what's up?

missed you

got up late, but mostly because the time changed. stupid daylight savings time. well, it didn't matter. the weather forecast said no rain, just cloudy all day. oh hell yaaas. love that. giant softbox.

took a bit to get moving, but out i went. drove past where a cruise was supposed to be, on the way to the workman high school show, but i guess they had already left. no big. arrived at the high school just after ten, when it was supposed to officially start.

the cars are hidden down on the basketball court, which you can't see from the parking lot. but in the parking lot, there some semi-trucks parked, followed by some muddy dirt buggies in the next lot.

sort of disappointed [not] that i came to find not so many cars on the court. last year had been jammed, and hot. here, there were maybe about thirty cars, half the kind i don't like, and the other half my favs, just parked around the perimeter.

fewer cars, more focus, more pics, less people in the way. look at the glass half full. make the most of it. any time i walk away with at least one car and one picture that makes me happy, it's cool.

this guy parked over in the corner. was hoping some of his friends from his club would show up, but didn't. that was ok too. i think this was one of my favorite pictures i shot today. and the clouds are ok too. owner even pulled the show tag out of the window too. thanks for that.

waited a bit for a jump-off between two cars, but it kept not happening, and i had to get back home. wished more cars had been there, it never did rain, still isn't, missed you all, but was still good with it. one guy theorized everyone was at the dub show. whatever.

hope for jorene

i made it out to another fundraiser for jorene. she has cancer. i don't even know her, but i've met her people, and those that care about her. they bring out their cars, i bring out my camera, and donate the little bit i can afford.

it was local, i wasn't sure how my arm would handle it, so it was perfect for me to go.

small parking lot, and i heard cars had been turned away earlier, as it was by invitation only, for the limited spots available. they seemed to shuffle cars later on, so they probably should have come back by later in the day for a spot.

out along whittier boulevard, there was a lot of passing cars gawking and honking their horns. maybe if they'd put up a banner asking for donations, people would have stopped and kicked in some cash.

i had to ask which table was collecting the donations, so i could hand over my little bit. apparently they traded for raffle tickets. i didn't stay late enough for the raffle, so i handed them to some other photographer on the way to my car.

i did ok. not sure that i would have been ok, had i gone to pomona instead. long walk, so many cars. maybe next time.

leafy

back in whittier after a week. haven't decided if i'll go to a show tomorrow or not. my arm would probably be ok. i don't think it will rain either, and probably there will still be some kick ass clouds.

i think the first time i used a camera to shoot classic cars seven or eight years ago, it was a cloudy, march day. those are still some of my favorite pictures.

pomona swap meet is tomorrow. hmm. hmm. maybe.

all those leaves on the ground, i should have checked inside the car, to see if it was full of leaves too.

weekend

saw this car across the street from the park. sometimes i wonder why groups park off on their own, if they're participating in an event. usually you can see if they're making friends with mary jane, and well, they can just stay off by themselves. so often i look on at their cars forlornly, and move along on where i am.

fortunately, my better half was with me. i told him i'd like to go over there, and he said sure. he facilitates things, he plays nice with people so much better than i can. he chatted with the owners of these cars while i did my thing. got the stories on the histories of these cars, where the guys grew up; he can relate since he grew up in the same hoods.

thought the light was nice on this side of the street. just had to patiently wait for the breaks in traffic. i like it.

my doctor said i was vitamin d deficient. strange, since i spend a lot of time in the sun, and don't you get a good dose of it there?

told my better half that my doctor said i need to get more d. he pretty much said, "when?"

nooner

another promised pic.

that noontime sun...just isn't the same as morning or evening shooting into that flaming orb. so harsh. camera sensor really doesn't like it.

hit-a-thon

woke up today at eight a.m., thinking someone had called my name. no one had. really wanted to roll over and go back to sleep—it was so cold in the room, and the bed was so warm.

but i got up. was too late to head out for a sunrise car show, but knew about this one out at jfk high school. i'd gone last year, on a much rainier, cloudier day. today was boringly, clear, blue skies, and warmish.

was practically noon, by the time i arrived, which i hate. the full on sun, harsh shadows, just aren't my favorite. but i'm just out, getting back into a groove, and it isn't a broiling summer day, so i'll take it.

saw several guys/clubs that i know from past shows, many i haven't seen for a while, and made a few new acquaintances. also saw a few cars i recognized, but didn't see the owners. oh well. a familiar place, with familiar faces, i was ok without my better half. sent him a text not to worry. he does that sometimes. well, most every time.

i have a few pictures i told people i'd post, so i'll start with this one. owner asked for a picture, because, you know, cell phone pictures just aren't that great. told him i'd post one, to see if it was any better. so what do you think?

mind the gap

i walked around the lot several times last week. deciding which cars to shoot, looking for opportunites to get the shot i wanted, looking at how the light was hitting the car. mostly looking for gaps in the herds of pedestrians plowing through the aisles.

tried shooting this car from the other side a bit earlier, trying to get the sunset behind it. not too many people passing by on that side at the time.

but then the owner walked into the shot and proceeded to open the door and stand there talking on his cell phone.

i have several frames showing his back side. i had just let the camera keep doing it's exposures, figuring he would move along, and i could just dump those shots he was in. i mean, the sun was moving, and sunset, the light really changes quickly.

but it was an extended convo, so i gave up and moved to an impala convertible on the this side of the car, just out of the frame to the left.

shot that car, with the sun hitting the hood and the plastic seat covers (wtf?), then turned around, and took shots of the fleetline from this side. pretty sure the owner was still standing in the open driver's side door on the phone, but from down low, i can ignore him entirely.

still some blurriness, because people are still walking nearby, and it picks them up in the reflections, but i don't care. at sunset, with long exposures, it becomes more about capturing the feel of the moment, not perfection.

whisper

another from yesterday. before they ran out of room. i don't think anyone ever did park in that empty space; there was no room to manuever if someone would have wanted to.

the light was changing. sky still not dramatic enough, but a whisper of color was enough to kiss the cars.

got lucky that no one walked through this shot, considering how close it was to the pop up tents collecting the donations and selling raffle tickets.

victory

victory motorcycle

went uptown to see doctor strange first thing this morning. not my better half's kind of flick, so went and sat in the theatre with the other five people that were there to see it, with a big bucket of popcorn and big coke. tomorrow. tomorrow, i'll stop drinking the stuff. that's what i'll say until it actually happens.

after, got a refill of popcorn for my mother-in-law, and beat the rain home. must have been quite the sight waddling past the restaurant, with all the cowboys fanboys standing outside, with my giant popcorn in one hand and giant coke in the other. ended up dumping the drink soon after getting home, so one less drink for the day.

xmas tree has big balls. and small balls. no sign of elves yet, but have no fear, they will invade the tree shortly.

relatives are getting ready to leave soon. i've tempted the baby girl with homemade chocolate chip cookies the last couple of evenings. she's loud, but shy. we bonded yesterday, and she'd take them; today, she really wanted one, but wouldn't take one from me, and instead went and got her mama to get it for her. i think i'll send them home with them. no one here will eat them, except me. i only wanted the cookie dough. i guess i'll foist them on my coworkers tomorrow.

saw this bike yesterday at danny boy's fundraiser at big boy. they were collecting money and toys to help out one of their kids with cancer, and to send toys to the hospital, for kids that have to spend the holidays there. they all gathered for announcements, and one of the biggest prayer circles i've seen at a show.

took this shot before they did all that. i was shooting a car nearby, and the owner revved his bike engine. thought he was taking off, but no, just wanted the attention. seemed to be a solo driver, and i haven't seen a victory bike in a while, so i took a few pictures.

he seemed happy to have been noticed.

for life

1937 dodge1937 dodge1937 dodge hood ornamentgot my better half up and out of bed by six yesteday. he really had wanted to go to ruby's on friday night, but after a second evening with a two and a half hour drive home from work, i was just not in the mood for it anymore. traffic sucks, and surface streets didn't help much either gotta make a deal with the boss, so i can just work from home on friday afternoons, at least.

my point being, he had gotten his shit together, and rigged up his little screen and rollie rig, and had been ready to go the night before, so it wasn't too difficult to get packed up early on saturday to go to the show over at la mirada rec center, by city hall. he had been hoping to shoot some video at rubys, and was going to give it a try at this duke's show, since i told him it was on pavement.

it's fairly nearby, so we were there about six-thirty. i'd gone the year before, so already knew where i wanted to park. couldn't see anything going on, so we left our stuff in the car and walked over to see if anyone was there. it was a relay for life event, so i expected to see more people, but i guess all of those volunteers were inside, near the pool.

we did see a line of dukes cars sitting there, so went back and got our gear.

last year, it rained off and on, and was in the other parking lot. this year was overcast, cool, and in the bigger lot. they roped off an area that i heard held about two-hundred and ninety spaces. i think by the time we left for lunch, there was maybe half that of the show cars, but the majority were the kind we like.

i haven't been out shooting much, so it was nice to have a perfect day for shooting, without the sun and heat. i always remark how tired i am all week, sitting on my ass at a computer, but give me a car show, and i can spend a good six hours walking around, crouching up and down, and be happy as can be. don't even feel too sore after, though my ankles to get a bit stiff if i sit too long, but that probably has more to do with my shoes than anything else. and it really tells me i need to get off my ass and move more often, and burn off some of this gut that seems to be sticking to me, the older i get.

anyway, it was a well organized show, and quite a few guys came over to chat with me. all very nice people. it was really good to see lots of clubs interacting, though there were a one or two, whose members just sat in a huddle watching, and frowning, and i guess, hanging tough. i'm sure i gave back my best resting bitch face, which is apparently my default look anyway. i think i didn't bother with their cars, hood was up and the other, nah, i just didn't need their pop up in the shot.

talked to a guy who told me a long story about how this dodge used to be his car, but events in his life forced him to sell it. at least he sold it to someone he knew very well, a guy he helped to raise, i think he said, so he knew it was in good hands. still, it must hurt a little to be so near, yet so far from something you loved.

it's a nice car. seen it before, and it's probably up here somewhere else, if i bother to look.

wasn't a whole lot available food wise this year, so since we hadn't eaten breakfast, called it a day around twelve-thirty, before our headaches got too unbearable...