feel the power

really liked the color on this chevy. so polished, the sky reflected and it seemed to really glow. that tower of power behind it almost seems to be frankensteining it, amping up the color from a dingy brown, to a more vibrant sienna with copper undertones. maybe it's just my eyes.

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turkey day. family. no kids. they've grown up and have other plans. better half at home with his mom, i'm here with mine. his sister was supposed to come down from northern cali, but weather and other drama changed those plans.

my sister and her daughter coming for dinner here later. her daughter just got a new job and will be moving to japan soon, to teach engrish or some such thing. languages are easy for her--she can read, write, and speak japanese and spanish--so yay for her.

my son missed passing the bar by about forty points. he was really bummed for a few days, then got the written results. he knows what he needs to really study now, and feels positive he can pass next time. at least he scored better than his friends. he'll be having dinner with his fiance at his dad's, along with a zillion relatives. not really missing that part anymore...long ago, and lost in memory.

took a long walk at lunchtime. stopped at the atm, pulled some cash. was intending to not exactly feast at taco bell, but nope, closed. so, walked even farther, thinking maybe weinerschnitzel, since usually there's crap food open for half a day on thanksgiving somewhere, but nope, closed. carwash on the corner was open for business, with the guys waving their towels when finished. the mickey d's next door was open, and starting to get faint, settled for that.

have not been in one in a very long time. this one has been remodeled a few times since i was a kid, and since my kids were little. drive thru was hopping, but no line inside. big mac sucked, same as always, but at least you know that going in. filled that grumbly rumbly space in my belly anyway...take that stop growling.

thought about taking a really long way back, but the clouds overhead are really awesome, and when they blocked the sun, totally looked like rain coming.

so here i sit, all downhearted...

no computer, already read all the magazines, guess i'll watch youtube stuff or netflix on my ipad, and wait for turkey.

going home tonight, drive safe everyone!

false alarm

i've been staying at my parents' house the last couple of days, because it's closer to where i work, and i just didn't want to sit in holiday traffic, and enjoy everyone's holiday "cheer" on the freeway.

plus it rained in the middle of the night, last night. and it got slightly weird.

i get up for work before sunrise on weekdays. i had my alarm set for four-forty a.m.

so the alarm goes off. i do my usual inner argument about how nice and comfy the bed is, versus how cold and dark it is outside, so i would probably be better off staying under the covers, and hiding from state taxes. that took five minutes to convince myself to get up, i checked the time again.

into the shower, scrub, scrub, wash everwhere, and rinse off. thought i heard someone outside the door. my dad is a bit of an insomniac, so i am not too worried.

wrapping the towel around me, i peek down the hall. the light is on in my parents' room, which is unusual, since my mom is not an insomniac, goes to bed around midnight, and doesn't wake up until eight or nine most days.

i hear my dad downstairs. he had been installing a new kitchen faucet when i went to bed last night. i hear drilling and the sound of metal wrenches being rifled through in the toolbox.

i go into my parents' room, to find my mom, in curlers, fiddling with her hair. i asked her why she was up so early.

she looks at me strangely, and asks me why i'm awake so early. she'd been helping my dad with the sink, and putting everything away, and was just getting ready for bed. she says it's only almost two a.m.

what the actual fuck. i go back to my room and check my phone. yup two in the morning, and i've just taken my morning shower.

was i dreaming that i'd heard the alarm, had my inner argument, and checked the time again?

fuck.

so, i dry my hair, and go back to bed. change the alarm to five-forty...already took care of shower time. then, i can't go back to sleep. rolled around for an hour or so, and just drifted off to sleep, when the real alarm did go off.

at least it was a short day at work. at least i hadn't gotten fully dressed, had bfast, and driven to the office way too early.

still, what the hell? so, so weird.

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i liked this car. a little difficult with it half in shade and half in sun. not really sure why the shoes are sitting there. i'm going to say they're more stylish and subtle than your typical chock block.

red vine

quick post. it's late, long ass day. i'll write something more later...meanwhile, beautiful car...

the glare

ok, i keep seeing this one catching my eye as i sort pictures, so i might as well share it. seems to be telling me to. as you wish...

o xmas tree

i'm trying to ignore all the activity going on behind me. relatives in town are helping my mother-in-law put up the tree and decorations.

there is a mini skating rink with little figures spinning around on the "ice" and the music loop playing keeps making me think the ice cream man is driving outside the window in circles, instead of his twice an evening pass-by. i'm wearing headphones, but i can still hear it faintly. 

anyway, the lens flares through these trees are a more appealing sight for my xmas celebration. and i could really get in the xmas spirit if there was a car like this waiting under the tree for me. it's just stunning. 

my better half seems really interested in this kind of car, and he's mentioned a few he's seen for sale at shows. he can dream, right? no where to put one even if he could buy one, and i doubt they fit in newer garages anyway.

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thinking i'll go to the old memories show tomorrow at bruce's. went there once before, but since it's the toy drive, maybe there will be more to see this time.

next saturday, the whittier xmas parade marches irritatingly close, down the main street here. usually seems to be several old cars participating and lining up nearby, so thinking as long as they and all the school marching bands are going to wake me up, i might as well go out and take some pictures.

then there are a couple of shows to choose from in the afternoon. i wanna say there is somewhere we have to go in the evening, but i'm not finding it on my calendar. stupid iphone. maybe it's on sunday evening.

and i'm kind of craving ice cream now.

ditman and first

the owner of this truck stopped me up the street and asked if i'd shot it and where he would be able to see pics. i hadn't been there long, so no, i hadn't at that point. i asked which car was his and got "the black truck down there," as he abstractly waved his hand toward the street.

so i'm assuming this black truck was his, since it was parked with the other bomb club cars and he happened to be wearing a bomb club shirt. there were other trucks up there in the vagueness he'd motioned to, but i don't think there happened to be another black one nearby.

i don't always take a shot just because they ask. depends on the person. some just assume i will. ask nicely and/or have a nice car parked in an interesting spot. he lucked out on all counts.

the car was clean. i liked the details.

was out of town this weekend, and had hoped for rain. didn't take my camera with me. woke up to a bright, sunny day. fine, as there weren't any shows going on where we were, and if no one tells me about one i missed it will be like it didn't happen, right?

nash it up

another quick one. again. tired.

to avoid posting yet another truck, thought i'd post this one. he didn't actually talk to me directly; he talked to my better half, who had taken a picture of it at the bomb club show that i didn't make it to a couple of months ago. pretty sure i've seen it before, and if i did a search of my files, i'd probably find it.

i liked the hood ornament and the emblem on the front, with it's slight pitted imperfection.

east first

someone gave me a flyer for the old memories east la show out on first street. kinda wished we had gotten up and out earlier, because it turned out to be more than we expected. the veterans celebration took up four or five blocks of the street and included a stage and music.

lucked out and got parking fairly close and headed out to the end of the street and unpacked. first block on one side was taken up with bomb club cars. i've seen some of them before. several of the guys stopped to talk to me, so lucky you, i'll start with your cars.

getting late, so i'll just quickly start with another truck, since i think the owner was the first one to say hey. i think the shot from the other side was maybe the better view, but the sun had gotten too high, and my shadow was too close to the car, as was anyone who was walking behind me, so here it is from the other side.

happy that there some smallish clouds in the sky, they always make a better picture. better than the plain blue that is more typical, and they reflect so well in the polished slates that are the hoods of the cars.

all in one weekend

went to three shows this weekend. good ones. missed ruby's last show of the season, but i'm ok with it. i've seen other people's pictures and i'm still ok with it.

continuing with the bomb club cars...

here's richard's (not that one) master deluxe. he pimped one of the photos in my book—was a picture of his friend's car, got him to look at it, got it sold after carrying it around for a couple of years.

i took several shots of his car. i liked this one best. just loving the fog. wish it happened more often.

then the next day, we went to the viejito's show. (ya, my better half likes to spend time with me when he's not working.) who do we happen to run in to? yep. same guy. same car.

as i was saying, fun to shoot the same car in different places, different times, different light. what do you think?

dude, buy a print. i mean if you want.

here's the plaque from the car next to it, since richard's car has window blinds covering his.

it was their halloween show, btw. not as many cars as usual. i assume it was the baseball game again. but i did see this...which was pretty scary in itself.

mists of time

we got up very early on a saturday and drove over to pico rivera for this show at st. hilary's school.

stopped by quickly last year, on the way to san diego, and remembered it being full of wonderful cars, so we had high hopes for more of the same.

it was wonderfully foggy and overcast. the show didn't actually start until ten, but we were there about seven-thirty. the ladies at the gate thankfully let us in, so we got to taking pics right away, knowing we only had an hour or so before the sun burned through.

many of the cars i've seen before, clubs i've run across before, but always good to take the cars in different locations, lighting, and/or atmosphere.

while it turned out to not be as busy as the previous year, be it due to the weather, people partied too hard the night before, or the world series, there was still plenty to shoot, and those people missed out on a good show.

found several bomb club cars down this lane, with no other cars around them. there was the unfortunate placement of the portable toilets nearby though, so i mostly tried to keep them out of the shots.

here's the first one i liked. not sure if it was the matte surface with the fog misting around it, but i just liked it. i will probably post another of it, just because the owner expressed an interest in it, and this one won't print to the proportions of 8x10, which seems to be the typical size people want. guess i pushed in too close, but i really liked this angle. but hey, there is no shortage of framage available for the new size standards for digital cameras nowadays.

still want to buy a print? i've posted it over here, where you can order all different sorts of items with your car on them. christmas is coming. i'm just saying. and my equipment is wearing out. it's an expensive hobby.