won't. i can sleep tomorrow when i'm done.

saw this t-bird in garden grove at the super cruise. it sorta vaguely reminds me of a shark for some reason...maybe it's the headlights and shape of the hood.

it was nice in the early light of morning.

merciful

so i hung out at the broiler for a few hours. its a different crowd now than there used to be. the vibe is different. maybe its just me. maybe its just the cold, or the holidays. i really intended to stay later than i did, but i just wasn't feeling it.

there were a couple dozen cars there. some of the new clubs tend to gather in front of their cars and don't move. kind of bovine, just standing there. i didn't feel like out-glaring them out of the way, so i skipped them. shame.

i'd already spent time shooting cars i'd taken before. mainly, if they were in a different location, or the light struck them different than before. fricking richard's car got in a few shots, but i'll pretend it isn't there, since it doesn't exist in my universe.

sometimes, you just need to look at something differently, and it will be a lot more interesting. i've shot this one before, but i wanted to get some of the roof, then noticed the neon, then the sky, and angles and colors. just wished that the soccer mom van and other newer cars were not there, since they were hiding some other nice old cars.

this one seems to be for sale now; tiny tiny "for sale" on the window doesn't really scream that you're trying too hard.

dia de los thunderbird

yes, it's a real eye-catcher. kinda ugly, but outstanding pinstriping and airbrushing job. i like the skulls pinstriped inside, out, and on top.

weren't too many of the pimped out low riders at the show this year in whittier—apparently they're still pissed off by their exclusion last year. i've heard that the idiot that vetoed them last year is no longer on the committee, but his asshole-edness has continuing repurcussions. thanks dickwad. eh, excuse my french, or something.

hora lay

ok, i'm going to try and post this from my ipad, since i've got the time now and was too tired last night to post it.

waiting to meet up with family to take by son out for his birthday. where does the time go? as it is, it's more and more difficult to get an hour of his time as he's been a bit busy lately. when your kids grow up, you take the crumbs they throw at you and tell youself that's plenty. my daughter is a whole other adventure, and being in another state, an even rarer occasion.

as i said, starting to get to the shows again. tried to hit up one that still shows on the schedule yesterday, but when i got there, the parking lot was spectacularly empty, as was the restaurant associated with it. not even sure it was even open for business anymore.

i digress. found this lovely tbird at the broiler. again, i think perhaps i need to stay later to see if many more cars eventually show up. there was some sort of award on the dashboard, and i can't read it from this angle. i suppose it says something to the effect of, "you have a really nice car."

and while i'm pondering life and everything, can someone tell me why "old guys rule?" i can think of lots of ways they might be good for something, but an equal number, if not more, of reasons why it blows to be an old guy. how my mind wanders...

bird's eye

quick post again. tired. too many late nights starts to catch up eventually.

here's another from sunday's fuddruckers show in lakewood. don't believe the owner ever was around. maybe he/she/they were inside overdosing on burgers and fries.

not completely happy with tbirds, but slim pickens' at this show. and it was so nice and shiny.

sun bird

well, i'm tired. didn't feel like going to a car show for the last couple of days. maybe i'm catching a cold, i don't know. thought i'd play with this car, since its so freakin yellow, happy and bright.

the picture came out nice, but i don't feel any better. guess i'll go to bed.

take me to your leader

i've seen this t-bird several times at the broiler. never can quite get the angle that i want. as i've said before, i should probably start carrying around a ladder, so i can get higher shots when the cars have detail on top.

the funky art deco paint pattern in off-white on a rusty-type matte brown, make me think of a alien craft that has traveled quite far, and by alien standards, is a late model for them too. the pattern is reversed out on the roof, with rust and white on an off-white or silver background - i can't remember right now. strange colors from the lighting only add to the atmosphere. now if it had just been a bit foggy...

it has "slow dancer" painted on the side of the roof, which running through my mind, points to several different interpretations, and i can only wonder what it really means.

tweakedpixels

what's up?