Reflecting on a '39 Chevy

Kathy and I attended the 2025 Chino Corn Feed car show in Chino, California, in late April. We arrived around 6:15 AM and parked my car under stormy skies that appeared highly threatening. I estimate that there were already approximately 100 or more show cars parked on the main street, which is a significant number considering the imminent threat of rain. Show car owners typically invest considerable time in preparing their vehicles for display at a show, and experiencing rain would be undesirable. We commenced photographing the cars and proceeded down the main street. We were compelled to seek shelter on several occasions due to the intermittent rain. Our cameras and lenses are of high value and not waterproof, so it would not be prudent to damage our equipment. Therefore, when rain began, we placed them in our camera bags and sought shelter. Later in the day, we decided to have lunch at a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was approximately four blocks away, and as we were walking, rain began to fall again. By the time we arrived, the rain was coming down heavily. We attempted to eat slowly to wait out a change in the weather, but soon, there were other customers waiting to be seated. Consequently, we decided to depart. We donned our jackets and resumed our walk back to the show site.

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We first saw this 1939 Chevy in a local business’s parking lot. The recent heavy downpour had left big puddles on the ground near this car. Kathy and I both had the same idea. Let’s shoot some photos of the car from a low angle to capture not just the car but the reflection of the car in the water. We met the owner who had been following Kathy on social media. I asked if he would be willing to reposition the car and turn on his headlights and fog lights to better show up in the reflection. He readily agreed. We took quite a few photos. Kathy kept her camera mounted on her tripod and I took several shots by holding my camera about 1 inch above the water.

Early Morning Bombero - 1938 Buick

Kathy and I were happy to once again to attend the Chicano Park car show in San Diego, California, last week. We arrived very early, prioritizing securing a parking spot in close proximity to the event. Despite arriving at the early hour of 5:00 AM that Saturday morning, more than 50 cars were already in attendance.

In my opinion, this 1938 Buick stood out as the most impressive vehicle at the show. Its exceptional quality was evident even among the other exceptional cars on display that day. The paint job was particularly striking, characterized by its deep, lustrous appearance. The miniature murals adorning the vehicle’s sides were also noteworthy.

We are looking forward to attending next year’s show.

Out for Delivery

Last week, Kathy and I embarked on a trip to San Diego to attend the annual car show held in Barrio Logan’s Chicano Park. The car show was to take place on Saturday, we were in town from Friday to Sunday. During our previous attendance, we arrived at the park around 6:00 AM, which proved to be an a little too late, as we encountered difficulties in securing parking. To avoid a similar experience, I informed Kathy that we would depart from our hotel at 4:30 AM, which we diligently adhered to.

To ensure my car’s timely retrieval, I utilized the QR code we were given to request the car be retrieved for pickup, but unfortunately, our request was not responded to.

Undeterred, we proceeded to the hotel lobby and walked outside to the parking valet kiosk. The parking attendant was nowhere to be found. Given the early hour, we had not anticipated any significant delays.

We returned to the lobby where we observed the parking attendant engaged in animated conversation with a young lady behind the guest registration desk. We interrupted their conversation and requested that the parking attendant retrieve my car. This he promptly did and we loaded our camera bags in the car and departed.

By 4:45 AM, we had successfully arrived in the Barrio Logan neighborhood. However, due to Kathy’s apprehension that our car would be towed if we parked immediately adjacent to the park, we opted to park a few blocks away. The walk to the park was somewhat sketchy but ultimately uneventful, and we arrived without incident.

Upon our arrival at the park there were already a considerable number of cars present. Without wasting any time, Kathy and I unpacked our cameras and tripods and commenced shooting.

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One of the initial vehicles I captured was a stunning 1939 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery. It was slammed and exhibited an exceptionally flawless paint job. I came to a complete halt when I noticed it. While Kathy favors the 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline (which I also admire), this particular vehicle is essentially my dream car. Unlike later in the day, there were relatively few individuals present as I approached and set up my camera. A gentleman did approach and informed me that the delivery version of this car is quite rare in contemporary times. I informed him that I had never encountered one before and proceeded to take several sets of photographs from various perspectives. This was merely one of several hundred cars I captured at the park that day. This car show, which typically sells out almost immediately, appeared to have ample space for additional vehicles by the time we departed. We learned from third-hand sources that a new car show steering committee had made the decision to hold the car show on Easter weekend. This alone may have deterred some individuals from attending. I am uncertain whether this was accurate, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Kathy was also having a pleasant time until her well-worn tripod, which she had been using since 2018, broke. She spent some time attempting to reattach the leg segment that had detached. I inquired about the situation and offered a few suggestions, all of which were promptly rejected. She appeared agitated and somewhat irritated. I decided to keep quiet for the time being. Ultimately, she was unsuccessful and the tripod would not rise again “Lazarus come forth!”. I offered to lend her my tripod and ball head, fully anticipating that she would decline the offer given her current state of mind, but she remained silent. Long experience told me that this silence could indicate contemplation or acceptance. I took a chance and removed the L-bracket from my camera and attached it to hers. She simply observed without uttering a word. I mounted her camera on my tripod and she tentatively adjusted the controls. After a few moments of loosening the drag adjustment dial which was inexplicably jammed, she was back in operation. She decided to photograph a few Chevy bombs that had just arrived and I proceeded on my own in search of breakfast. All in all a great and fun day.

Light Show

About a month ago, one of my nephews mentioned that he was going to attend the Pomona Auto Swap Meet to be held on a Sunday in early April. I told him I intended to go as well so we made a plan to meet up. Generally speaking, he travels to Pomona from central California to look for car parts while I go to take photos of the classic cars. I let him know I intended to arrive at 5:00AM and that he would find me near the drag strip grandstands where the lowrider and Chevy bombs usually park. 

The day before the event, Kathy and I got our cameras and gear together, I cleaned my camera sensors and made sure the camera batteries I intended to use were fully charged. I was also going to be using a new 10” external monitor for the first time so I made sure the batteries for that were charged and also ensured I put any required cables in my rolling camera bag.

The day of the event, I got up at 3:00AM to take a shower before we left. Kathy was going to get up at 4:00AM and was already on the move when I walked downstairs. She wasn’t feeling well however and was vacillating on whether she should go or not. She ultimately decided to stay home and go back to bed. Once I was sure she would be OK, I left about 4:15AM. It was still very dark as I walked to my car, loaded up my camera gear and jacket. I didn’t see the sun until well after I arrived in Pomona about 36 miles away. While it didn’t rain during the event like it did last month, it was a foggy drive and when I arrived, there was enough moisture in the air to create the light beams from the headlights of the Chevy Fleetline pictured below. This is the same car I admired and photographed last month. I chatted with the owner who once again was kind enough to turn on his headlights for my photos. 

I had been taking photos for about 30 minutes when my nephew and his wife walked up to me. They were primarily dressed in black and seemed to materialize suddenly out of the darkness that surrounded me. As always, it was great to see them and we chatted for about 45 minutes before they departed to walk around the swap meet and look for stuff to buy. I got back to shooting more photos and had a great time.  

Staggering into Annual Inspection

One of the unique things about the Yanks Air Museum is that several of their historic aircraft are still flying on a regular basis. This of course means that they must be regularly inspected and certified as safe to fly. During my recent tour I came across a few aircraft that were currently undergoing their annual inspections. This takes the form of a mandatory, comprehensive maintenance check performed every 12 months. It's designed to ensure the aircraft remains safe and deemed airworthy for continued operation. 

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This Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing was one such aircraft. Seeing it with its engine cowl removed and all of its cylinders on display was a rare opportunity to sort of pull the curtain back and get a peek behind the scenes so to speak. To my uneducated eye, all tools needed for the inspection were all spread out in front of it and since the inspector had wandered off, I took the opportunity to take a few images. 

Inside the Discovery Cube

This past March, my niece, her daughter, and her boyfriend visited me just before embarking on a trip to Disneyland. Since they were celebrating her daughter’s birthday, we decided to explore the Discovery Cube Science Museum in Santa Ana, California. I had purchased tickets in advance to avoid any lines. The museum offered a plethora of captivating and interactive exhibits, and I couldn’t resist bringing two of my cameras along. I believe I was one of the few visitors that day who carried genuine dedicated digital cameras, as most people opted for their cell phone cameras.

During our visit, we came across an exhibit dedicated to rockets that explained the principles of rocket propulsion in relation to payload and fuel. This exhibit was housed within a striking giant cube, which stands as the museum’s most recognizable architectural feature. As we entered the cube, I couldn’t help but gaze up at the towering structure above me. Inspired by the opportunity, I decided to capture a series of HDR sequences that would later be stitched together to create a grand panoramic view.

At the heart of the cube, I noticed what appeared to be a genuine rocket engine.

 

Above the Flight Deck

Kathy and I were recently in San Diego and once again visited the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum. As always, she was patient with me and willingly waited for me while I walked around the Museum's enormous flight deck taking photos. It was a beautiful day featuring the scattered clouds and moderate temperatures common to the San Diego coastline. I have previously photographed the aircraft on Midway’s flight deck, so I was deliberately trying to identify a new way to capture them. I thought a new viewpoint might work. As usual, I was using my tripod and taking ten exposures for each (soon to be HDR) image. The use of a tripod to create HDR images was once an absolute requirement because it allowed you to capture those exposures without moving the camera at all. This ensured the post processing software could successfully merge these images into a single HDR image without generating unwanted visual artifacts. What I found was that the software has evolved over the years and has become much more powerful and capable, enabling me to try something new. I set a five second shutter timer on my tripod mounted camera and held it over my head, tenuously raising nearly $8000 of camera equipment about fourteen feet above the flight deck. Not being able to look through the viewfinder, I was trying to align my camera lens in the general direction of what I wanted to capture and to hold the tripod steady, which was exceedingly difficult. I failed several times but succeeded more times than not. I got a few stares from other museum visitors and volunteers, but I ignored that and pressed on, hoping to capture something good.

The photos below are the results.

Splendor in the Grass

We often hear it's not a good idea to park your car on the grass while the engine is hot. Your catalytic converter could start a fire. I think this slammed 1930's car is safe as it predates catalytic converters by at least 40 years. The incredibly stylish body and mirror like finish on this car is what stopped me in my tracks at the San Diego, Chicano Park car show on this day in 2023. I just love the exuberant styling common to cars of the late 1930’s. Maybe after the trials of the great depression, exuberance was needed. Things would not be the same after World War II concluded. To poorly quote William Wordsworth:

Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, glory in the flower.
We will grieve not; rather find strength in what remains behind.

Run Silent, Run Deep

During our recent trip to Chicago, Kathy and I visited the Science and Industry Museum. While I had wanted to go to the museum on prior trips, this was my first visit. In my planning for our vacation, my research revealed that the museum had a World War II era German U-boat submarine in their collection including the sub's enigma cipher machine which enabled it to communicate securely with the German Wehrmacht Kriegsmarine headquarters in Berlin. The captured sub also included a full complement of 22 torpedoes. If this were not enough, the museum has created a submarine pen resembling those built by the Nazi's in France at Saint-Nazaire. The photo below does not do justice and cannot convey the scope and scale of this world-class exhibit. The sub itself is about 250 feet long while the pen is longer than the length of a football field. Enormous! We purchased a timed ticket to tour the interior of the sub which was very interesting. The crowded interior was somewhat unexpected given how huge the exterior appears to be. This panoramic image is comprised of 3 sets of 9 HDR sequences for a total of 27 individual images. I want to return and try to find a way to shoot with my gorillapod since tripods are verboten!

Truck Stop

I was taking a moment to change lenses at the Riverside Show and Go car show, when this slammed red chevy truck rolled up and stopped right in front of me it's airbags hissing as it lowered itself to the ground. The driver spent a few minutes talking to some of the car show staff before raising the car off the ground and motoring off. That was enough time for me to abandon the lens change and take 2 full HDR sequences conisting of a total of 18 images.