what's up?

uptown show

1964 chevy nova

went out at five-thirty am today, up the street to the car show. better half walked me uptown, and pulled my camera bag around for a while. sun was already coming up.

noticed a bunch of classic cars in the rite-aid parking lot. went to shoot them, but they soon started to move over to the main street—they were there to volunteer to help set the show up and direct move-in, in exchange for prime parking.

strangely, as compared to prior years, they weren't starting move in until eight-thirty. we're used to a zillion cars lined up down the street waiting. nope, not much there.

spent time shooting the cars that were there. then noticed cars showing up further down, and went off to get those.

really love to shoot at this time of day, prior to move-in. fewer people, cool, overcast, everyone happy with anticipation. i really took the majority of my pictures waiting for eight-thirty.

then the time came, and it went very slowly. not sure what was going on, but it seemed to take forever to get cars moving. i took the opportunity to get some bfast.

i'm starting off, not with my favorite, best pics, but with the cars of people who talked with me, or asked about what i'm doing with the pics, as usual.

this nova was owned by the first guy that really chatted us up, mainly my better half, of course.

he popped the hood to show us what was hiding there, in spite of me wearing my infamous hat. whatever. here's a shot of the engine. dare a cop to try to catch up with it.

headed out again

back at lax, in an apparently newer terminal. work is paying for this trip, so i enjoyed breakfast from wolfgang puck, but there were also options from the habit or wahoos. interesting. lax has always been more of a run down dump before. maybe i've just never flown this carrier before. anyway, nice so far. acoustics suck for announcements and someone keeps opening a security door, setting off ear searing alarms. 

i only worked three days this week, but i feel like i packed forty hours into them, staying late trying to get stuff done. zero time to play with my pictures, so i just snagged this one straight from the camera this morning, no editing...didn't even have time to slap my name on it. oh well. 

going to miss chicano park day, and i'm really bummed. one of my favorite shows, and better half and i usually make a weekend in san diego out of it. responsibilities keeping him home, and here i am off on another trip without him. 

off to florida, where both of my brothers are, so maybe i can catch them both somewhere in the middle of the state. my mom wants me to be sure and take pictures--she was peeved that i took exactly zero pictures of relatives last week. seriously.

has been a crazy month, but i guess i did it to myself. i needed to get away and do the stereotypical recharge. missing the cars tho... 

i have a few other hood ornaments to get me through the week, if i feel the need to say anything. ttfn, my flight is boarding... 

hump day

1947 chevy fleetline

happy hump day. weekend is coming, but not soon enough.


another from the dia de los muertos show. a viejitos car, i think; not sure which chapter. i wouldn't mind driving one of these, if only it would fit in the garage.

like the reflection of the car next to it too.


so begins toy drive season. i have mixed feelings. i've grown into a real grinch at xmas time over the last dozen years, bitching and moaning about the overflowing decorations around this house, and how early the stores start each year. one year, when i still lived in my condo, everyone just left me alone, i didn't buy anything, and woke up xmas morning when i felt like it...and i was perfectly happy about it.

i had even put up a small, live tree carcass and threw decorations on it, from when my kids were little, from a time long ago and far away, and no one ever even saw it except me, not even my better half. i do like the scent of the trees, and it reminds me of growing up back east; missing the forests.

i go to the toy drives to shoot the cars as usual, but i'm not going to bring a gift; i only grudgingly and with much difficulty shop for my own family...i hate shopping...but i will donate cash. i have to trust that the clubs do use it for a good cause and not just a round of beer for everybody.

almost as old as me

1966 cadillac

another busy week. the older i get, the more they just blend together.

supposed to rain for the next couple of days, so will probably stay at my mom's. people drive like idiots on a wet freeway, don't they? i'd rather avoid it, if i can.


another from early in the day from the dia de los muertos show. donut shop end of the street always ends up being where we get started, since we walk in that way.

not my favorite year for a cadillac, but i liked the early light hitting the black expanse of the hood.

my mom used to drive a used caddy, but it was more like a seventy-three, with an eight-track player.

carnitas craving

1958 chevy impala

took me two and a half hours to get to whittier today. yay friday. at least it was payday. missing q-vo trunk n treat tonight...just done driving for the day.

better half worked a few hours overtime, and apparently just got home. i just walked uptown to the mexican cafe, which is suprisinly busy just now. so i've just ordered a couple of carnitas plates and drinks--i do hope he shows up. he just sent a text that he's on his way, and he walks fast, maybe he's timed it just right and food will be served when he arrives.

several car shows tomorrow. hoping to get to at least two, and that depends on whether the first one is worth staying for, after the sun comes up. thinking old memories pancake bfast to start. i think i went to this show a couple of years ago. was pretty good then, but hot--and its all asphalt parking lot. i do expect some exceptional cars to show, at least according to the instagram chatter.

the other would be the veteranos, over at the elks club. not far between the two, so that helps. too bad there is only one sunrise a day. i suspect after those, i'll have no energy for trunk n treat shows. i should take my car in for repair estimates too...already got a few tips on places to go.


beautiful impala. deep chocolate paint job. this model year is good from the back end, but this little detail also makes it easy to identify, even for me.

better half just got here, so i'll stop.

it's a hit

1939 chevy master deluxeso i was driving to my house after work today, minding my own business, thinking my usual inane thoughts. my older brother is in town with his wife. they're both parrot heads, er, jimmy buffet fans, and i guess he is in concert in irvine this weekend. haven't seen them yet, they're out somewhere with my mom, so i'm currently hanging out with my dad, treating him to a gourmet taco bell dinner. meh.

as i was saying, i was driving home, when suddenly, another car up and bumped into my car. hot damn. pulled over and got out of the car. started taking pictures of her car, plate, damage, in case she took off. had to wait a couple of minutes for her to get out of the car, as she seemed to be on the phone and looking for paperwork simultaneously.

i suppose i could have gone ballistic, but it was just an accident, neither of us hurt, and she had insurance, so why get my panties in a wad. she admitted it was her fault, or rather that someone in front of her braked or slowed too quickly, and had to swerve...right into my car.

really just looks like some small body damage on the edge of a door and over the wheel. but driving it back over here to my parents house, it feels like it has a little shimmy or something. seems ok to drive otherwise. already have an appointment for an estimate, but not until monday. only going to a few local car shows this weekend, so i guess it will be ok. but way to get an early start on the weekend.


i see this car often at shows. belongs to a popular photographer. from what i've read on his instagram, i think he inherited from his father, and drives it in his honor and memory. maybe they worked on it together, i don't know. check out his photos--@aragonphotography39.

this shot is from last weekend's dia de los muertos show. i think i probably posted a shot from last year, which had a much bigger display, which included a statue of an angel and flowers, versus this one, which simply shows an old photo of a couple, a painting, and a sign. same spot though, he always gets this corner.

beautiful car. still like it better with the doors closed, but that's just me.

probably full of stars

1962 buick riviera

quick post...gotta head to the office in a few.

saw this first thing in the morning uptown, at the dia de los muertos show. i'd seen it before at mooneyes open house, but that was midday sun and where it was parked, couldn't get a shot i really liked, or at least enough to post yet.

but here, sun just coming up, street lights still on, the layers of metal flake and clear coat were really just amazing. i shot it again later in the day, but i like these early pics better by far. this was my fav.

told you it shines

1940 chevrolet special deluxe

how'd it get so late?

quick post, then to bed.

ran into my friend ernie and his wife at the dia de los muertos, uptown last week. they said it was the first one they'd participated in, and i don't think any of their other club members were there, unsure that it would be worth the drive.

they offered me a bottle of water, which i gladly took, as i was overheating about that time, and still hadn't had breakfast.

they took a picture of me, so i took a couple of pictures of them. camera wasn't quite the right setting, and it's not quite sharp as i know that lens can be, but it's ok.

i think they might just have had the best spot on the street, as far as shade goes. probably had shade most of the day, which was quite pleasant on a hot day. being their first time there, they didn't know if pop-ups were allowed, so they lucked out.

i told them their car was glowing, with the light sifting through the tree branches. not sure if i captured it, but there's at least a hint of it here.

to the other couple of people who offered me bottles of water, thank you so much if i refused it—i'd just chugged one right before you asked...

still not home

harley davidson

i hear my mother-in-law closely avoided a trip to the emergency room, having borderline pneumonia. she seems to be responding to the same type of meds my doctor gave me, so i'm hoping to go home tomorrow. i'm a little tired and dizzy, but i'm on the mend.

ventura nationals was today. i've never been, but i'm seeing some remarkable pics other photographers are putting up.

again, an old pic, from a whittier uptown show a year or two back. a harley is a harley, but some catch my eye more than others.

fine

1963 chevy impala

i'm back. i did finally leave the house, and go to my mom's.

better half started blasting the room i was in with lysol, while i was trying to eat dinner. sense of smell is intricately locked in with sense of taste, and since i think lysol reeks of vomit, it was going to ruin my dinner, that he had so graciously walked uptown to get me. i was afraid the next step was that he was going to go stand behind his mother's wheelchair, with her in it, and draw a circle of salt around them, and start shouting, "thou shall not pass!"

seems the only thing we ever have difficulty with is coping with germs around his mother when we're ill and who would kick the other's ass—underdog vs mighty mouse.

everyone's fine, btw.


loved the color of this car, and how the light was hitting it.