what's up?

away

1964 chevrolet impala convertible

pretty impala out at garden grove a few weeks ago. hadn't stopped there in about a year, and it certainly has shrunk since i used to go five years ago. 

there are a few cars i like here and there, so was pretty happy to see this drive up. parked in a nice spot too, able to include the "historical street" arch in the background, as an extra framing device. 


here with my younger bro on a roadtrip down memory lane on the east coast. been a great trip so far, perfect weather, and not quite overcrowded by spring breakers.

we're up in the mountains of west virginia today, and it is supposed to rain all day, and start snowing around midnight. temp was in the eighties here a couple of days ago, and will be again after the snow.

got a couple more hours to go to see some relatives i basically haven't seen much since i was a kid, but my bro has been more in touch with, so should be ok. we'll stay a night or two, then head back down the hills to dc. 

after that, i have three more days before heading home for a few days, then on a plane again. crazy month, but it's fun, consoling myself for missing chino cornfeed run and chicano park day.

missing my better half tho... 

green day

chevy deluxe

ok, this one has just been sitting around in the files for a while. rarely go this show in garden grove anymore. aside from me enjoying the parking lot that is called a freeway on friday evenings, it really hasn't been all that busy and/or interesting the last couple of years. 

but i can pretty much count on finding at least one of the latin gents cars there. nice bunch of guys, almost always go out of their way to say hello. pretty sure i've posted this car before, but i like this one too. 

think i'll go to bed early. 

back porch

1958 buick oldsmobile

talk about hauling ass...could almost build a house for your mother-in-law out back...almost. or at least hold a tailgate party...the whole party.

found this out at garden grove. rarely go there, cause i'm usually disappointed by the turnout. but there are usually at least one or two worth shooting at any show. the whole car was pretty interesting, but baby got back, so i'm posting it here.

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as for my foot, not broken. but it does have some sort of strained tendon; enough that the doc had to pop me in the foot with cortisone. yippee ki yay. and i have to wear this lovely boot thing for i don't know how long yet, to help it heal. not exactly the lace up kind of boots my better half might have envisioned for me...

so, he probably will do his best to keep me from going to too many shows in the near future. and definitely will be a while before i do a lot of low angles. at least without him around to help me get back up. so over-protective, but i guess that's a good thing, right?

and to top that off, i got a cold, but not a cold, that i've been fighting all weekend. finally went to the doctor to check that it wasn't turning into bronchitis or pneumonia. they thought it best to give me some sort of antibiotic, just in case. probably to keep me from coughing up a lung or two, and to spare my co-workers' eardrums.

miss the light? uhh, no.

1950 chevy 3100

i went to a couple of shows on friday, which i have not been to in at least a year. because frankly, they were sucking donkey balls. i'll give a show a couple of trys before i decide it ain't worth the drive for either the number or variety of cars, or else just the people and/or vibe. and with the price of gas spiking thirty cents in a day, i guess i should get more picky.

on fridays, there are at least three shows i used to hit up when i got started. and all are basically on my way home, so it worked out. the one in garden grove used to be pretty huge for a main street show, until the local businesses, the show organizers and cops squeezed out the bad boys, and then pissed off a lot of the car owners.

that was the first one i stopped at. not much has changed in a year. pretty much the same diehards there. not as many cars as before. the latin gents were there, and i did take time to shoot their cars, because they're pretty sweet. i'll post some of them eventually.

then, for whatever reason, i decided to give the elks club in buena park another shot. i'd been there a couple of times a year ago. where i found quite a few of the deserters from garden grove. i also shared the story, here somewhere, of my parking in one of the grand poobah's spaces, getting told to move it, and how that wasn't very welcoming at the time. that, and the fact that there warnt much there.

forward to yesterday: the lot was packed, lots of hoods down, no one really bothered me, and surprise, surprise, several of the viejitos were parked out in the back along the wall. mind you, i had just spent the previous sunday at their show in fullerton, but i'm always happy to see the cars in new locations, at a different time of day.

ok, it's getting late, almost midnight, so i gotta wrap this up.

i took a bunch of shots of their cars, then went off to take others up by the entrance. as it was getting later, and closer to raffle time, everyone gathers in the middle of the lot. so i went back over to the best cars, as the sun was starting to go down. it was awesome, because, no one was around to get in the shots, and i could pretty much do what i wanted.

there was one old guy (it's an elks lodge after all) who walked slowly by, who remarked on how i was losing the light. i told him, i certainly wasn't, and i was going to be getting my best shots right about now. wonder if he'll see them when i post them.

thinking i should have stayed a bit later, but this will do. and i came thisclose to going to ruby's as well, but i had to eat, and figured they'd be about done when i got there. so now i probably won't make it there until their last show of the season at the end of this month.

this car was/is for sale. i know how to get hold of him, if you're interested.

in the still of the night

1951 chevy deluxe

so i made a quick stop at the show over in garden grove for the first time since last year, probably. a lot of people had split off and started other shows because of some dispute with the organizer and the shops over at this show.

considering it was a holiday weekend and i had arrived later than usual, there were a fair number of cars compared to the last few times i can remember being there. no where near what it was when i had started going to this show. and quite a bit dark, without a lot of street light, depending on what part of the street i was at.

i intended to only be there a short time, so did a quick walk thru before bothering to pull my camera out. i was stopped on the way back by a couple of people whom i've met before, who said they'd seen me go by; sorry if i didn't see you on the way in—i was seeing without seeing—looking at the cars, lighting and locations, not the people. i didn't really mean to be rude, just trying to maximize my time and figure if there was anything i wanted to shoot. but i did see you on the way back up the street, so sorry about that first trip.

i only shot a couple of cars. this one and a mercury monterey. and people were walking up to the monterey while i was shooting, and stood there arguing over what year it was and talking car geek talk. they finally went around to the back of the car, but made me wonder if they were obtuse or purposely standing there.

anyway, this one might be with the latin gents, who had their cars parked nearby. many with hoods up, so, so sorry, no shots of them tonight. no one seemed to be really looking at this one, so i took this shot. thinking the other side would have been more interesting with the nearby shop's neon signs, but that side of the car was pretty dark, so this is the one.

hoping to hit three shows tomorrow, but my shoulder is hurting, so i don't know if i will be able to lift my bag. we'll see.

raider nation

1949 chevy deluxe

i've seen this car several times over the past year and a half. i've tried shooting it from various angles, in different lighting conditions, in different locations depending on where they've parked. i've never really been satisfied with the location or the lighting, but this one is ok. i need to bring a ladder to get a better angle on the artwork on the front here, but i already pull too much around with me...i'd need a little red wagon to carry more.

not only is it a great car, it has some interesting, intricate airbrushing going on front and back, all in black and white, and just a hint of gold on the helmet. i'm taking a wild ass guess they like the raiders.

airbrushing

whirligiggly

1946 hudson super six

this is actually a truck, supposedly kinda rare, according to it's owner, hank. been a while since i took it, but he came over while i was taking my shots and started telling me all about it. if i remember right, he has a few cars he rotates through this show, though i've never seen this one before or since.

he only stopped telling me all about it when the show organizers interrupted to get him to move the truck, as they were running out of spaces. which is why you don't get to see something showing that it's really a truck. got other cars parked up next to it, and i lost the shot. oh well.

and hank also said he didn't even own a computer, so he won't be seeing it unless someone can show him, or i print him something to see. maybe i'll break down and ask my better half if i can borrow the ipad he bought for me, but i didn't want...a story he enjoys telling repeatedly, and it gets more colorful with each telling, so i can show hank if i see him again.

actung baby

1947 de soto i haven't shot this car since i really got into doing this about a year ago. compare it to my original posting of it to see if i've improved any. definitely deserved a higher angle than i used to always do them at. i have a couple of others i liked as well, showing reflections of the sky and trees on the hood, but it's late, so i'll save them for some other day.

i don't know why i like it. has one of the most gigantor front grilles i ever do see. oh, i know...i love the hood ornament :)

da boyz cad

1960 cadillac de ville

this was a very nice caddy parked where it shouldn't be parked at the garden grove main street show. found it in the college lot, adjacent to the back throughway, off the side street of the show, with a handicapped tag hanging from the mirror, but backed up on a sidewalk...makes me wonder what kind of "handicap" they might have...

was a lovely green, almost perfect condition. then i noticed there's a scratch up the side from the wheel toward the tail end. wonder what they parked too close to that was that low? i could remove it digitally, but then maybe the owner hasn't noticed. it's for sale, btw, but i didn't write down the number.

ah well. was in the midst of saving the file when my computer locked up and crashed. so my master for this file is effed up and all i can get out of it is a larger version of this, or start all over again. ugh. i need a new computer...damn POS hp. which reminds me, xmas is coming...buy a print, 'makes a lovely gift'...or holiday cards of your car, just drop me an email for pricing...oh hell, just tip the photographer if you've enjoyed seeing your picture here...at this point, i'm taking up a collection to keep this blog going. lol. "ain't too proud to beg, sweet darling..." or not.