what's up?

looking forward

a shot from last year's whittier car show. been seeing the flyers posted uptown for june second...on my calendar...on my street. i think the owner of this car stopped polishing it long enough for me to get a picture.

always up and out early, before the crowds. later in the day, it just gets packed, and typically really hot, so i'm done by ten. head home, download pics, then head back, with the macro lens, looking for hood ornaments and detail shots—at least no need to bring the tripod.

planning out my weekend, assuming all the elderly peeps in the family stay healthy and out of the emergency room. my dad has been there several times in the last month; patch him up, send him home, not really solving the problem. really frustrating.

mom just sits there, quietly supportive, not really challenging the doctors with questions. i usually don't pipe up, but it's getting kind of ridiculous, so i'm asking for second opinions, other options, tests.

my dad has his own theories, and it's interesting to hear him telling the doctor about anatomy and how things work, the cause of his issue, and how they could fix it quick. doctors really have a lot of patience for their patients...don't know how he kept a straight face.

but anyway, hoping to get out to the chino cornfeed run on saturday, and if i have any energy left, up early on sunday to pomona swap meet. we'll see.

shaking my head

i remember this day. last summer's bomb club car show at santa anita. middle of the racetrack, on the grass. hot, sunny day. still looking forward to the next one on june twenty-third.

all the lovely cars, in a new location, at least for me...i'd never been to a show there. actually, hadn't been to santa anita in years, so that was fun.

maybe i'll take pictures of the horse races this time too.

recent events have just got me feeling down. if i was a psych major, there'd be a thesis in it. people are just so horrible sometimes, and selfish and stubborn. there are some that will politely engage in a discussion, agree to disagree, but the rest think if they just yell louder, insult you, belittle you, threaten you, they win. water off a duck's back. let's remember richard for a moment. ok, he's not worth the time; see how it works?

and i'm kind of enjoying that it is raining just a little bit, so i can sleep in and not have to find a reason to not get out of the house. i'm sure there was something grammatically wrong with that sentence, and i don't care...double negatives or something.

been busy, and i'll be travelling soon. i'm getting really good at driving big ass moving vans. hoping i don't get a diesel one again...don't like the steering wheel being so horizontal. hoping the weather is good, and the roads aren't icy.

had to do a bunch of headshots at work yesterday. they scheduled seven people; one showed up, forgetting that she was supposed to wear a suit, and was dressed for st. patty's day. one less person, great. then someone else heard there was a shoot, and wanted one, but she couldn't do it until the afternoon. so i still ended up with seven people.

interesting how insecure people are in front of a camera. i am just as uncomfortable behind one, when they are in front of me. i babble, and try to lighten their mood, to get a decent smile from them, get them to relax. i'm trying, and i hate it every time, but the pictures aren't bad. now if i'd just relax enough to be able to tell them how i want them to pose, to get rid of that double-chin, or thin them out a bit, like i've learned in classes, i wouldn't have to do so much in post-processing, maybe.

i did do a little bit of stand like this, smile like that...sort of a mirror. i don't smile much, so my smile just has to be ever more stiff than theirs. at least they laugh, and i get the shot.

after shooting someone six+ foot tall, followed by a person about five foot in heels, when i went to adjust the height on the tripod, a leg twisted off. not good. couldn't get back together and stay. the person is just waiting. i tried some hand-held shots, but i shake too much. probably should have dialed up the shutter speed or something.

i wasn't liking the quality, so i tried the leg one more time, and propped it up against a chair. that held together long enough, and got something usable finally.

i had a twenty-minute break before the next person, so up to my office, asked a co-worker if they could fix it, while i ran out to my car to get my personal tripod from the trunk. knowing that i didn't have the plate to attach the camera to it with me, i was going to have to pull the ball head off and just mount the camera directly.

fortunately, my co-worker figured it out, at least for the time being, and i got through the rest of the day with it. pretty sure, though, i didn't adjust the leg height for the duration.

need to reschedule the one person sometime in the future, so i better be sure to check it on monday, and carry my own as a backup on those days.

aches & pains

so many car shows lining up, while it's still not raining, and i have to go sprain my arm. makes it difficult to carry a tripod and pull a bag on my own.

i've been moving stuff from one storage unit, to a bigger one, in anticipation of moving my daughter's junk in with mine. at least until we figure out where she's going.

been mostly moving it after work, for a few hours at a time. anyway, reaching up to snag a box too high on the stack, another box fell down and whacked me near my wrist. was aching so much after a couple of days, i went to a walk-in clinic yesterday. x-ray showed no cracks, so i just need to wrap it up.

feel like i should wrap both forearms and pretend i'm a boxer, or better yet, wonder woman with those stupid metal things that she used to deflect things. nah, more like the metal things they wore in 300.

anyway, not sure how much i'll get out for a few weeks. still have a month to move stuff. guess i'll get my other kid to do it. piece of cake for him; probably can move all the boxes in a day and not break a sweat.

was talking to tudy a couple of weeks ago, and somewhere in the conversation he mentioned the showlows st hilary car show. said he hadn't made it there this past year, but his son had. described the car, wondered if i'd seen it.

looking through pics, yes, yes i did.

may shower

it did shower after i left the show the other day. happily, got a lot of shots in before i left. great clouds, great cars.

i think it was this car, that the owner ran up excitedly to ask if i'd taken a shot of his car at a recent high school fundraiser. he showed me the pic on his phone. yep. i remembered him then.

seemed to be happy, and looking forward to seeing another one. happy to oblige.

nice to see you again

so, in spite of not feeling too great (again), i went out for a short while, to the fundraiser at workman high school.

for fuck's sakes, man, it's winter. why the hell is it in the eighties in march? and the cars are on blacktop. it was in the forties and raining a week or so ago. i really hate california sometimes.

photo courtesy of jim diaz—thanks jimbo!

glad i brought my hat. sometimes i worry it may be too offensive with it's pinstriped message on the brim, but then i hear the lyrics of the music being played, and it seems rather tame in comparison.

took a quick round of the show, then went back for a few more particular cars.

i think this was the second or third car i shot. the owner is actually just peeking into view behind it. he came over and re-introduced himself, saying we'd met at a previous show. guessing that would be one in covina, back around halloween.

told him i'd post his car; i try to keep my promises, if i can keep my memories straight. so hope he likes it.

my head got swimmy soon enough, so i packed it up and left to find lunch. pretty sure i'll faint at a show one of these hot days. i do hope someone friendly will watch over me and my gear until i wake up.

so chill

1950 chevy deluxe

arrived later than i'd wanted to, but better half needed to take a shower to wake up, and dry his long locks first. i, on the other hand, rolled out of bed, dressed and was basically good to go. glad i've let my hair grow out, and don't really have to waste time doing any fancy styling like when it is shorter; never holds a curl anyway. just brush it and it is what it is, but at least i can tie back when it blows in my face.

within minutes of walking up to the corner where the line of cars were parked waiting for the gates to open, he was freezing his nalgas off, and he left, headed home, to a warm house, and xmas stuff to do.

i, on the other hand, distracted myself from the weather, deciding which way to go--left or right down the street--and got to shooting. i went left, heading to the seemingly neverending line of cars...more were arriving every few minutes.

shot as far as this chevy before turning around. the reflection was right, the sky was cloudy, the sun was up a decent amount, palm trees and the arena building. busy enough picture without the next couple of cars...vw bugs...not what i was looking for. nice, but nah.

morning light is pretty, and if i can catch it hitting the shine of the paint just so, it makes me happy. i do need to remember to slow down, and really get the camera focused, not race the sun so much. there's always another show, another morning to try again.

sun up

1950 chevy deluxe

from the first show of the day. we got there a little late; i'd snoozed the alarm a couple of times, having gone to bed late, then the third time i'd accidently set it to a weekday alarm. duh. just happened to wake up about six.

still arrived just about roll in time, so we still found parking and had stuff to shoot. really nice cars and many clubs showed up. tried to make the most out of the sun, which was already coming up. most of the beautiful light was hitting the back parking lot, where there were only regular cars still parked at the time, so that was unfortunate.

out here in the front, the host club's cars—old memories eastside—were still in the shadow of the building. had to go over to the far side to find something with some light hitting it.

this one turned out ok, though the camera sensor really didn't like it. had to blur out some horizontal lines, that i could otherwise not explain.

apologies to the club guy who had spoken to my better half about getting a picture of the club, then sent him my way because he wasn't carrying the right lens. we had to leave after a couple of hours, so maybe another time, when your group is already gathered.

stuffy nose

better half stayed home today. he's just getting started on a cold and is fighting a fever. i suppose i'll catch it soon, and probably just in time for my big road trip with my mom.

bet my dear better half feels the way this hood ornament looks about now, though a little less stylish.

bee

1950 oldsmobile

i made it out to ruby's for the first time this season, this weekend as well. happened to have friday afternoon off for a change, so waited to see if my better half to get home, to see if he wanted to join me.

dude needs to get his air conditioning fixed in his car. after his hellish drive home, with the trapped heat of the day and warm wind blowing in through the windows, he was in no mood to go back out. completely understandable. i hate friday evening traffic more than anything—well only slightly more than evening traffic any other day of the week.

anyway, it was about as expected, a month into the season. there were cars. just not a lot of what i like to shoot. there were a few of the old regulars, and a few old regulars, that were not there...hopefully, just because they didn't go that evening, but you never know...

i'd heard the first couple shows of the season had been jammed with cars i'd love, but i just couldn't work them into my schedule. now this thin showing i was experiencing was no suprise to me, and it was fine. i'm still kicking the tires on these new camera bodies, making sure they are working well enough.

in the few lanes of cars, were some cars i'd never seen before, so i started with them. this bright yellow olds, is one of those. well, i just don't see too many oldsmobiles, actually, and i don't recall seeing one of this model.

curiousity brought out one of the owners...the lady of the couple, of course...to ask about my photography. she was delightful, and we had a quick chat. told her i'd post a picture, so here you go.

as she walked away, she brushed a bee off the hood. i hadn't noticed it before, but there it is on the hood in the picture. i'd have shot a close up of it, but too late, it was gone.

schwetty

1950 chevy deluxe

i know, i know. i owe some people pictures of their cars from the last few shows. patience grasshoppa.

got up early and headed over to the car show at the crossing / four square church. roll in wasn't until eight, but i was there at seven. hoped to at least shoot the host clubs' cars. was there early, also, hoping to get in and out before the temperatures rose too high.

well, being a bright and mostly cloud free day, it was already warm at seven, and quickly heated up. quite a change from last weekend. i'll take overcast any day.

i'm curious how this show is run. they said it was their tenth annual show. it's near home, so easy to leave and go back, if i fill up my memory cards.

i've been to at least three, and i think a different club has hosted each year. this year was hosted by kustom oldies. they seemed efficient enough, but while i was only there until about ten thirty, and the lot did mostly fill up, it lacked a lot of the cars and clubs that i'd expect to be there.

i wrote it off to people being at the la roadster show at pomona, or one of the other nearby shows. i briefly thought about going to one in la habra, then after chugging a bottle of water in the shade where my car was parked, called my better half, instead, to see if he'd been called in to work—no—and if he wanted to go get lunch. so i did that instead.

i went round the parking lot four or five times, following the changing light and shooting new arrivals.

saw this chevy there. loved the color. the owners stopped me for a moment, wondering what i do with the pictures. the wife seemed interested in getting a t-shirt or something with a picture on it. sure i know a vendor that does shirts, mugs, stamps, lots of junk. as usual, told them to wait and see if they like the picture first. i liked this one best.

oh, better half reminded that i should mention that i got another five pictures in the oc fair again. two cars, a hood ornament, a portrait, and a landscape. i try to mix it up sometimes. and again, he says, i'm already a winner, just to have something to hang at the fair; a ribbon is just icing.