Goddess of Speed

Kathy, her brother Kevin, his son David, and I all met very early on a recent Saturday to attend the 2013 Uptown Whittier Car Show. It was really fun and I'm glad we were out early because by 2:00 PM the show was very crowded and the temperature had exceeded 95 degrees. The scene was quite different at just after 6:00 AM that morning. The show wouldn’t officially open until 9:00 AM so there were only a handful of spectators and the organizers kept all of the cars waiting in three long lines at the far end of Greenleaf Avenue. We were able to take some great pictures of the cars there. This Packard hood ornament was taken later that afternoon with my 100mm macro lens.

Funky Cold Medina

Funky Cold Medina, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Another early morning shot from the 2012 Uptown Whittier Car Show. Featured here is Ron Medina's incredible 1963 Chevy Surburban parked along side other amazing cars from the So Cal Tribe car club. Smart guys that they are, they arrived early and got some primo parking spots in the shade of the big trees you see here. That shade came in handy when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees that afternoon. I was moving at my usual methodical pace, while Kathy was doing her usual ass kicking, take no prisoners, get-the-hell-out-of my-way pace. You can see her and her tripod in the upper left of this image. She had already shot the four cars between her and I not to mention the cars across the street. I get too fixated on one car for too long, trying to figure out what shot would look best. I really need to work on that. To quote Ferris Bueller Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

I Dream of Fake Bokeh

I Dream of Fake Bokeh, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

My Sigma 50mm f1.4 is a good lens but it doesn't hold a candle to Kathy's Minolta/Sony 100mm f2.8 Macro lens in the sharpness and bokeh departments.

After seeing some of her great photos of these amber colored Pontiac hood ornaments, I've been on the lookout for them at every car show I go to. She usually finds them first and lets me know where I can locate them.

In this case, Kathy and I had been at the 2012 Uptown Whittier car show for a while with each of us going our own way to seek out whatever treasures the day might bring. Later when we met up again, she told me about this Pontiac hood ornament she had come across. We walked down the street so I could make a few images of it too.

I've noticed that the older the hood ornament, the more cracks it is likely to have. Here it was possible to orient the camera in such a way to capture the sunlight illuminating it's internal structure which had a lot of character.

Later when I went home and was reviewing my images in Lightroom, I could see that the bokeh in my shots left a lot to be desired. Luckily I own Nik Software's Bokeh 2 plug-in. It works great as long as you have a good selection isolating what you want to be in sharp focus from that which you want to be blurred. In this case I think it improved the existing bokeh nicely.

Separate but Equal?

Separate but Equal?, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This slammed 1951 Mercury was a favorite of mine from the 2011 Uptown Whittier Car Show. The show organizers made what I think was a stupid decision to exclude lowrider cars from the show, saying that they would hold a separate lowrider show later in the year. Well you guessed it, the lowrider show never happened. The upcoming 2012 show is open to lowriders once more, and I for one am glad they aren't going to repeat their mistake again. I previously posted another shot of this car you can see it here: www.bigpixelpushing.com/journal/2011/9/11/1951-flamed-mer...

Big Pixel Pusher

Big Pixel Pusher, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

After more than a year of research and contemplation, I have replaced my previous computer with this monster for which I specified all of the parts and assembled myself. Ever since I purchased my full frame camera, my old computer had struggled to handle my typical 10 frame HDR sequences. This new computer rips through them with no hesitation whatsoever.

Featuring a water cooled i7 3930k CPU overclocked from 3.2 to 4.8Ghz, high speed solid state drives and a special fan controller to cool the VCORE chipset, I have been impressed and awed by the raw power and stability it has demonstrated.

The case which holds a the components is huge. It's as tall as my desk and weighed nearly 50 lbs empty. It is designed to allow for expansion, efficient airflow and tidy wire management. I'll be posting more images of the actual build and components soon.

Take Me With You

Take Me With You, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

"...nowhere together with you is better than anywhere apart"

Pontiac Hood Ornament

Pontiac Hood Ornament, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I really have a strong attraction to vintage Pontiac hood ornaments. I've posted other examples here before and I'm sure I'll post more. When I saw this one, I called Kathy who was also at this car show, and asked if I could borrow her 100mm macro lens which is very fast and sharp. It produces beautiful bokeh as well. I really like how colorful the out of focus areas are.

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.

Pink Flames - Drop and Chop

Pink Flames - Drop and Chop, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This 1940's chopped Mercury was sitting at show center during the 2010 Uptown Whittier Car Show. The translucent flames on the hood and front fenders were only visible when the light hit them just right. The car itself was clean inside and out. What a great way to start my day photographing these classic cars. I like the dice on the valve stems. They match the fuzzy ones hanging from the rear view mirror.

1950's SUV

1950's SUV, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This is a beautiful Chevy Bel-Aire station wagon. Not sure what year it is but maybe 1943 or so. Anybody know? This 10 shot HDR was taken at the Ruby's car show in WhittierCalifornia. I got there late and the sun had already started to set casting nice golden light around this very reflective car.