1955 buick
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…
pomona swap meet, last year.
wondering if indians used to live on these grounds. swear to big guy there’s a ghostly face of an indian in that driver’s seat on the full size image. i suppose i should add that here too, but i’ve already shut down my computer. otherwise, there were no other people hanging around this time of a cold morning.
don’t care much for hot rods, but i took a shot of this one for some reason. might as well post one once in a while.
have not done a whole lot today. i’m losing track of time working from home. apparently i thought thursday was wednesday all day. no idea where i lost a day. and have the work computer sitting here makes it too easy to just try and get projects done that are always pushed aside for the immediate rush jobs.
today, i power washed bits of the carpeting that the dog beast barfed on a week ago, when he ate some bad food.
one more week of work, then i have a week off. no where to go. previously scheduled vacation i never bothered to cancel the work time off. i’m tired. why not?
this past week or so has just been a roller coaster, and all i can do is just hold on. i know you will either be relieved or terribly disappointed that i won’t spill details here—it’s still a pretty sensitive situation, and i suppose i overshare enough when it has to do with me.
apart from that time bomb, my better half has loaded windows ten on my computer, but i lost all my favorite settings in my programs, so maybe my pictures will all be shit for a while. last few i fiddled with today just seem really dark, though my better half disagrees. he says he can hook up my old drive and for settings i saved, there should be files i can just copy over; just haven’t been here enough to get it done. so excuse my pics while i just wing it for a while.
i did get out to the black widows car club barbecue or picnic or whatever last week. waited long enough other cars did eventually show up. stayed longer than expected, only because there was a breeze and shade under trees. otherwise, just the ugly light of midday, and the sun relentlessly shining on my roasting arms. forgot the sunblock again. hate that greasy stuff.
owner of this lovely said there was still another layer of paint and/or a good buff to do on this new paint job. really nice, and different, no? little bit of pinstripes, little airbrush, some flames, and a lot of glitter—stood out anyways.
i’ve been waiting fifteen minutes for this windows update to finish, here at work. i actually have stuff to do, so this is slightly inconvenient....
ah, there it goes. only had to start a post on my phone to make it complete...blog blocker.
well, here’s a nice merc from last weekend at the park. interesting ghost flames in the paint.
motorcycle
when i was a kid, there was a cartoon on after school, with a bunch of talking motorcycles. i was kinda stupid, but i watched it anyway. sort of was like the fat albert show, but with cycles. the sterotyical personalities of the group were predictable, so i'd have to say this one would be the cool guy.
saw the owner drive up and park, at the front of the show, near the datsun squad that we were busy passing by, so i took a few shots, just because it was different than the usual harleys. also because a crowd hadn't gathered around it.
dude didn't stay too long, i watched him drive away.
i've been busy all day. walked uptown for an hour or so at lunch...shopping for a graduation gift. really difficult when you don't know what someone likes or needs, or what is appropriate for the occasion. me, i like toys—monsters, aliens, weird stuff. don't think that would work for this girl.
still need to pack my bag for the trip. haven't decided when to leave. so i've been sitting here playing with my pictures. was trying to find a specific car, a black bel air. looked through the last few years of pictures. i think i have it, but no doubt i've labeled it wrong. probably on a hard drive i don't have here, a backup drive at a different location. oh well. this merc will have to do.
chopped and differently stylized flames than i usually see on cars. it was sitting at the edge of the park, stopping traffic. even got a crazy guy from a passing bus to get out before his real stop, to come over and make loud exclamations. i think the general thinking was that he might have been on something, but maybe he's just overly enthusiastic.
kudos to the pinstriper/airbrusher. somebody named vandemon, at least that's how they signed the back end.
and check out al the louvres. that looks difficult to do, without effing it up. also had hubcaps with cadillac emblems on it, and a desoto grille. guy sitting next to it, who seemed to know the owner, said just because they were cool.
busy weekend. mooneyes saturday; imperials show sunday. all i can say is, wow. more than enough cars to get my yayas out. i'm sooo tired...too much sun, i guess. after a week of cooler temps, the weekend had to heat up, which seems to be the one thing that forces me to leave early--from the house, and later from the show. sucks.
people have told me i need to go to mooneyes. i think they mean the xmas show, but open house gave a good idea of what shows up at xmas. might have to make the trip this year, wherever it might end up...didn't they close irwindale speedway?
anyway, made my way down one side of the street, through several small parking lots of cars and people, crossed the street and back up toward mooneyes, itself. always a challenge shooting in crowds, and next to a busy street, with traffic in the background. depends on my attitude that day whether i give a shit if there are people milling around a car, or a blur of traffic in the background--either can be fine, especially if no fucks are given about what's going on...focus on the car. ahem, i ramble...
-----
i am a fan of pinstripes. sometimes shoot a car just for the pinstriping, even when the hood is up ;) saw this car near the street, but more away from the main crowd. not so many people in the way. interesting colors and liked the flames. owner came over and introduced himself. i think he said he was a student at cerritos college, and that he'd done the paint and pinstriping himself. nice job!
spent a few hours in rialto today. figured a lot of people would be at ink n iron, so i'd go inland.
saw a lot of cars i've seen before. lots i didn't give a second thought about. had one guy offer to pay me to take a picture of his car, because he says no one ever takes a picture of it. when he pointed it out, i told him he'd have to close the hood, before i'd do it. he said he liked the hood up. i think he was kidding anyway.
this car, i've seen a few times. and i shoot it every year. the owner, sitting there, still as a statue through my set of shots, remembered me, and my better half from a previous year. my better half had taken his video tripod on a wheels out to this show the first time he tried it out, and must have chatted with this owner.
that, and also that i didn't see any other tripods being used.
happy easter or passover or whatever.
now pretend like that didn't happen and look at this:
i had already packed up my camera, and was just watching my better half shoot this car. testing out a new camera and lens, he was just having fun. i was standing in the shade, so whatevs.
then a '39 master deluxe drove by, and asked my better half if it was too late. he said of course not, and went off to follow that car to a parking space.
so damn. i stood around for about five minutes, saying i won't, i won't, i won't [on the inside]. it was hot, i was hungry, and just done.
then i lost the inner argument, and got my camera back out. might as well, i'm just standing there waiting.
super shiny and perfect. almost wanted to kick it, like stomping on the feet of a kid with the brand new white shoes.
then, of course, i had to go shoot that '39 too. i'm not stupid.
went uptown for dinner tonight. saw a couple of very nice cars. took pictures with my cell phone. i put those up on instagram: #randomcarsuptown. service in the restaurant was soooooo slow.
this one was sitting across the street from the restaurant. i kept an eye on it through the window. it was still there after the meal. got all the way home, and decided to get the camera and wander back uptown, to see if either car was still there.
my better half came along to keep an eye on me, i suppose. or maybe he just enjoys my company. he was suggesting i try shooting some different settings, being that it was night time. told him i'd give them a try after i shot them with my typical settings.
guess i got lucky. they both were still parked. just barely. shot a couple of a pontiac before the owner came back and took off. then continued down the street, to see if the other car was still there.
yes it was. this really cool ford. but the owner was sitting in the driver's seat. looked like he was texting, so i went ahead and started shooting, hoping he wouldn't leave before i was done. takes longer exposures when its dark.
i guess he saw me set up, and was just stalling until i was done.
my better half got his attention, mainly to thank him for waiting me out. he got out and introduced himself, and we got to talking about all the work he'd put into the car, and the plans he had for improving it, and making it go faster. dude just got his hair cut and was dressed for a night of cruising, i guess.
a few random facts, that i can remember: same owner for fifteen years and his daily driver; suicide doors; working on a bigger engine to drop in -- 400 something, sorry don't remember the specific model. (if only my bro were in town with his photographic memory); will be adding additional exhaust pipes on the sides with laser engraved skull and bones; chopped three inches; no back window; flames look fairly prominent here, but earlier were more of the ghost variety; after market racing skirts on the rear wheels.
talked quite a bit about the paint job. said he should have listened to the paint guy about the clear coat. apparently he opted not to follow the guy's advice, and there's some rust starting up under the paint. i suppose he'll eventually have to redo the paint.
i didn't shoot it from the back end, which i should have done while my better half was talking him up. had really unique tail lights. rare, he said. after market add-ons from the fifties, that he got lucky and found on ebay from the original owner. original packaging and screws even. some old dude cleaning out his garage. it happens sometimes. anyway, haven't seen another like it anywhere.
so much info, and i had hurried out of the house without my phone, so couldn't type in some quick notes, before the details fell out of my head. so this is the best my recollection of the info. can't remember the engine specs, but the new one will definitely be faster.
very nice guy. kept him talking about his car for a good fifteen minutes. all the while, he kept ignoring his cell phone ringing; hope his girlfriend didn't get too pissed. really appreciated him taking the time to chat. hoping to see him and the car at the dam on new year's day.
i'll put up the other car tomorrow.