beater

my hand hurts. i think because this chair is all wrong for this desk. threw out my old chair, and switched it out for this one instead of throwing it in storage with all the rest of my stuff. and this desk gives me splinters in the thigh when i wear shorts sitting here. well, it's not my desk anyway, but i definitely need a different chair.

i digress. don't know why i liked this car. wouldn't typically shoot one of these, but maybe it was the beat uppedness of it.  or the faded color. whatever.

it's my mother-in-law's birthday, so i gotta go. looking forward to the whittier uptown show in another week. anyone going?

órale

stopped at the broiler last week. expected a lot more cars there, since the time change, and it was sunny and fairly warm. had time to kill before heading out to LAX, and wanted to have lots to make it fly by. well, not so much, so i just ended up take a lot of fewer cars.

if this truck shows up, this car is usually not far behind. either same car club or bestest buds i suppose. i haven't taken too many of it in the past for whatever reason, but this day, the light was good, and there weren't too many people milling around. really is a nice car.

and i took this one early enough, that the guys weren't sitting inside it yet, as they were when i walked by it later in the evening. i figure if you've brought your car to a show, you want people to see it, and it's available for shooting, whether you decide to sit in it or not. so word to the old bitties that glare down at me from the passenger seat. if i end up liking the car overall, i'm gonna post it with your pissy, constipated face in the picture for all posterity to enjoy. :)

hey to angel, who usually stops to chat with me, and had his brother with him this time—nice to meet you. yes, i always recognize you, but you were unexpected, since i hadn't seen your wagon in it's usual spot...he'd driven an old truck instead—his father's, that he's been fixing up.

crackle

i admit that i wasn't going to shoot this car. i had ducked under the overhang to get out of the sun and was contemplating packing up my cameras. the hood was up for one thing, and it was half in and half out of the shade. oh, and the owner was sitting in it with the door open, chowing down on some fries, and perhaps what were the remains of a hot dog.

he made some comment about my hair, i think. something to the effect of how it was so red. i told him it came from a bottle. he asked what color my hair really is, to which i had to say, that it's been so long that i've made it various shades of red or blonde, that i can't say for sure. let's just say, the pictures from high school have me with light or strawberry blonde, and be done with it.

anyway, some other car with flames painted on the hood drove in at that moment, so i was going to follow it to wherever it was parking. unfortunately, after backing into a similar space, half in the shade, the car was instantly surrounded by the crowd, and owner promptly popped the hood, and that was that.

the owner of this car noticed me still standing there, and inquired about my photography. i told him not without the hood down...and he volunteered to close his hood. it's like magic sometimes. my better half has been to shows with me, where a group of guys will wonder aloud why i always pass their cars by, to which he tells them, if the hood is up, she won't even bother. at which point, there is a quick slamming of hoods...lol.

so, since i still had some time before i had to leave, i took several shots, from several angles. had to move at one point, as another car pulled into the empty space next to it. i liked this view, and also another from the front, a vertical shot.

i think he said the paint on this puppy is at least 30 years old, and he for some reason kept apologizing about the chips and cracks in it. i kept telling him, i love it, and it gives it character, i wouldn't change a thing. hell, if it really bothered me, i could kill it in photoshop, but i like it just the way i found it.

i handed him my card. told him i'd post it, if he wanted to see what i did. he asked why/what for? strange question; most people are curious to see their cars here. i guess he was suspicious, maybe that he would have to pay. no, no, nanette. it's here because i liked it, because you took time to chat with me, and tell me a story or two. so thanks for that.

savvy savoy

this owner was one of only a couple that bothered to talk to me at the day of the dead show. while i told him that i'm not a professional photographer and he walked away pretty quickly, i threw a card into the window, so maybe he'll see it anyway. assuming he kept it, and that he was persistent enough to keep checking to see if i posted it.

i took several shots, and though the front shots are pretty good, right now, i'm liking this view of it. always like an interesting backend—pretty sure a lot of you guys can relate.

fly away

i'm pretty sure i didn't see the butterfly on the hood ornament the first time i passed this car. i think it got clipped on later.

my better half was spending a lot of time shooting this hood ornament on the car next to this one. he'd borrowed my macro, which when slapped on his full frame camera apparently kicks ass. anyway, i'd spent long enough just standing around waiting, that the lady who owned this one noticed i/we shoot with sony cameras. she was fascinated and full of questions. mainly because she was looking for what camera she should buy, and noticed i had a minolta lens one of mine.

when she started asking more techical questions, we waited for my better half to finish with the other pontiac. she and her husband said they'd owned more than 100 different cars over the years. this one, she said, drove like a pig, something about the power steering or non-existence of it. she'd made a deal with the proprietor of a car shop, where he spliced in an engine or front end of a car he'd recently finished, and some other parts, so now the thing supposedly really rips up the road.

i think she said it had a t-bird radiator in it too, which my better half joked whether it had an opera window in that as well.

of course, she may have been talking about one of her other cars, and i've just gotten them mixed up, just like the guts of said car.

i liked that the paint wasn't perfect; it was all scarred and pitted—a car that is driven and loved every day.

beware of bulldozers

ahhh, a stephen king fan. my fav.

finally got her where i wanted her. this one is always, always jammed between other cars, until this day. i think i got there late, the awards and raffle already going. for all i know, she had been pulled for an award and moved off to the side.

what ever the reason, i think i got a great shot of her, and the creepy overcast skies just make it more awesome. now if that radio had started to play on its own or that antenna had moved...

mr. belvedere

this one had an interesting bumper. kinda chromey but also a little rust starting to pop through. not sure i like the matte finish paint. it kinda reminds me too much of primer, but to each his own.

the owner had been standing off to the side chatting with some other guy—the car is for sale—but kept an eye on me. before i was done he did comment that all photographers always shoot the front. well, ya, it's the most interesting part of this model. not much going on in the back.

purple people eaters

i think i probably caught a cold, courtesy of my lovely neighbors seated next to and nearby me on the airplane home. really tired, so 'scuse me while i whip this out.

not one of my best shots, more of an experiment. i liked the positioning with the neon sign and the reflections on the side of the car, but i think i'd need to rethink the actual taking of a shot like this. a little rough and noisy, and not quite right, but i liked it enough to post it.

gonna go pass out now. i might be banished again from my mother-in-law's, which is where my computer is currently parked, so i might be down for a couple of days...suckage.

classics

so i was stuck at home all day on saturday because my car was in for service at the dealer's, and was without a computer to play with since thursday (long story, don't ask).

i got to the show at hooter's in el toro this morning. it was almost too warm to enjoy save for the cool breeze. i'm trying to horde up on pictures now, before summer really gets cookin' – i want to have plenty to work on during the hottest months, when i think i'll confine myself to evening shows.

while there were quite a few cars there, most already had their hoods up by 10:30 a.m.; you already know my opinion on that score. there were not so many of the older cars that i like, so i didn't stay too long. this pair of very nice oldies could very well have sat in the same lot way back when they were brand new.

the 1949 cheverolet deluxe is for sale, and i have the number if anyone wants it; the '48 plymouth special deluxe on the right was in pretty good condition too, but not for sale. parked next to the three decades of corvettes further down, i think this pair was far more interesting to look at and photograph – i used to want a corvette, so don't get me wrong, they're nice, but i'm kinda over them now.

out of curiousity, what is the difference between deluxe and special deluxe anyway? is it like the difference between a double-double and a double-double animal style? just that little something extra?

visine needed

so i attended the monthly trabuco canyon show, by the "friends" grill. guessing because it was mother's day, not as many cars showed up.

this one was pretty cherry. it is a 1939 plymouth truck. the owner was nice enough to close the hood for me; i had to help by pushing it closed while he pulled the release in the cab. he's got it buffed to a fine finish, and it reflected the overcast, cloudy sky wonderfully. love those cloudy skies...adds more drama to a picture, don't you think?