destiny

this was the staging area for the whittier car show just before seven a.m. a seemingly endless line of cars down the main street, then other lines going down the cross streets, which you can't see from here. these guys should consider themselves lucky to have to wait it out here, in the shade. the side street guys were already getting hit by the sun.

so i took advantage of the captives and had my way with their cars at my leisure. still close together, but this time, nose to tail.

i don't remember seeing this one around before. i like these type trucks/vans/whatever you call them, with the big shiny sides; they reflect whatever is near them so well, when the light hits just right.

nubby

you should really see this one in person. its pretty phenomenal, especially the paint job. the body paint is reminiscent of those marblized bowling balls at the newer alleys.

this is from the viejitos oc annual show, but i did see it previously, down at chicano park, under a bright, hot sun.

viejitos shows get a good turn out, lots of variety in cars, and are meant to be family friendly. even their rap performers use no profanity at all. contrast that to the show in san fernando...save that for another day.

and there's a pretty interesting airbrush job on the trunk. car club members as skeletons.

a fresh look

this guy is the one that torments me uptown, parking in front of the cigar bar fairly often. always tempted to run home for the camera, and then just don't do it.

wonder where the rest of the tribe was, but glad to have found this one at the show. looked really spectacular among the trees. i don't remember the roof being all airbrushed and glittery. same for the airbrushing on the back of it on the spare wheel cover—is it recent? gotta be why i haven't seen it around for a couple of weeks.

-------------

my son is currently en route to cambridge. i'm already worn out with his dog, but i think i got the best of him today, taking him to the park three times. i don't know. he may have out done me...my foot is starting to hurt. probably overdoing it with all the activity.

dog is over at my ex's house tonight, as i was hoping to stop by the old memories show early early in the morning, before the heat sets in. i think now, it all depends on how my foot feels in the morning. i really hope i can go.

who's your daddy?

 

so we drove out to brea this morning, to check out some annual show over by brea mall. if i had wanted to see a bunch of newer muscle cars with their hoods open, i could have just gone to the dealership down the street.

was about ninety percent peenie parade o'cars belonging to middle aged chubby guys who apparently think buying a car qualifies for entry in a car show. how the hell do the judges seriously go about judging these things? they're new, off the lot, or maybe a couple of years old, no effort to customize them has really gone on; i guess you could say they contain all original parts. probably paid the guy swinging the towels around to polish them up too. shit.

you really wanna know what i think about these guys? BFD. ok, don't ask me. my better half says i don't have a filter when asked my opinion on things.

really, we tried to salvage the trip, and wanted to get our cameras out of the bag, but it seemed almost a requirement to have the hood up. and the few and far between cars that we would have taken pictures of, just weren't doing it. too many people, crap location, and how crammed cars were into the spaces marked out. meh.

i did see a couple of guys i know. and i didn't even shoot their cars. even with the hood down. i guess i really didn't feel like shooting today, so skipped the hooters show this evening.

---------

so the news i mentioned the other day: i have four pictures accepted in the fair again this year. only three of them are cars. you'll have to go look for the other one over in pictures of flowers. of the pictures i entered, i can't really figure the reasoning for what was chosen and what wasn't, but fun just the same. so off to the framer's, and my mother-in-law is already imagining which wall this set will go on.

----------

oh, and this car is again from chicano park. and really, what dad wouldn't want a mostly nekked chick airbrushed across his hood? i think this is a viejitos car, but from new mexico.

anyway, happy father's day, dad. i know you read this blog, or at least look at the pretty pictures once in a while...

flamed and a little grumpy

the lovely couple that own this hot rod have been waiting a month to see a new picture of their baby. they thought they'd been going crazy and missed it, but no. i just don't post everything, especially if i'm not satisfied with it. i suppose i have an old email from them somewhere, so i could have let them know. or i guess i could have written something here. but then i wonder if they're just looking for the picture and not reading it, they wouldn't know then either.

i had been having an internal arguement over a couple of shots of it from a show out in riverside, but there was something in each that was just not doing it for me.

then this weekend, a couple of local shows i'd heard about and planned to attend, just simply didn't happen. so having awakened at an ungodly hour for a saturday, took my better half along for the ride out to rialto, promising him that i don't drive out there anymore if it isn't worth it. i'd scoped out a few while my son went to ucr, so i knew this would be ok.

and i kinda guessed they'd be there too. i saw them drive in as we walked over the train tracks to the main strip. we didn't actually get there until after 8am, so the sun was already past the sunrise we were looking for, but not so high as to be irritating.

i took a few shots early, then wound back around and took these two before i left. i think either one looks better than the shot with gary's favorite outhouses.

my better half went to the car show with me, so afterwards, we went out to chino planes of fame for him. he had fun...hardly anyone there, and a nice breeze for a change.

thanks for telling about another show the next day, but i just couldn't do another whole day in riverside.

oh ya, and there's the little grumpy on the back of the other car. didn't notice him last year, when i was just all about the skulls.

oh, and buy a print here

that's mister lowrider to you

this is one of the glitter twins. not sure where the other one ended up. actually, maybe it's pixie dust, they're like a dream, a happy thought.

parked in a perfect spot, i shot it from the front, the side, the back. liked this one best, because it hides most of the tent behind it, where the owner (i think) was sitting, and look at those great trees and sky...really makes the orange pop. basic art school color wheel complementary and tertiary colors.

three for one

quick post. gotta get up early tomorrow. make up your own story about this one.

they all head south for the winter

so, i'll get back to riverside in a couple of days, but i wanted to put one of this beauty up before i forget. my better half talked the owner into closing it up later that afternoon.

i basically stare at cars with their hoods open if i really want to shoot it, and hope the owner notices and offers to close it. i've only asked owners to close it a couple of times because it was too good not to get it, and most typically will just walk past a few times and hope to see it again some day.

of course, i took advantage of the hood closed, and took several more shots. but i thought i'd share this one, just to show that i sometimes break my own rule. i think my better half mentioned that it's rare to see one in such immaculate condition, but if memory serves, d, there was about five of them in a row down at chicano park, each just as delicious as this one. but i did skip most of those, since they had one side up and one side down.

ok, this one had a nice engine, so i guess that was part of the reason i went ahead and took this shot. my better half liked this one better than the others i did, so maybe that's why i'll share it with you.

out of town tomorrow, so riversiders, hold your breath until wednesday. unless i go to big boy...

buy a print here

chicano graffiti

ok, one more for now from chicano park. i've been to a few other shows since, so i have a few to post in the next few days for people i talked to at those shows.

i just think this is a nice shot. sure, i like the car, but i think the archway bridge behind it just makes it more interesting. again, wish the show tag in the window were not there, or even just smaller, but i suppose it was easier to make letter-size copies than to make smaller ones and cut them up.

-----

hoping to get the doctor to let me out of this cyborg boot. it's been a real hassle at the car shows. i suppose if i have to wear it any longer i'll have to get creative and think up some interesting story for whatever is wrong with it.

more candy

a lifestyle car is most always a delight to the eyes. pinstripes, airbrush, candy colors seem to be their modus operandi. i walked past this one earlier. thought i'd seen it before and/or the light just wasn't hitting it right and/or it was surrounded by people.

on the last walk around this field, walking past from this direction, i had a change of heart and took this shot. i can appreciate a good paint job. and hey, look, no one paying it any attention. perfecto.

just realizing that it was the same car i saw last summer at the san fernando show. but not that surprising. nice to see it out in the open, and not crammed in with a bunch of other cars.