three amigos

back to cadillac row at the ruby's show in whittier. always at the back corner, i suppose because they're such big cars. these guys always park in bunches, but here in typical guy fashion, every other space, just like in a movie theatre.

i've shot this front caddy before, but didn't really like the result here. always figure if i take a car i like enough times, eventually i get something better. just gotta catch it with the perfect light, angle, location, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

------

speaking of location, while i was out this wet, rainy weekend, i kept driving by a nice '48 chevy in my hood, just parked out on the curb. finally went out when the rain took a break, camera and tripod at the ready.

the car was just lovely, with fallen leaves all around it, ivy behind, rain puddled and reflecting the car in the misty light. i parked across the street, and just sat there. couldn't work up the nerve to get out and run across the street. best shot would have been from the street side, but then i would have been road kill if i took too long. other side wasn't as interesting, and since i'm not sure where the owner lives or who he was, just started imagining being chased down the street with a baseball bat, and so i drove away. was gone this morning...why didn't i follow my own advice and take it when i see it?

da boyz cad

this was a very nice caddy parked where it shouldn't be parked at the garden grove main street show. found it in the college lot, adjacent to the back throughway, off the side street of the show, with a handicapped tag hanging from the mirror, but backed up on a sidewalk...makes me wonder what kind of "handicap" they might have...

was a lovely green, almost perfect condition. then i noticed there's a scratch up the side from the wheel toward the tail end. wonder what they parked too close to that was that low? i could remove it digitally, but then maybe the owner hasn't noticed. it's for sale, btw, but i didn't write down the number.

ah well. was in the midst of saving the file when my computer locked up and crashed. so my master for this file is effed up and all i can get out of it is a larger version of this, or start all over again. ugh. i need a new computer...damn POS hp. which reminds me, xmas is coming...buy a print, 'makes a lovely gift'...or holiday cards of your car, just drop me an email for pricing...oh hell, just tip the photographer if you've enjoyed seeing your picture here...at this point, i'm taking up a collection to keep this blog going. lol. "ain't too proud to beg, sweet darling..." or not.

again

can't get enough of this car. won a trophy at this show. seems like the guy in the checkered shirt is telling a dirty joke...nice hand movement.

anyway, not much to say, not much time...been running around like crazy this evening. worked late. stuck in traffic. bailed off the freeway. slow drive to the house. no time to change out of my work clothes. pick up a print, then deliver it to the owner at ruby's. no time to take any shots at the show, only a quick walk around. then to the stupidmarket for my mother-in-law. then pick up a bite to eat. home and carry it all in the house.

why the run around? had to get home to pack my bag...heading off for a week in d.c. in the wee hours of the morning. mom and dad, take care of my house, please. don't do anything i wouldn't do...>:)

double-double

i had a good time at this show in garden grove. was stopped several times by people asking about photography and talking about the cars. i am getting a little better at chatting, though i am always going to be better at listening, and some of the stories they tell really are interesting. at least i was at this show early enough, that i wasn't watching the light change too much while i listened.

check it out. love the back fins and lights on these older cadillacs. and i saw two of these on the same day, in different cities. weather was perfect for hitting the car shows on this evening...had really cooled off by and there was a cool breeze.

this one was up at the end of the street, not next to any other cars, so i had free reign to take shots from all sides. i couldn't figure out who the owner was; there was an old guy with a polishing cloth, but there was also a younger woman with a kid nearby. i finally decided by listening to their discussion that this was her inheritance, but gramps still got to play with it. they were trying to tell the kid about taking care of it and it would be his some day. at least that's what i overheard while minding my own business. some of the things i hear...sometimes i just pick up and move to another car.

after this show, i headed up to the ruby's show in whittier. i cut up the surface streets through garden grove, caught the freeway, exited and cut through santa fe springs, where i spotted the second one of these 59 caddies at a random gas station. and later found it at the ruby's, in what's become the cadillac aisle, in the back corner.

plain & simple

there are some cars i just haven't taken a picture of before. reasons, as i've mentioned before, usually include the hood being up, bad lighting, poor location, too crowded, can't get a good angle, etc. this is one of those never see it in a good position/lighting situations. i rarely see it, but i don't think i've done more than shoot macro shots of the pinstriping on the front and back.

i remember there were a lot of people on this evening. this wasn't the original spot this one was parked at either. i was about done for the evening when it was mentioned to me that a friend's friend would like me to shoot his car. well, i didn't know who it was, but he eventually found me and asked.

so now it was here, in one of the drive-in spots. probably still would like to take it again in some other location, under different lighting conditions, but hopefully, if he's been patient enough to keep checking, he'll see it now.

polished fire

yep, here it is again. and there he is again.

personal challenge to get a good shot of the damn ghosted flame job on this puppy. thought the overcast, early morning sky would help. and it did, but, the car as always, is so buffed to a high shine, it caught all the reflection of the buildings and trees nearby. it's like looking at a world within a world, and then when you're not focusing, you can catch sight of the flames. so frustrating.

walked by it several times during the day to see what the light might do with it, but never did like the shot after the morning. gonna end up catching this one in an empty field early in a morning or late in the evening, someday...ya, evening, make the friggin flames burn yellow-orange in the sunset light...hmmmm.

i got a couple decent shots; posting this one since it had a better chance at showing the flames on the hood. can't really go wrong with this car; i haven't found that it has a bad side.

back that ass up

so i felt like crap today. went to work anyway. tons of work to do, as always. nice place to be, always busy. but at the end of the day, after driving for an hour, just didn't feel like going to a show.

so when i'm in that mood, what better to do than pick a nice car to work on and get focused. zoning out, or should i say zoning in?

this 1964 cadillac coupe deluxe was at original mikes on a very hot day at the end of may. this was a very long car, and i wished the owner hadn't backed it into the corner like this, but the front end was interesting too.

i sometimes wonder if i should 'fix' the blemishes on cars, like the chips in the paint—perfectly capable of doing so—but then that would take a little of it's personality away. at this size, you mostly don't notice them anyway, but i can see them quite well at full size, and on this one, i can spot them on screen too. can you?

so i didn't stay very long, as it was so hot out, felt like i was wearing a couple of sponges on my chest. at least the fire boys were just across the street, and at the show, should i or anyone have passed out from heat exhaustion.

looka dat cadillac

did your mother ever tell you, "never look at the sun?" ya, well i've heard that before, but here i am pointing the camera at it, to see what it would do.

this incredible 1960/61 cadillac was parked sideways out by itself in the corner of the ruby's show in whittier last week. i took a few shots, but i don't know if i like the others so much. the way it was parked and the angle of the sun behind me threw a long long shadow...if i got too close to the car, it was on the car, too far back, just kinda want to <yawn>. i can get rid of the shadow, but i dunno. i'll think about working on it another time.

my husband shot it later. even talked to the owner, who said he rarely brings the car out. guess i'll wait patiently until i see it again...

third time is the charm

three posts in two weeks of the same car? well, you have to admit it is cool. but mostly, he is interested in buying prints, and i know he's good for it.

i'll restrain myself from going all cadillac all the time, and i do have several very nice ones to work on for future posts...

dvill’s forked tail

back by popular demand...nahh. i just don't have another image ready right this minute, and i've been busy this weekend.

i think sometimes i need to wait for some people to get out of my frame. one of the reasons i generally don't bother with the bigger shows at the fairgrounds and the like – too many people.

if i make this into an 8x10, i can either crop out the faceless guy on the left or lose some of the people on the right. i'm thinking the dude on the left is going to go bye bye on a print – there is too much and not enough of him at the same time.

reine, you have a lot of friends, i must say.