got wood

been very busy, as usual. work tires me out. trying to plan at least a weekend away, just not ready to go on a full-blown vacation, no matter that i need one. gotta figure how to fit one in. and it's big car show season. speaking of, going to peel myself off the couch today and go to the latin gents show. starts in half an hour, so...

saw this car at the viejitos/pistoleros show last week. pretty stunning. had this airbrush work on the front bumper. not a big fan, but it's probably family...or fantasy.

also had this hydraulics thing in the trunk, so i guess i'll forgo my bitching about the trunk being open.

his own, personal, jesus

i've been spotting some really incredible impalas lately. clean, etched, engraved, hydraulics, airbrushed and pinstriped.

saw this stylistics car at the church show too.

what might that man be looking at in the trunk besides the engraved hydralical system? ah, there it is now...

the girl on the wheel cover must have been calling him earlier... >:)

fortune teller

this car had a lot going on. so i took some shots of it.

the little pics show the airbrushed paintings under the hood and in the trunk. pretty nice. too bad all the chromed hydraulics and engine parts are reflecting so mightily onto the images. guess i would need a big black cloth to cover the chrome to get a proper picture, but this is good enough to give you the idea.

click on one of the pictures to go over to my flickr page to see some other details from the car if you want.

can you tell i got nothin' to talk about? too tired. thought about going to the broiler for a change, but i just didn't have the energy to sit in traffic for another forty-five minutes to get there.

just telling myself: two more days. two more days. then i can sleep in. pomona this weekend i think. same day as my son's birthday, so, thinking i can get up real early and go shoot some pictures before heading down to do something with him. no idea at all what to get him, and i hate shopping...i'm so bad.

deuces wild

this guy needs attention. i can't imagine you'd do this much to a car if you didn't want to be noticed. pinstripes, airbrush, striking color combo, tweaky bullet lights on the back, red tinted windows, airbrushed seats...ya, it's different. a little overkill. but i did take a picture of it.

actually, i liked the car to the right more, but the doors and trunk were open, and that guy kept talking to the owner about the indian artifacts he was displaying in the trunk. so, while he wasn't ruining this shot, he prevented me from taking a shot of that car.

also just noticing the dude smiling for the camera off to the left there. that makes me laugh.

a bike is a bike

quick post. does anyone really grow up?

this tricycle features a popeye theme, wood paneling, metal etching, airbrushing and pinstriping.

this bike features metal etching, airbrushing and pinstriping.

both cool. both bikes. big kids.

feast for the eye

yes, i know it isn't perfect. but it is fun. aside from the obvious signs of aging, most people wouldn't give this one a second look.

rust, chipped, distressed paint may distract from the fun, but there's more to meet the eye. this is a great truck. really. it's in the details:

chicano park

busy weekend, but fun. tired now, so i'll be brief.

even better, my better half got to go with me. his sister got out of the hospital, and she was well enough to take care of their mom.

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we got to the park around five-thirty in the morning. there were already cars lined up in staging to go into the park. so we decided to go over by the stage thing and unpack our cameras on the steps. within a minute of unzipping the camera bags, we were approached by an older woman who wanted to know who we were with, what were we doing...etc. we simply said we were just unpacking our cameras to take some pictures. she said the whole park is reserved for an event, they were setting up and that we had to leave. we replied that we were here for said event, and repeated we were just unpacking. she persisted, so whatever, we'll move somewhere else and unpack and do exactly what we planned anyway...to go back over to where they were staging the cars.

honestly, there wasn't anything or anyone there on that piece of the park, and we weren't intending to get in the way even if there had been. going to bite my tongue here, because i like the show, and want to go back again next year, but get a grip. even the cop in the car in a neaby parking lot wasn't going to bother us. hope she had a nice day. 

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took so many pictures. the weather turned out to be perfect, overcast with bouts of sunshine. never really needed a jacket, even so early in the morning. i liked this picture because it seemed to represent the show and location well.

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and as we left the show for the day, i was waiting to cross the street, when my better half started laughing. i turned around and he pointed at this painting. and OMG, it was the lady who had told us to leave in the first place. took some searching, but i've figured out who she is, and why she had the authority to ask us to leave. we still found it funny that we started the day with her and here she was again, on our way out...

blue skies

told you the weather guys can't predict nuthin. no rain last night, no rain today. 

i got up late, or i would have gone to three or four shows. so starts baseball, so starts the car show season. pretty much it never really stops in so cal, just not so many in the winter, if you can call it that.

when i went to the unidos show here at walnut high school last year, there wasn't much there, due to the coinciding swap meet at pomona. tends to suck the local shows dry. this one was busy, the lot was full, and i was happy. probably a fifty-fifty mix of 60s low riders and the bombs that i like.

right at the front were the host members' cars. i saw this one before, but i didn't like the shots i got of it. i like impalas, with their wings on the back. my preference is the fifty-nine, but this is ok too. i like the airbrush work on the wheel cover.

funny thing happening the last couple of shows i've been to. usually, its my better half telling me guys are asking where i am, if i am there; these shows, they've been asking where he is. someone even gave me a flyer to give to him for a change. he's finding that a funny twist.

voodoo child

so i drove my tired butt over to legg lake today. i had been searching online for something else last month when the flyer for the los boulevardos show popped up. i went there for one before, so expected the same variety of cars to show up.

i bought a new wide angle lens, that my better half had recommended. supposed to be better, sharper than the one i've used for the last four or five years. i've taken it out for a couple of days now. still testing it out, so not loving it yet. gotta find the setting that looks best for what i do.

so, in homage to the hosts of the show, here's one of their cars. clean and low, i liked the small details, the light use of decorative pinstripes, and even the dingle balls. i guess the white furry dashboard is interesting enough, but i can only imagine how dusty it must get and the difficulty keeping it show-worthy clean.

thinking about a couple of shows tomorrow, assuming the weathermen are incorrect as always, and the predicted rain will either not happen, or will wait for monday drive time. oh joy.

junk in the trunk

i do notice these cars; i just don't always bother to shoot them. only the exceptional ones catch my eyes, be it the art, the chrome, the details.

saw this majestics car out at the oldies san fernando show last year. i really liked the glittery airbrushing on the roof, but i'm not tall enough to get a good shot usually. 

i also like the engraving details on the metal of the plaque.

there was a woman sitting behind the car, holding a sleeping baby. i thought the child was so beautiful, but i dare not take a picture, that would be too up close and personal, at least without permission.

look at all the chrome fun in the back end. what is that? stereo equipment or just the hydraulics? pretty sure they don't drive this to the supermarket.