what's up?

different

i’m in a mood today. so many things going on at work and home, and can only be in one place, dealing with one thing at a time. and there’s not enough time.

several deadlines today, yet i’m sitting here, waiting at the doctor’s office. for me.

my mom fell yesterday; probably should have made her go to get an xray on her butt, arm and noggin—everything she landed on, hitting the driveway. she seemed ok and of course said she was fine.

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don’t usually shoot or show these types of cars, but like i said, i’m in a mood. maybe something different can correct my attitude.

interesting paint job, no?

long time, no see

1963 chevy impala

saw this impala early at chicano park. anything parked by this mural is always a good shot. the mural is colorful on it's own. park a nice car in front of it, it makes a pretty picture.

i think i have one of a truck in front of it later in the day. not so sparkly a paint job, but nice truck.

was gone for ten days. long road trip, my mom came along for the ride. i drove a big rental truck of stuff to my daughter in washington, then a rental car back.

let me tell you it's a long drive when you don't have someone to help with the driving. my feet hurt. my legs hurt. my butt hurt. lol. i was all butt hurt.

my mom would not have been able to handle it. she doesn't drive freeways anymore, much less a truck. should have seen her face when after gassing up the first time, i said it was her turn. priceless.

we saw a lot of stuff, but didn't have too much extra time to really get a good look around. i'd stop here and there, but mostly, it was about getting to the next hotel for the night.

i did love the scenery though. i like road trips, even if they hurt. i miss the trees already.

stopped and saw family in san jose, then instead of going through big sur and monterey, decided to cut and run for an overnight in solvang. then had to cut that short to get home and turn around to take my brother to lax.

home a day early. trying to get laundry done, but this washing machine hates me, and keeps going off balance, trying to commit suicide by rocking itself off the little pedestal it sits on. my better half decided to give it a shot after i was found giving it a double finger salute one too many times, and dropping a few f-bombs.

omg. there's never enough time, is there?

peekaboo

1964 chevy impala

i think there has only been one time i've ever seen this car not under a pop up tent. it's a historical car, so sure, they want to protect it and the paint job. the one time it wasn't, was probably five years ago, at the broiler. late in the day, i think it was surrounded by people. i'd have to sift through my hard drives to find it.

typically it's also surrounded by admirers and photographers. found it very early at the imperial's hawaiian gardens show last month. still was under the tent, so i only bothered shooting the front end. i'm guessing when it got pinstriped and painted, the chrome was off, otherwise, why does that squiggle go beneath it?

better half definitely is sick. drove home early from work to take him to some doctor out in arcadia, only to find out they had no more time for patients for the day. we'll try again in the morning.

i'm still not as sick as he is, but i suspect it will hit me full force before the end of the week, just in time for labor day.

smug

drove out to ruby's last week. only two and half rows of cars. big change from a few years ago, as is for all the weekly shows it seems.

wasn't completely in the mood to shoot, definitely not to chat. mostly went through the motions, shot a few here, shot a few there. nothing there was really rockin' my world. good practice though.

i see this one once in a while. still like to study the paint job, try to imagine how they create some of the effects in the paint.

divining rod

i wandered through all the parking lots at the majestics new years' show, and back. new stuff arrived and i'd go back and try to find it. some cars had too many people around them on the first pass, but i got them on the next one.

that seems to be the only way to deal with a bigger show. pretty much why i just don't go to the really major shows people tell me about...just too many people...unless i can be there at the same time cars are rolling in.

this one i probably would have passed by, but there was no one in the way, and the paint on it was pretty well done. but looking at it now, i can't decide if it was the lens, or if that big phallic thing on the trunk was not quite centered. sort of the angle of the dangle...between two girls...boys and their fantasies. lol. at least it's up.

i would just be pissed, or would it be obsessivly crazed, to drop a crap ton of cash on a custom paint job and find it just a tad off.

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been working too much, or should i say, i have too much work. wishing they'd hire another person. trying out a contractor on a couple of simple jobs, but they're located in northern ca, so can't really get a feel for them, and i haven't seen their portfolio. should be interesting.

still, i have another couple of intense weeks coming up at work, so probably will be too fried to post much again. happy to have realized a bit late that it was a holiday weekend, but that just means i gotta work even faster to meet the deadlines. ugh.

smelled like pussy

as we were walking home from the art show uptown, we found this ford was parked a half block down. i had already taken a few shots of it, when the owner walked up and wanted to grab a jacket out of the car.

better half, who had assigned himself as my bag boy/assistant by this point in the evening, asked him what the story on this car was.

if i remember right, he's had it for about seven years. said it was a complete mess when he got it. said it smelled like cat, or cat piss, fairly unbearable. took four months to air that out somehow.

he cut out that oversize sunroof and smoothed the edges. i think he said when needed, he can pop in the old piece to cover it up, and i suppose keep the rain out. but maybe he doesn't take this out in the rain.

anyway, cool car now. check out that paint job.

and i apologize for the title...better half dared me.

neighborhood blues

another promised post. these aren't the types of cars i usually shoot, unless they have some exceptional paint job or something.

we were heading back to the car, taking one last look around. i was actually hunting for that emerald green truck that had been cruising around.

my better half and i both spotted the bart in this car at the same time. he really liked it, so he went over to take a few pictures of it. the owner of this car called us out, and talked us up. really wanted us to take a picture of his car. my better half admitted he rarely has time to post his pictures, and passed him off to me. thanks d.

i took a few shots; liked this one best.

oh, and spotted the green truck back in the line of cars coming into the park on our way out. that sucks. another time...

Update on 2015-01-03 23:48 by kathy

my better half says the guy told him they had it painted in his own garage, airbrushing, pinstriping and maybe four coats of paint and clear coat. not bad, not bad.

candy

lifestyle cars are all extraordinary. i think its a requirement. meticulous, fantasmic airbrush, pinstriping and details. candy colors and multiple layers of clear coat paint.

they're also usually surrounded by admirers, and i can't get a clean shot edgewise, so i mostly have to pass them by. unfortunate.

caught this one from the back, where one can often find some pretty spectacular airbrush portraits. ok, this one is more fantasy-like. dream on, big boy.

muy bueno

i've seen the famous bueno family impala several times now. another car that i just can't get enough of. so many details. airbrushing, etched chrome and pinstripes all over. can never get up high enough to shoot the roof of these kinds of things.

there's stephanie waiting patiently. i don't know her well enough to know what she's thinking, so i won't presume to guess. we pass each other at shows, and don't say much more than hello. i'm shy. she doesn't seem shy. so it's just me.

other people we ran into at this show expressed happiness that she was there, and getting out, making the effort to be out with people. i imagine it can't be easy.

saw her around the show later in the day, without a camera in her hand. that was unusual.