long days at work, crammed into eight hours. tired of sitting in front of a computer, so i'll keep this short and sweet.
i like the rusty cars. they have character. rust is like acne, pitting and scarring a pretty face.
what's up?
feeling super
i'd hoped for a more interesting sunset when i stopped at the elks' lodge last week. had also hoped for more cars like the previous time. lot was only half full by the time i got there, even with friday traffic, so i didn't stay very long. of course, about the time i was done and heading to my car, the viejitos began to arrive. that's ok, i'd shot the couple that drove in here previously, and didn't feel like walking back to shoot them this night.
as usual, a lot of cars had their hoods up, so natural selection was already thinning the herd for me...
thought this buick was kinda nice, with its xmas color paint scheme. really good condition too. big chrome bumpers do tend to catch my reflection, which isn't my favorite part of shooting cars, but i hope my pictures reflect well on me...
mirror finish
i went to a few shows on super bowl sunday. found this at super cruise x in garden grove. first i'd heard of it, but was told by two different people that they've done it for ten years now, every super bowl sunday.
almost didn't go, thinking not much would be there, but the guy that gave me a flyer earlier in the week claimed there would be several hundred cars there. and i suppose there was. i got there a couple of hours into it, and stayed less than an hour. only because it was hot and there wasn't a lot of shade on the asphalt were one would want to take pictures from.
this one is a dukes car, parked in front of a business flying a dukes banner, flanked by dukes cars. they're all perfection in their own way. took a couple of shots down low and one at normal level. i like the normal one, but it shows too much of the surrounding industrial buildings and people and cars and other distractions, and this lower one shows off the hood ornament so nicely, and the sheer mirror perfection of the door just makes me happy. ended up flipping a coin to which to post, so here you go.
flying fish
stopped at fuddruckers the other day. mostly too late to catch the sunset, which wasn't all that special anyway. not like the one a couple of nights ago. why is it when there's some awesome sunset to be seen from the front door here, there isn't a car show to be had? saturday, there was a sunset so deep purple to deep red, melted crayons couldn't have matched it in a million years.
finding fewer cars at this show that i want/need to shoot a picture of. been an overall different vibe there, though the dj/host does like to mention other upcoming shows to me.
only took this shot because i liked the fish hood ornament. that decal on the side panel kinda ruins it for me otherwise.
such a nice car
quick post because i went to the broiler tonight and stayed longer than i intended, though i wished i could have stayed later...there were lots of cars showing up. i still have stuff to do before bed.
spent a lot of time up at the front of the lot. several cars caught my eye. noticed this one pull in and drive directly out to the back of the lot. thought that was a shame, but figured there just weren't any spots open at the time to park closer.
so when i was mostly done, i wandered to the back to see if they were still there. yep. they've turned the back lot lights on again, and it was parked like this under one of them. a guy was there with his two kids, so i went over to them. the teenage girl was shooting pictures of the car, and i was waiting for her to finish so i could slip in and get some shots.
turns out its the guy's car, and his daughter was trying to shoot it for a school assignment. only thing was, i think they said it kept coming out wrong. blurry or too dark. she had the settings wrong. and was standing way too far back for the little flash to really illuminate anything—almost like people using their flash at a baseball stadium—pretty useless.
i managed to grab this one view of the car while she was trying to figure out her camera. she/they were kind enough to wait while the long exposures were cranking through.
they were still there when i left. hope she got something to satisfy the teacher anyway.
been busy
finally got a couple of hard drives and spent the weekend backing up stuff, getting ready to make room on my hard drive. plus it rained, so i skipped a couple of shows, assuming no one would go.
so, i'm still finishing up some back ups, but if its not raining tomorrow, i intend to check out a new show in el toro. i'm not quite sure why its starting, since there's still the one at fuddruckers at the same time. i've been away from it for a while, so maybe there's some drama going on with the organizers or the restaurant. maybe they intend to move it all over to the new one. i don't' know, but i'll check it out.
meanwhile, my better half's van has been having engine and/or electrical issues, and i have to drive him over to pick it up again in few minutes, so here's a quick post. it's a viejitos car. it's red. red's a bitch.
sweaty palms
well, if it wasn't taken in december, you wouldn't know that it wasn't a hot day. out at point fermin park, on a cliff, with ocean breezes. truly, i don't remember the temperature. i know it was overcast when i got there, and people are wearing short sleeves and shorts. so maybe it wasn't a schvitz of a day, but it may have been sultry (let's ask owen's mama).
anyway, people not from california insert stereotypical imagery here: palm trees [✓]; vintage car [✓]; blue sky [✓]; reflections [✓]; hot chicks in bikinis [ ]; sunglasses [ ]; frilly drinks with umbrellas [ ]; surf and/or skateboarder [ ]...
shiny happy chevys
had the day off for the holiday. slept in late. started sifting through tax paperwork. went out for lunch. didn't really have an appetite, nor can i smell anything yet, with this stuffy nose.
good news...ordered a couple of hard drives, so i will be able to get back out and shooting pretty quick. going to riverside in a couple of weeks...hey gary, anything going on out there?
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last night i couldn't decide which car to post next, so asked my better half for his opinion. out of the handful of cars i showed him, he said post them all. right up there with asking he and my mom to help pick out a wedding dress...still left it up to me.
so flipped a coin and this is what you get. i like it anyways.
well, bummer
so i'm trolling my more recent photos for something different, and thought this would be interesting. then my week got busy, and didn't have time to get back to it and post it.
since i'd already started it, i figured i'd finish it tonight. but as i was trying to nuke the color funkiness from the sun glare—which i couldn't quite cancel out—i realized i'd already posted it recently. strange that i hadn't seen it in forever, and here it was a few weeks ago.
seems they added those big ass headlights, but the pattern i hadn't noticed initially on the roof is the same. pretty sure its the same car. pfft.
so someone tell me, is it a '39 or a '40?
tired now, so i'll go kick myself and get over it. i'll find another picture tomorrow.
so fine
california is great. great weather, even if it is being blown by a cold breath from the arctic this week. still beats where i grew up on the east coast, though i do miss snow just a smidge. but then, i can always drive up to the mountains for that.
the one thing i don't like, the last few years, i've been working in tall buildings. they're built for earthquakes. the buildings "roll." maybe it's just me. maybe my ears are extra sensitive to the movement of the buildings. but i feel it more often than not. usually just the wind blowing against the building, but it makes me queasy just the same. on some days, i have to check the usgs website to see if there really was an earthquake or how far away it may have been.
when i leave the building, i always take my purse, my keys and my phone. just in case. if the building falls down, i tell myself, i could at least maybe get my car and drive home. but then i think, if the office fell down, it would probably fall on the parking garage. if i have my stuff, i could at least walk and get in the house.
the last couple of weeks, if i wasn't driving out for lunch because of rain, i was out for a walk. took some cash, in case i got hungry or thirsty, but otherwise, i only took my phone. i still feel strange without the keys in my hand, but i tell myself, that's mostly because i have nothing to fidget with while i walk. my inner introvert needs something to help ignore all the people driving by. so instead, i'm out getting some fresh air without my things, and hoping the idiots stop for me at red lights.
anyway, i have a cubicle not quite on the top floor of the building now. it was windy today. i got a headache. and i went for a walk. and the building was still there when i got back.
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another car from an old viejitos show. swirly pinstripes all the way down the sides and across the trunk.