The Gathering Light

Kathy and I went to the Ruby's car show tonight which has recently resumed after a long winter and spring hiatus. Summer is around the corner and the evening light was beautiful. I spotted this fantastic looking Pontiac and shot a bunch of photos of its iconic hood ornament since the light was hitting it just right, illuminating the inside of the amber colored Indian head very nicely.

Chilo's Oh So Fine '39

Chilo's Oh So Fine '39, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Kathy and I went to 3 car shows today. The first was the Viejitos show in Fullerton. It was my first day shooting with my brand new Sony Alpha 99 camera which I mainly used for macro and lensbaby shots. I also brought along my previous camera which I used for to photograph this stunning 1939 Chevy Master Deluxe. It's rare to find one of these in such immaculate condition but I guess I got lucky today. I shot a few images with the hood panels up and while I did, the owners son, Dominick came over and asked what I was taking the photos for. I explained that I just photographed them to post on my blog and I asked him if it would be possible to lower the hood at some point so I could get better images. He said he would ask his dad and about 30 minutes later I was standing by the car again and I met his dad Chilo. They were both very cool people and justifiably proud of their car. I must of taken shots from about 6 different viewpoints. It's pretty hard to take a bad picture of this car. Anyway, I promised I would send them some full resolution images and I'll be doing that as soon as I process each set. This is the first. I hope the next time I get to shoot this car without two other cars in the shot. Chilo and Dominick, I hope you like this shot. It was nice meeting you today.

1075 to the Castro

1075 to the Castro, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Historic PCC streetcar number 1075 pauses for a portrait in front of San Francisco's equally historic ferry building. This car was built in 1946 and is painted in the colors of the Cleveland Transit System which apparently are similar to the colors used by the Cleveland Browns football team. Kathy had business in San Francisco early in the week and I joined her after her meetings concluded on Friday. We stayed in town until Sunday and had a pretty nice time as we usually do when visiting San Francisco. We both wanted to take more photos of the Market Street Railway streetcars. It's been at least 2 years since I've done so. The challenge is that they don't actually pose for portraits. They have a schedule to keep, so I have to shoot quickly and efficiently if I expect to finish my HDR sequences before they take off for the next stop down the line. Kathy initially didn't take her tripod, preferring the lighter gorilla pod. I brought her carbon fiber tripod to use and she gladly availed herself of it as well.

Rust in Peace

Rust in Peace, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

“Well hello old friend.” I thought when I walked around a corner and saw this 1938 Chevrolet at the Greater Whittier Area Car Show held last weekend.
I had previously seen this truck sitting in a far corner of the 2012 Uptown Whittier car show and once again a couple of years earlier, parked forlornly, unnoticed in the shade of an old oak tree at the Whittier founder’s day celebration. As you can see, it’s not your typical glamour ride. But its classic design is all the more visually compelling to me when I survey its blighted and distressed curving surfaces, its faded and chipped paint still resisting the elements - defiantly hanging on, and its rust pitted grill proudly jutting forward – all of which seem to say “just a few more miles before we rest”.
For all I know this might have been the 75th time this truck visited the founders day celebration. I can imagine it quietly slipping into the same parking spot back in 1938, Its 6 cylinder engine now silent, its factory fresh two-tone paint has never known a scratch or a dent. I can almost hear its radio reporting that Howard Hughes has set another aviation record – this time for a flight around the world, and that changing weather patterns are responsible for floods and landslides in Los Angeles where 200 have already perished. But here in Whittier’s Central Park – The Quaker people are happy, celebrating with their neighbors. The musicians on the bandstand certainly aren’t playing the latest Fats Waller tune but more likely a Sousa march. The watermelon eating contest is nearly over and the town librarian has walked to the park’s edge and stands near a small oak tree, one of many planted around the perimeter, rehearsing for his reading of a John Greenleaf Whittier poem.
By 1942 the United States had entered World War II and The Chevy was displaying its type “B” gasoline rationing sticker on the windshield, indicating that the driver was a business owner and needed to travel more than some others and therefore was accorded a larger allocation of fuel. Tires and anything made of rubber are now hard to come by. Everyone needs to make things last. The owner needed this truck to keep working just a little longer.

The decades come and go, owners too I’ll bet. Maybe it will outlast us all.

Hey This Isn't Disneyland!

Hey This Isn't Disneyland!, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

It was my birthday so Kathy and I decided to go to Disneyland but she had already told me there were a couple of car shows she wanted to go to so I went along with her. I don't remember the other show, it might have been a wash out but this one hosted by the Latin Gents was really cool. Lots of nice cars and the weather was really good too. We did go to Disneyland later that day and I'm sure that was fun too. It always is.

Live Here and Now

Live Here and Now, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Another Tea Party band shot. I think there are 3 or 4 people that "play" each part in the band. I've seen this guy with two different band configurations so maybe he's the go-to guy on guitar. He's really good and was definitely better than his band mates on this night. This was shot with a Minolta 100mm Macro lens at f4.0. ISO 400. Post processing in Lightroom and Photoshop, The NIK Viveza and Alienskin Bokeh 2 plugins were used too.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This photo is from a fundraiser car show held last September at Mayfield High School in Bellflower, California. I seem to remember the temperature being around 100 degrees. This was the first car I shot that day. I think I only shot a couple more before the heat drove me to seek some shade. When I found some I also found my wife sitting on a shady curb packing up her cameras and asking if I was ready to go to the next car show.

When Night has Fallen

When Night has Fallen, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Recently I drove home from work in steadily falling rain. It hadn't rained in Southern California for quite a while so that was a nice change. I found myself thinking about how amazing the neon lights of Cars Land would look when reflected on the wet pavement of the streets there. I stopped at home just long enough to grab my camera, tripod and umbrella and headed for the Disneyland Resort. It wasn't really crowded and I had fun.

California Dreaming

California Dreaming, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This was our first visit to Cars Land. We all knew it would be spectacular but it still exceeded our expectations. The big changes started as soon as we walked into the park. The Golden Gate bridge was gone and most of the old entry buildings with them. Kathy said it looked very Disney Worldish. I agree. Very immersive and impressive. Now that summer is over and the huge crowds have gone home I really want to go back and take more images.

My Team

My Team, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I had a few flickr emails asking if I had taken a picture of “my team” (my Mom) at Disneyland while we were there for the Endeavour flyover. I did and thought this location would be the perfect place since this sign probably won’t be seen at Disneyland again. Especially since "Endeavour" is misspelled!

So many people had gathered and it was really great how friendly people were being, sharing information about where Endeavour might be and when it might arrive. In particular we met 2 very nice ladies (I’m so sorry I forgot your names in all of the excitement) while we were waiting who helped pass the time with interesting and enjoyable conversations about our individual experiences at the Disneyland Resort. Ladies if you need a higher resolution picture of the shuttle flyover just email me and I’ll send them to you.
While we were waiting, I received a phone call or text message (I can’t remember) from my co-worker Geri, telling me that the shuttle had just flown by her in Pasadena and was heading south towards Disneyland. We had all taken refuge from the heat (which was considerable) by waiting in the shade of the elevated monorail tracks.

I mentioned to the group that we probably should move out to the adjacent open plaza area between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure so we could get a better view when Endeavour arrived. We started walking toward the thousands of people that had gathered there when several people across the plaza started screaming and pointing to the sky. I could hear the roar of approaching jets and quickly moved forward while turning and raising my camera to the sky. I immediately saw the SCA with Endeavor and sensed more than saw the F-18 Hornet chase planes. I started tracking Endeavour which was right over my head and began firing off shots. By the time she was out of sight, I had taken almost 40 images. The crowd began applauding and screaming wildly. Nobody left, we all were hoping for another pass but it wasn’t in the cards.

We heard talk that the SCA had to loiter near Northern California waiting for fog to burn off and therefore had to accelerate the flight schedule to meet fuel fractionation requirements for landing at LAX. I did hear on the news that one of the fly-over sites was skipped completely greatly disappointing the mass of people who had gathered there. I guess we were fortunate to see Endeavour at all. I know we will never forget it.