Love

1950 Buick Eight

This beautiful buick eight which i think is a 1950 model year, was either very well cared for or expertly restored. This is yet another car I stumbled upon just after sunrise at the Pomona auto swapmeet. 

Pieta

Fleetline Sunrise

The primer paint on this fleetline in no way stops it from showing off it's classic curves at morning's first light.  I shoot a lot of cars but I have to say I am a sucker for the 1947-48 fleetline. Given the choice between a 2022 corvette or a restored 48 fleetline, call me crazy but I'm going the fleetline way everytime. 

Not Fade Away

I spotted this beautiful 1940 Chevy Deluxe Special convertible sitting quietly by itself off to one side at the Pomona Auto Swap Meet. It seemed a little out of place being surrounded by cars typically considered to belong to the Hot Rod genre. Exactly the type of cars which I generally do not photograph. This Chevy was a different story. While all the cars surrounding her seemed to be ready to emit a throaty roar from their lake pipes, she would probably rather glide serenely and quietly, all grace and elegance over the well-worn pavement. Her stereo playing an oldie tune as she slowly faded from view.

1975

Pomona Sunrise

Arriving at the Pomona auto swap meet before dawn has its benefits. We drove over to the Pomona fairgrounds along very empty freeways and arrived just after 5:00 am. As we got closer, we began seeing lots of classic cars making their way to the entry gates. After paying for parking, we found a place to park not far from the entry gate and got our camera bags and tripods out of the car. It was bracingly cold outside and quite a bit colder than at home. Having attended this swap meet in the winter previously, we were well prepared and brought our scotty vest jackets to keep warm. For those who are unaware, the Pomona Auto Swap meet is a very large event that has been held for the past 47 years in Pomona California. It typically is held 7 times a year from 5:00am to 2:00PM on selected Sundays. I’ve heard you can find nearly any type of part for any type of car there. After having walked up and down a few of the aisles, I believe it. It is also a place for people to show off their cars. Sections for doing so are provided as well as places to display a car you wish to sell.

We like arriving early so we beat the crowds and are always there before sunrise in case it turns out to be a spectacular one like it was on this January morning. Even before the sun began peeking over the horizon, the sky to the east started glowing a yellow orange color which was promising and there were some clouds for the orange light to illuminate. The western sky was still deep in the blue hour when the sun rose above the horizon and the most beautiful orange colored sky quite suddenly lit up. Kathy and I returned to the cars we liked most that morning and began shooting some images. I really liked this 1940’s Fleetline panel delivery vehicle. I shot this from several viewpoints and was generally pleased with the results.

Why you want to leave me?

Kathy and I..., well mostly Kathy decided she wanted to go to the bomb club car show being held in the infield of the Santa Anita racetrack. She had attended this show at the same venue in prior years, but I had never attended before. In fact, It had been a while since I had gone to a car show. There just aren’t many where we live in south orange county unless they are filled with brand new mustangs and dodge chargers. No thanks, not interested. We previously lived in Los Angeles county in a town that was ground zero for lowrider and bomb car shows and I guess I took that for granted. Now I miss seeing the type of cars I really love. So it was with very little hesitation I agreed to acompany my wife to this particular car show. We arrived somewhat late, and the horse track's infield was packed with classic cars from the 1930's 40's, 50's and 60's. In other words, back when style was king. We setup our cameras and started walking around taking photos. We came upon this flamed 1947 red chevy fleetline. In truth I readily recognized it as a fleetline but I have to confess I'm basing my guess on the year by peeking at my wife's photo of this same car. You can see it here. In all the years I've been going to car shows with my wife I've learned one thing. If I happen to be tagging along with her and If I want the best photo I can get of any car at the show, I only need copy my wife's viewpoint for her shot. She has a great eye for composition, so I figure why mess around? I normally would just wait for her to be done and then place my tripod down in the same place and take my shot. Waiting was not an option on this day, the driver of this car was leaving. His engine was running, headlights were on, and he was just waiting for people to move out of his way before departing. I was silently urging my camera to quickly finish shooting the sequence of shots I would need to make this single composite image. I finished just in time. I looked over at Kathy and she said, "Copying my shot again huh?" The nerve.

Morning

Gathering of Fleetlines

The Blvd Bombs Car Club held a fundraiser car show at the Bobs Big Boy Broiler in Downey CA. We arrived in time for the spectacular sunset and found quite a few 1940's Chevrolet Fleetmasters and Fleetlines like these pictured here. The red convertible fleetmaster was particularly stunning. Convertable fleetlines are a comparatively rare sight at car shows so I try to photograph them whenever I see them.