what's up?

fire

cool paint job.

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if all the other stuff going on in my life isn’t enough, we just evacuated because of one of the fires going on today. mile from home is too close.

what the hell?

fyre

speaking of vail headquarters, here’s an interesting car from the limited amount of time i spent there in the middle of the summer. before i decided to have a heat stroke.

damn, it’s hot out there in the summer.

maybe it’s the flames on this car.

at least my kid showed up with his family and got some pizza from the shop at the back of the complex. highly recommend that place. kinda hungry right now, come to think of it…

back it up

anyone else miss the super show at hillco fasteners? always the morning of the big game, over in time for pre-game stuff. new landlords put the kibosh on it for “safety” reasons.

a variety of cars would drive through, cruise the complex, spend some time, then head out.

don’t see too many of these, and the back end is the best part for me.

still around

went out to the just memories/kustom classics toy drive last night in bellflower. i’m a bit rusty, as i haven’t been out as much.

got there about four-thirty, before the official start time. really just some of the club cars there, and mostly the hopper types. shrugged and just went with it, since i was there.

figured i try to remember how to do night shots like i used to when i’d go to the broiler. have you noticed how fast the sun takes a dive this time of year? just blink and it’s dark early, too.

no one really bothered me, while i skuttled around trying to stay out of the way, as more cars did show up eventually. the lot got pretty full by the time i left three hours later.

i did run into one friendly face, who did chat for a bit. apparently he had heard i’d been in a bad accident, hit by a car or something. first i’d heard of it. wasn’t me, obviously, as i was there chatting with him, but fun story anyway. i was expecting to start hearing stuff, since i don’t go out much—family obligations get priority—can only juggle so much.

this was the last shot of the night. i’d done one more look around, and saw this one sitting in front of carl’s. i’d shot it from the other side, as there were a couple of guys sitting where i’d set my tripod on the other side, but then the owner, i presume, said he liked it better from the other side. i saw that it had the spare tire on it, so i agreed. told him there were dudes there and didn’t want to bother them, whereupon, he got them to move.

it turned out ok, in spite of people that did walk through my long exposures.

to the wordsmith that felt the need to send me the email “ur dumb” with the three word message: “this website sucks,”… i applaud your economy of words; precise and to the point, yet lacking in any real constructive criticism. be still my heart. what shall i do?

no one is keeping you here. perhaps you should stick to the instagram page—no reading necessary.

and then i got on with my life…

abuelo's 55

quick post. quickly realizing there is not enough time to get everything done before vacation or in a day, even.

told a few people i'd post pics of their cars from last weekend's walnut high school fundraiser/unidos car club show.

here's a front view at the owner's request. hood up, i don't like, but that's they way he set it up. guess i'll add an engine shot when i have time.

gotta get to work now...more later.

des uno

1955 desoto firedome

at my mom's again. one more day of work, then catching a train to san diego, and hitting chicano park on saturday. wonder if the padres are in town...?

another car from the unexpected car show in buellton. one three lovelies at the entrance to the lot. all three had their hoods up. i spent time shooting some of the details, and hoping...

there was an old guy with a camera, kicking back in the grass, in the shade of a tree, near a fifty-nine desoto i was shooting. he said he'd taken a picture of every car there, except those last three. he was just waiting too. said he'd taken meticulous notes about each car too.

i guess my better half had been talking to some people and must have mentioned my preference for hoods down. soon, a guy strolled over and shut all three. one was his; i assume he's on friendly terms with the other two owners.

so, yay, i got pics of these three two, before people started driving away.

and the slamming hoods, also woke up the old photographer. he showed up about five minutes later.

chrome and paint

the show last night at lowdown in uptown was fun. it was well attended, and drew so many classic cars, that the cops wanted to shut it down a few times for having an unauthorized car show.

i got my better half and went down there just when it was technically starting at five. only a few people inside, so actually could check out the artwork. the last couple of shows, it's been so jammed with people, i couldn't really appreciate the show. better half tried shooting a picture of me by my pieces, but i hate being in front of a camera, and just feel like a dork, and can't crack a smile. and he does a three shot burst with his little camera...and i'm supposed to hold still for all three shots. nope. i'm not sure if he got any worth keeping. whatever.

myself, i'm a big, shy, introvert, and just get very uncomfortable in a big crowd like that. instead, i can get behind the camera, and take advantage of the party goers' cars. we walked back to the house and got my cameras and headed back over. i can focus on the cars, and ignore the pack of people staring at me, and whatever i'm doing. not being a big old bitch, just coping.

anyway, i think this car belongs to the shop owners, so i'll start with that. best angle i could get, without standing out in the street, which wasn't closed...because it wasn't a car show, remember? thanks for letting me participate, and sorry for pestering you, to the point of just walking some pictures into the store to get an answer. the fun part of taking the pictures, is sharing them, so thanks for the opportunity.

braces

this cadillac kinda looks like its smiling, but it has braces. and the big bullet things are the big metal things that hook up to the head gear.

wishing that guy behind the other caddy could have kept out of his cooler and out of my shot.

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.

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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.