Jesus Has My Back - El Patron

Jesus Has My Back - El Patron, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Kathy, Manny and I decided to go to the San Fernando High School car show on a hot Sunday afternoon. It was a big show and wow, was it worth the drive. We saw some of the most amazing cars. I don't think Kathy had ever seen any of them before, even though she goes to lots of car shows. The only problem that day was the heat. It was over 100 degrees for most of the time we were there so we didn't end up staying as long as we might have wanted to.

Anyway, before entering, we all had to pass through a mandatory security screening. We had to endure a bag search, pat down and wanding but no body cavity search thank goodness. I think they were looking for items such as weapons, drugs and alcohol and not camera equipment and tripods because we had no problems passing through.

Once inside the show, Kathy of course went her own way while Manny and I stuck together, alternating between making images and taking video clips. After wandering around for a while, we decided to walk to the far off corner of the show where in addition to some shade, we found this stunning 1959 Chevrolet Impala.

We stood in front of it and just stared. The body work and paint job was just perfect. It was so glossy and deep looking. If that wasn't enough, when we walked around the back of the car, I found Jesus. I mean when we saw the continental kit and spare tire cover mural on the back of the car, Jesus appeared to me. I mean Jesus appeared to me on the spare tire cover, or rather appeared to be on the spare tire cover. I wasn't the only person who saw Jesus. Manny saw him too. I remember distinctly saying unto Manny "Jesus, Manny, there's Jesus". Once we beheld that, I personally felt blessed and I knew in my heart I was going to make several images from the rear drivers side of the car. I would have taken some shots from the front side, but the hood was open which in my opinion ruins the lines of the car, so I decided to stay on the Jesus side, back side. Not the back side of Jesus, I mean the back side of the car where Jesus first appeared to us.

Oh and check out the engraved detail on the chrome wheel cover. Just spectacular!

Silver Chevy Tail Dragger

Silver Chevy Tail Dragger, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Kathy and I decided to go to sleep early yesterday since the annual uptown Whittier car show was being held today. It's been really hot in Southern California lately and this car show draws thousands of visitors so we wanted to arrive well before the show officially opened to beat the heat and crowds. The great early morning light was a bonus. The show is walking distance from our house so we arrived around 6 am and there were already around 15 cars that had shown up even earlier to claim primo parking spots.

This silver Chevy convertible drove by us as we were walking down Greenleaf avenue. The cool factor on this one was cranked way up and I was immediately taken with its clean lines and amazing paint job. I think the owner scored the best parking place at the show. The building you see behind it is the historic Whittier Village Cinemas which has been a landmark in the city since 1931.

You can see how empty the street was that early. Later it was nearly impossible to move, not to mention setup a tripod to make an image.

Kathy and I ended up taking a early break, had some breakfast at the Rocky Cola Cafe and then made some more images. We ended up walking home and returning to the show a few times. As the day progressed, it was just too hot to stay out for long.

Chevy Master Deluxe Grape Soda

Chevy Master Deluxe Grape Soda, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Kathy took me to this car show at the Fuddruckers in Lakewood. It was right next to the Best Buy where we bought our very first DSLR, the Sony A700. We now own two A700's and a A850 as well along with a pretty nice collection of lenses and tripods. So it was sort of a little homecoming for that first camera which has been to London, Washington DC, Virginia, Arizona, Nevada and all over California. It's been repaired and put back in service after more than 100,000 shutter actuation's. Ah the memories.

Anyway, this was a really cool car. I was shocked the owner hadn't left the hood open like most owners of custom cars tend to do. I almost never make photographs of a car with the hood open. I think it just ruins the lines. I completely understand that car owners are proud of their engines but I'm not really interested in photographing them. Kathy recently posted a very similar shot of this car on her blog. I think her version turned out better. You can see it here: www.tweakedpixels.com/whats-up/2012/6/4/luxe.html

Low Down '57

Low Down '57, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I saw this killer '57 Chevy at the Ruby's car show in July of 2011. I made several sequences of it. This one was shot with the Lens Baby Composer using the Sweet 35 optic. This manual focus lens allows you to specify an area of sharp focus and everything moving away from that area becomes more and more blurred. It provides an interesting effect I like a lot. Given the reduced size of the focus sweet spot, I would guess this was shot at an aperture of about f2.8.

Uninvited Guest

Uninvited Guest, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

What the hell are the organizers of the Uptown Whittier Car Show thinking? They very neatly have cut the annual car show in half. Segregating low riders and "custom" classic cars to their own show to be held next May. Because of this, this year's show attendance was much reduced. I spoke to a couple of shopkeepers who commented that business which is usually very good on car show day, was quite slow. Not good. The main reason to have the show is to promote the business in town. My favorite part of the show? About a dozen of the banned low riders and classic cars like this 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster, arrived early and located themselves in a parking lot which was officially outside of the show but very close to show center. Needless to say, I took most of my photos in this parking lot. Whittier car show organizers, get a clue and do it right next time.

10 shot HDR, 1ev bracket spacing, Merged and tonemapped in Photomatix Pro. Post processing in Photoshop.

Sunny Side Up

Sunny Side Up, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This pristine 1957 flamed Chevy hard top graces the Enderle Plaza car show in Tustin, CA. I haven't posted since the beginning of June. I just don't seem to find the time these days. Work is very busy and family life has been taking center stage. It felt great to get out and shoot again.

Sunset over a Classic Chevy

Sunset over a Classic Chevy, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

A beautiful sunset is reflected in the paint of this amazing classic Chevy. Kathy read about a car show on Crossroads Parkway so we drove over to see what might show up. Turned out to be a big show. Lots of cool classic cars plus quite a few lowrider impala type cars too. The sun set pretty quickly after we arrived so we had to shoot fast.

'48 Gumby

'48 Gumby, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

the Bob's Big Boy Broiler this Saturday. Kathy and I walked around and didn't see much we wanted to shoot. I put my camera away and just then 3 or 4 really nice Bombs drove in. Works every time. Whenever I put my camera away great cars show up. Anyway, this is a really nice 1948 Chevy. I think Kathy said she had seen it before.

'57 Twin Fin

'57 Twin Fin, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

It always seems that when the sky gets cloudy, classic car owners put their cars in the garage. Not a single rain drop is going to fall on their custom paint job. The bummer with that is that HDR makes cloudy skies look amazing. I got lucky with this shot. The clouds rolled in after the car show got started so I had a chance to catch this amazing '57 out of its element. You can see the owner reflected in the trunk. He kept a close eye on my big tripod and camera which was just about a foot away from his cars tail fin. Viva la wide angle lens baby!

Tom's '54 Bel Aire

Tom's '54 Bel Aire, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

"What a pleasant surprise to discover that you can run the new 1954 Chevy Belaire with the kind of money that fits a young man's budget." This absolutely clean 1954 Chevy Belair was parked at the Bob's Big Boy Broiler's Wednesday night car show in Downey. I was really struggling to get a good shot of it. First people kept walking through the shot and other cars arriving and leaving swept their headlights over it during the long exposures. I do like how it turned out though. The paint was highly reflective and I'm sure even more spectacular during daylight.