what's up?

front street, behind me

woke up reluctantly and headed out to front street. when i had been to this show previously, it was in the parking lot of norwalk records. something about not getting the permits pulled in time as it turns out.

this time, it was properly on front street, the full length of it.

so, after several power outtages today, i’m finally able to post a picture. unless it goes out now. only got around to this one. i was asked to shoot it, as these cars are all “deluxe,” as is the building.

it was nicely overcast for a couple of hours, allowing me to get from one end of front street to the other. admittedly, i spent too much time shooting some cars, that the sun had begun coming out before i was totally done. it also allowed time for more hoods to go up. there was one i especially had wanted to shoot after i saw it drive thru. alas, the hood was up, and it was crammed in between other cars too closely. and i didn’t like the color so much after the sun hit it; it was somehow less appealing then.

i can't even

beautiful oldies chevy from the front street car show in norwalk last summer. i wouldn't mind having one of these in my garage.

so, i've made it to washington state, on my mission to test drive and deliver a new used car to my kid.

weather has been perfect the whole way, and here just in time, as it is supposed to start raining tomorrow.

she'd been texting me all morning, asking how far i was. so when i finally got to her hood, i drove directly to her place. a bit before check-in anyway.

never had been to this apartment, and got to see the spot where i'd been sending ubers for the last month or so.

anyway, parked the car, and her boyfriend walked the dog out to get me. turned out my kid had been up so early, and had been waiting to have lunch with me, though i told her not to, that she was in bed taking a nap. didn't even get up, though she did wake up when i peeked in the room.

uh, hello. i just drove eleven hundred miles to bring her a car, and she can't be bothered to get up and/or go check out the car. ugh. not out of character really, but still pretty rude.

pet the dog, got clawed by the cat, ignored the tarantulas and snakes. decided to go check in at the hotel and go back later.

she did apologize. said she'd drank two beers on an empty stomach, and about the time i arrived wasn't feeling good. well duh.

anyway, back a couple hous later, out to dinner with them and a couple of friends. (i drove). then out to point defiance zoo in the dark. it was decked out with xmas lights and music; a few animals were out in the cold. most were in for the night, but the small aquarium was open.

pretty cool, pretty cold--being right on the edge of puget sound.

back in the hotel, late and tired. not sure what i'll do for a couple of days. kid will be working, so i'm on my own.

sitting on my ass

early light. it's soft. it's warm. shadows drop gently off into a blur. it passes so quickly, and i move as quickly as possible to the cars catching it to have any chance of seeing the picture my eyes see.

at this show in san fernando, i get there early. so far i've managed to get inside pretty early, though they always run it down the line questioning who/what i am doing there, and should they let me in. promise not to get in the way, pay the entry fee.

this past year, not so many cars were there early. i ended up criss-crossing the football field, to the select cars i wanted to shoot.

this cadillac vaguely reminded me of another cadillac i used to shoot (now he drives a buick), mostly because of the color, not the year.

i liked the reflection of the sky and palm trees across the trunk.

i've spent my day alternating between sitting on my ass doing nothing, sitting on my ass futzing with a revamped website, and sitting on my ass driving out for lunch.

woke up with rain falling loudly outside the windows. rain that they had predicted earlier in the week, then moved to monday. stupid weather people. good thing i had no plans.

better half wanted to walk uptown for breakfast, but it was still lightly raining, and i didn't feel like it. maybe tomorrow.

i wondered if the latin gents still did car shows on the first saturday of the month, but didn't find any hint of it online, so with no other reason to drive to westminster, decided to stay put. still another week till the swap meet in pomona. now i'm wondering about the swap meet in long beach tomorrow. are there cars there, for show, or just parts?

spent the majority of the day figuring out how to make the updated website do things i wanted it to do, stuff that didn't transfer over from my original site. it's aggravating not knowing, or realizing limitations or stuff they don't support anymore. it's also satisfying when i do figure it out. better half wonders why i don't just call the twenty-four seven customer service.

no, nothings changed; right now you're still looking at the old version. i haven't hit the switch yet. maybe tomorrow, if i can figure out/remember how to transfer my domain.

even then, i will have to spend weeks tweaking it. aggravating.

visitors

1947 chevy fleetmaster

another from the oldies san fernando show last summer. early on, there just weren't as many cars as compared to previous years. that allowed me to get out and shoot without a lot of people or even other cars getting in the way.

these just look like they randomly parked on the field, but the pop up tent ruins that thought, as it ruins the picture. i really hate pop up tents. but i love the cars, so i'll selectively not see it there in the background. fuckin’ tents.

quandry

1954 chevy bel air

saw this car pull up in the middle of the lane in front of the gym at san fernando high school, during move in for the show in july. he jumped out and took a few shots of his ride with the building behind it. figured as long as he was doing that, i'd just ask if he minded if i got a shot too.

not one of my best, and it seems a little out of focus, but maybe that just gives it a more dream-like early morning quality. ya, i'll go with that excuse. i like it anyway.

we are getting so bad about planning our anniversary trips as the years go by. used to book them six months in advance, and have something to look forward to and plan for.

the last few, maybe a couple months of planning. don't really get the best deals that way, but we don't go to crazy ass places anyway. better half needs to get a passport one of these years...but that's another story.

now, we had to schedule our vacation early this year, but in another week, better half's sister will be here to take car of their mom, and we are going to...hell if i know. we have nothing planned. i just blew a wad, showing my mom a good time, and doing my kid a favor.

not that we don't enjoy our time together; we're just both so effn busy with each of our jobs, and me chasing cars and working on pictures on my free time. and just not having any particular place in mind that we gotta see.

just know we gotta get away from the grind at work, and it really is an increasing workload. and yes, our employers flip out when we are away. somehow a good chunk of the work doesn't get touched and is waiting for our return, followed by a frenzy of "missed" deadlines.

i just don't know. and to top it off, we're early this year, and the san pedro show is late, running the weekend we are supposed to take off. same with st hilary's. so that sucks.

at least we should be back for the dia de muertos show, which is just up the street, so that will be nice to return to.

now i'm just rambling about shit no one cares about, but i can, so i will.

pain in my chesh

1951 chevrolet deluxe

and i can't breev. one of george lopez' classic stand up bits.

so, saw his car out at san fernando. famous not only for the owner, but for the glittery mexican flag painted on the roof. and check out that interior.

yet another time i wished for a ladder or roof or platform to shoot from, but none of those fit in my camera bag, so maxed out the tripod, and got this piss poor shot of the roof.

curb was higher than the street, and the street had the occasional car driving by, so couldn't shoot too well from there.

golf carti was curious why his car was there, but he wasn't. maybe he's afraid of danny trejo? can't have two celebs at the same show at the same time?

he also had his golf cart there...el mas chingon...it is, it really is.

i like fleetlines, and i cannot lie...

1948 chevy fleetline

...newer cars make me cry.

look at those curves. can't find them like that on today's cars. is this what guys mean about a nice big, juicy back end? lol.

this shiny beauty caught my eye, and i just liked this shot best.

may day, may day

posting this truck for the owner, who came over and talked with me. seeing the plaque on the truck, i asked if he ever goes to the show at san fernando high school. he said his club hosts it, so yeah, i guess he does.

he drove a long way to be in this show. i think it was worth it. so many great cars. perfect day; only reason we left was that so many people arrived to see the cars, they were just getting in the shots, and we were afraid they'd trip on the tripod legs or knock the camera over.

i guess we could have just walked around and shot hand-held with the macro lens, just hunting down hood ornaments. i took sixty-three gigabytes of pictures, so, i have enough to keep me happy for a while. better half had already packed up his bag, and though he said he was happy to follow me around with the bags, i decided we should just go.

let the sunshine in

i've had a completely unambitious weekend so far. mostly catching up on sleep. did a little laundry.

still need to make some travel plans for next month. kid getting married out of town. those plans are done. also making a road trip out of it, so need to decide how much in debt i want to go, since it would just be me, out and about, during the holiday season. i could hole up in a random hotel somewhere, and hide out until xmas passes.

or i can just head straight home, and spend time with my better half and his mom, then head to my parents' for what is, lately, quiet xmas dinner. my brothers have moved out of state, so it's just my sister and me now.

some years, i just don't want to deal with holiday cheer; some i'll reluctantly participate. this year, i'm feeling a bit indifferent about it. no little kids around for the time being, so i can still choose not to deal with it.

i'm sure the closer to xmas it gets, the likelihood of me just saying 'fuck it' will go up.

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getting to car shows early, and catching pictures like this one, cheer me up just fine.

oldies' san fernando high school car show in july—hasn't disappointed me yet. even if it is hotter than hell there, i try to do my best to at least have a look at every car there. except those extreme machines. hate those cars. really, i do.

valley high

gonna post this, because i had it ready to go. i did make it uptown to the show today, and i'll start posting some of those soon, after i move from out of the front of this fan, and into a cold shower.

i'm way behind posting on recent shows. just been too busy and not home enough.

this one was from san fernando last month. love this show—oldies car club is very efficient about getting things organized, and moving the cars in. plus, they've let me in early for the three or four years i've made the trip up there.

pretty much have decided, since my better half mostly hasn't been able to join me at car shows lately, that if i can't find decent parking, in a relatively safe looking neighborhood, i'm not hanging around. luckily, i haven't had to leave one yet. there are other places i can be, which is the great part about socal and the los angeles area.

i think this is one of theirs. was in a line of their other cars, in the last parking lot i made it to before i was done. not sure which i liked most—the car or the hood ornament. liked the pop of the red, of the wheels, and the subtle pinstriping.