what's up?

alls good

my dad's surgery went well yesterday. currently getting a pacemaker. they say he can go home tomorrow most likely. good news, right?

missing some good little shows while taking care of business, but enjoying other photographers' pictures from them.

loved this tovars' car. it drew a crowd when they drove up. family and friends took time to pose by it for pics. had to wait a while to catch it alone. shooting into the sun...screw the rules...screw the sensor on the camera. just take the picture already!

toy drive

made it out to the dukes/latin gents toy drive yesterday. more cars than i expected. several people i've gotten to know a bit, even just on a passing hello basis were there. always makes me happy that there are familiar faces where i go, since my better half can't go with me much anymore, ya know, in case anything happens.

ernie, with the latin gents, always comes over and says hello. happy belated birthday, ernie! perfect day for a show, perfect weather...you guys lucked out.

several well known cars made appearances too. this master deluxe is one of them, in all it's stretched glory, sitting down practically on the ground.

even after being there for about three hours, stopping to eat across the street, and the sun going down, i still saw cars driving in as i headed home.

i saw the sun was starting to set, and that the sky's colors were going to be beautiful, but i didn't have the energy and my legs were pretty stiff from sitting a bit, to stop back over there. things to do at home, getting ready for whatever happens with my dad this week. and apparently, better half is about to start decorating for xmas, as he's pulled all the stuff out of the garage already. my yearly grinch is already percolating to the surface...grumble grumble.

dark side of town

felt like crap all day. slept a lot. missed a car show. getting closer to halloween, so evening shows will start happening. this is a good thing, being how i hate the heat of the day, so the end of the day will do just as well.

woke up around four pm, and decided to head over to the latin gents show. this one is just monthly, i think, but i'd never been to this location. figured, i'd either feel better moving around, or i'd turn around and go home.

i didn't arrive until after six-thirty, so the sun was already heading down. not very many cars, but enough to shoot, since i was there. i decided that most people were probably home watching the dodger game.

saw my friend ernie, who came over to say hello. hadn't seen him in a while. he wondered which shows were coming up. told him the ones i could remember, that i'd need to check my calendar. really it all depends on how i'm feeling on any given day, in spite of my best intentions to get to a show. hoping to find out soon what the hell is going on with my insides.

owner of this master deluxe turned on his lights while i was shooting the car next to it. of course, that makes it more interesting to me, in spite of the open hood. ;)

he handed me a card for their toy drive next month. thank you very much, i'll add it to my list.

wanderlust

flipping through pictures from a few years back. looking for something interesting i may have overlooked, or just never got around to posting. cars that have been sold, or just don't go out to the shows anymore.

this one from two thousand thirteen, i think i've seen elsewhere, but i thought it was a decent shot.

..been crazy busy at work again. the holidays are definitely over. busier i get, the more my mind wanders, to memories of past road trips, future travel, pretty much anywhere but the office. even thoughts of what i will do when i get my house back from my kid—gutting it, repainting it, what furniture to get...

today, mostly thought of the trip to seattle last year, driving through the redwoods.

and every day, when i get on the freeway to go to work or heading home, when i get to my exit, i always have the briefest of thoughts to keep going, keep driving, get to somewhere different. i could buy clothes and whatever else i might need on the way.

and i would do it, except for these pesky responsibilities like a mortgage and a job, and oh ya, the better half. i'd have to stop and convince him to get in the car...so let's go. and he would have the same argument in his head. until he would call his sister to come and watch their mom...he would go...but not for any extended length of time.

one of these days...i'm going to do it. and call and say, "oops, i must have taken a wrong turn..."

told you it shines

1940 chevrolet special deluxe

how'd it get so late?

quick post, then to bed.

ran into my friend ernie and his wife at the dia de los muertos, uptown last week. they said it was the first one they'd participated in, and i don't think any of their other club members were there, unsure that it would be worth the drive.

they offered me a bottle of water, which i gladly took, as i was overheating about that time, and still hadn't had breakfast.

they took a picture of me, so i took a couple of pictures of them. camera wasn't quite the right setting, and it's not quite sharp as i know that lens can be, but it's ok.

i think they might just have had the best spot on the street, as far as shade goes. probably had shade most of the day, which was quite pleasant on a hot day. being their first time there, they didn't know if pop-ups were allowed, so they lucked out.

i told them their car was glowing, with the light sifting through the tree branches. not sure if i captured it, but there's at least a hint of it here.

to the other couple of people who offered me bottles of water, thank you so much if i refused it—i'd just chugged one right before you asked...

edamame

1939 chevrolet master deluxe

at my kid's house today, hanging with his dog beast. dog made a mess, tearing up a baseball he found on our walk. i went to pull the vacuum from the closet, and bin thing that collects the dregs it sucks up fell right out and landed right on my big toe.

so, me limping around yelling fuckity fucksticks and whimpering, made the dog run and hide, thinking he had done something to be guilty of.

i didn't quite see stars, so much as wanted to pass out. it bruised pretty quick and my toe is throbbing and makes me jump every once in a while. spent about an hour with a bag of frozen edamame on my foot, because there was no ice. thinking flip flops for work tomorrow, screw the dress code.

got a lot of work to jam into one day. then i'm sure two hours of traffic, only to miss ruby's car show again. gotta pack a bag for a week in san diego for work. saturday morning, up at five, and down the street for the whittier uptown show. we'll spend the morning shooting pics, then i gotta leave for the train station.

gonna be a hot day. not sure they moved it up from the usual august date to avoid the summer heat, but seems its coming along with the show. oh well.

love me a master deluxe. its the grille and headlights that make me happy. latin gents' car...they finally got a few of their cars in at chicano park this year. it was a good day.

doesn't fall far from the tree

been sitting on my ass all week. too much work, not enough time. and watching my kid's dog again a couple days a week. didn't even realize its a holiday weekend, so i've promised some deadlines that i still hope to be able to make, even with one less day.

better half has to work all weekend. he told them he's busy in the morning tomorrow, so we can head out early to pomona tomorrow for a few hours. i'm hoping for some new cars to shoot, and it seems to be a great place to find them.

there also seems to be an art show at the lowdown in uptown this evening. walked past the store at lunch time, and they seem like they better hurry up if they plan on hanging stuff before five. they did have five of their cars parked outside, though. i shot'em with my crap cell phone and stuck them on my instagram at #randomcarsuptown. thinking/hoping other cars show up later. gonna wander down the street with my camera and check it out. or it's saturday; ususally stuff further down by the cigar bar.

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looking back through shots from legends' san pedro, car show by the sea show. latin gents' cars were all parked near the street, under the trees. shade is good, but i'd be worried about birds. if you know what i mean.

missed mooneyes

i know, i know. should have been there. sorry, i was outta town. even managed to miss the whittier parade that passes outside the window.

back in whittier, watching the intersection. seeing my own parade of old chevys and a cadillac driving through going to who knows where. maybe uptown to the ceegar bar? maybe i'll wander down the street and see. those shots just end up on instagram.

couple more from the latin gents show. beauties, both.

was there at the end of the show. stayed for the awards, and the raffle. bought tickets, but didn't win anything. didn't need a tv anyway, though the cash would have been nice.

nighty night

got out of my house late in the day. forgot how early the sun sets now. by the time i got to the latin gents show, sun was fully down and the lot lights were on.

gotta deal with long exposures, weird shadows thrown across the cars, and people wandering through the shots. true, there weren't so many cars by this time, so fewer people, but there were a few kids chasing each other. cause to mess up a few shots, as well as worry about knocking the camera over.

anyway, most people stayed out of my way, so thank you.

i haven't been shooting much at night since i bought the new cameras. don't really think they work as nice as my old cameras. too late now, one is retired, and the other gifted to my sister-in-law. she's a big nascar fan, so works well enough for her.

this was the first shot of the night. beautiful car. picture is a little darker and noisier than i would like, but it's ok.

taken to trask

i was searching through old files today. got a request to use some pictures for a car show flyer and t-shirt. so that's kind of fun, right? will be interesting to see what they do with them. trusting them not to eff them up. trying hard to not tell them i'll set it up myself. you know what i mean...ever seen really, really badly laid out shirts? so cross your fingers.

anyway, i found this shot of ernie's chevy. it's for sale. maybe it's sold already. saw him with it at pomona last month. chatted a bit, but then totally forgot to shoot a picture of it. so, sorry about that.

this was from march at the garden grove elks club. he was trying to run that show at least once a month. wonder if it's still going?