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harley davidson

harley davidson

viejitos 2-8091.jpg

there's a car show going on right now at slick's customs. goes until ten p.m. i've been to a couple of shows there, and they usually have a good turnout, and people i know.

just not feeling it today. still feeling like crap. and my face, though not puffed up like last week, hurts. ya, take that joke and run with it.

tomorrow is the belmont shore show. i've never been. kinda interested in going for a change, but being that my better half can't go, and lately, i'm always afraid i'm going to faint, i just don't want to go by myself. 

there's a picnic at legg lake—that's closer, and easier for me. if i go out, i'll probably go there.

saw this bike a couple months ago now, at the viejitos show. i think it belonged to one of the vendors. really incredible engraving on the chrome.

btw, both of my brothers finally had to evacuate their homes in florida. they are safely out of the way, but one of them has a kid who decided to become a cop. guess who is required to stay behind? no worries, right. i feel for them.


pinky swear

we were heading back toward the car and spotted this car across the parking lot, across the street. definitely bright and sparkly enough to stand out.

lots of bling and too much of everything. all the chrome engraved, airbrushing, glitter, pinstriping and pink. pink. pink is for chicks. i'm a chick, but hate pink, and that's just me.

but it was an interesting amalgamation of skills.

muy bueno

i've seen the famous bueno family impala several times now. another car that i just can't get enough of. so many details. airbrushing, etched chrome and pinstripes all over. can never get up high enough to shoot the roof of these kinds of things.

there's stephanie waiting patiently. i don't know her well enough to know what she's thinking, so i won't presume to guess. we pass each other at shows, and don't say much more than hello. i'm shy. she doesn't seem shy. so it's just me.

other people we ran into at this show expressed happiness that she was there, and getting out, making the effort to be out with people. i imagine it can't be easy.

saw her around the show later in the day, without a camera in her hand. that was unusual.

his own, personal, jesus

i've been spotting some really incredible impalas lately. clean, etched, engraved, hydraulics, airbrushed and pinstriped.

saw this stylistics car at the church show too.

what might that man be looking at in the trunk besides the engraved hydralical system? ah, there it is now...

the girl on the wheel cover must have been calling him earlier... >:)

a tad too much

i've seen this car a few times now. i do appreciate the detail and engraving. really, it can be impressive. the interior reflected this exterior, if you can imagine...apparently, i didn't take any pictures of it.

but like women and jewelry, ya gotta know when to stop. although, some women would probably argue with me on that point, but i'm not like them anyway, and i can do without the bling.

cadillac, in my head, as the advertisers have pummeled into it, envisions high living and good taste, perhaps a hint of extravagance...and i'll leave it at that.

dam fine

stayed up late last night, slept in a bit this morning. my better half assumed we weren't going anywhere and was settling in to watch the idiotic rose parade on tv. he was laughing because channel 5 had missed the thunderbird flyover and only caught the contrails. can't stand the talking heads with their milquetoast voiceover.

when i said i was going to go to the majestics show at the santa fe dam, he got moving. we've never been there, and i figured it would be mostly low riders and jumpers, but also a bit of the stuff we like. flickr contacts are good references when trying to judge going to new shows by looking at past shows images. and mentioning flickr...hey to rudy and to luis...a couple of contacts who have introduced themselves and were at the show today. also, hey to steven, who ran into my better half, but i was off in another parking lot at the time.

needless to say, it was an incredibly well attended show. didn't realize that it continued from parking lot to parking lot, and we only got around to about five of them. also didn't expect to stay very long. we got there about ten in the morning and didn't leave until three-thirty, and still didn't take all the pictures that i could have if i wasn't worrying about my better half and taking up his day off. he had been bored early, but then got over it. said it was because he had gotten something to eat.

anyway. i know we both shot pictures of this car. i can't quite figure out what it is...to me, the body looks like a '39 chevy, but the front looks like a '34. i dunno, and i guess it doesn't really matter much. it was pretty detailed all over. it had airbrushed girls on the visor and in the engine space. can't quite remember if they were also in the trunk, but that was full of engraved hydraulics, if i'm not confusing it with another car. i gotta re-sync my two cameras, so the pictures are sorted by time...the detail shots start getting separated from the car i'm shooting too often.

it also had pinstriping on the hood and about the headlights and such. the grille was so gold, it seems to be throwing off the sensor in my camera trying to catch both the brilliance of the gold and the brightness of the red paint.

really amazing car. the owner lost interest in me after he asked if i was with a magazine. i threw my card on the seat, so maybe he'll enjoy the picture anyway.

long day, but so worth the time. extra glad it wasn't a summer show, as it did get warm, but not the hell hole it must be down in the ditch as during the summer would be.

enjoyed watching the cars hop for a bit in a different lot, though i don't think i can understand why you guys spend so much time and money fixing up the cars to look good and then bounce the hell out of the chassis. i suppose its just because you can.

i would go again next year.

ditman and first

1954 chevrolet 3100 truck

the owner of this truck stopped me up the street and asked if i'd shot it and where he would be able to see pics. i hadn't been there long, so no, i hadn't at that point. i asked which car was his and got "the black truck down there," as he abstractly waved his hand toward the street.

so i'm assuming this black truck was his, since it was parked with the other bomb club cars and he happened to be wearing a bomb club shirt. there were other trucks up there in the vagueness he'd motioned to, but i don't think there happened to be another black one nearby.

i don't always take a shot just because they ask. depends on the person. some just assume i will. ask nicely and/or have a nice car parked in an interesting spot. he lucked out on all counts.

the car was clean. i liked the details.

was out of town this weekend, and had hoped for rain. didn't take my camera with me. woke up to a bright, sunny day. fine, as there weren't any shows going on where we were, and if no one tells me about one i missed it will be like it didn't happen, right?

gas cap1954 chevy truck dashboard

bomb club plaque1954 chevrolet hood ornament


1951 chevy truck

i've posted this truck before. it really is extraordinary. paint, pinstripes, and engraving. really interesting airbrusing.

this was last month at the viejitos show. then i ran into it again earlier this month at the latin gents show. second time i've spoken to the owner, though i doubt he remembered the first time out at santa ana the previous year.

anyway, at the gents show, he asked if i could take a picture of his truck, specifically from the side and above. best i could do was get up on a curb. he and his buds were sitting in chairs in the sweet spot for taking the shot from, due to the location and sun angle.

i've said before, that i shoot them as i see them, and i didn't feel like getting a bunch of guys to move out of the way, even after they asked for the shot. if they can't think of it themselves, i'm not going to bother to tell them. they did move a little bit out of the way, but i still wasn't going to be able to get the shot they asked for.

should trust the photographer's eye, and even then, they don't always get the perfect shot. because he asked to see other shots, i'm posting a few here. i've got a few more, but not liking them enough to post, which i could say about most any of the cars i shoot.

rat fink needed

1923 ford model t

i swear i had a toy car that looked similar to this when i was a kid. it was purple and came with a little plastic rat fink, and who usually "drove" the car in my kid play. he was the shit.

this hot rod '23 ford model t (guessing) is the shit too. check out the detail on the engine here and here. this guy either loves this car or really needs to get some. maybe that's the point?

been working too many hours, and hoping to make it to the broiler tomorrow...