A large show in downtown Orange, centered around one of the few round-abouts in California.

This was the third annual Desert Classic, held for the first time at the La Quinta Resort Mountain/Dunes Golf Course.

Not a bad line up for a hotel parking lot!

In a small park with lots of people, long shadows, and the palms cast shadows over the cars, all making processing a challenge.

It started to rain, so I rushed around getting shots of departing cars before I realized I was standing in the rain. Doh.

Crowded and unpredictable: I love it.

I'm mostly lost when trying to identify these foreign beauties.

This was in the Ventura City Park by the Clock Tower Inn. It was sponsored by the local Ferrari club. Then, of course, I forgot to shoot the Ferraris...

Another parking lot. At least there was an Andrews Sisters-like singing trio and some goofy electric cars to view.

This is held every year on Father's Day. As a father, I have to fight the family to let me go there each time. (What's wrong with that picture?)

One of the closer shows I go to. There's a little Italian place where one can rest and fill up on pasta. Mmmmm paaastaaaa.

Glendale is an unusual place; the car shows vary wildly between rods, customs, and classics. Even the star's cars were mixed.

What a gorgeous venue this was for photographing some of my favorite cars. Wood cars and wood boats everywhere. Why'd they stop making wood anyway?

This is a great location and had a nice selection of vintage Buicks. The orange roach coach in the background of some pics wafted the irresistible smell of tacos and burritos my way so I just had to eat and shoot.

I've done four shoots in Palm Springs and hope to do many more. The concours is moving across town for 2010 and I hope it's as nice as O'Donnell was. I'll miss it.

5th annual event. This tight little park event on the ocean attracts some top-notch cars.

This is both my favorite and least favorite place to photograph cars.
On healthy grass, with a cloudy sky, it's my favorite. The large area with old trees makes for a perfect venue.
But on a sunny summer's day on dead grass it's the worst. If it's a hot summer, it is best to get there early to get a good low angle of light, otherwise the contrast adjustments are just impossible. The light reflects off the dead grass and blows out the shots.

The last Sunday drags of 2008. And a very hot August day. I melted right through the bleachers.

This was in a very small church parking lot about a block away from Chip Foose's place.

Not the best location for unmolested cars. In fact, there may not have been an unmolested car there that day. Except for mine.

A high-profile concours, this park is a bit cramped for the class and quantity of cars IMO. It's also very hot in summer. I put the program under my shirt, held up by my belt (not having any place to carry it) and it was soaked to the core with sweat when I left. Great idea that was.

I've been here twice for the shows. The first time was mostly classics, the second was mostly customs. The customs guys had better women.

This might be my favorite shoot. I got there around 7 AM and had a brilliant sunrise to my back illuminating these classic Mopars. The pan shots were also a favorite to shoot as the cars entered the park. Everything just clicked. Heh.

I've shot four events at Spanish Landing Park and they've all been a pleasure. This is the second Italian show (the other two were Jaguar Club shows) and I would make up an excuse any time to go enjoy the day there. A bad weather day in San Diego is a good day anywhere else.

These were taken at Mannheim's in Springfield, MO, and at Branson. There are also shots from around town in Branson. The Museum was dismantled and auctioned by Mecum in October 2009. No wonder: the empty museum was in a basement and filled with creepy mannequins. It's the kind of place you dread getting locked in overnight.

This inaugural concours in Palm Springs was a fantastic event. I got lost trying to find it, but that's not unusual.

I split my shoots in Palm Springs between the McCormick auctions and the Concours d'Elegance. Just wishing they could be closer together.

This was a wonderful setting and a great marque to display. Who'da thunk it in Lakewood?

This is a rather small but frequent event next to the big boat. Not sure what the dome is used for since the goose left.

Maybe a one-off show, I haven't heard of it since. Nice clouds that day.

Ahhh, La Verne...

Possibly the best venue for photographing automobiles, this little faux-German town is quaint and sparsely attended. The weather has always cooperated, and the German beer rocks.

What a treat to see all of these rare and exotic makes in SoCal. The work in identifying the model years - placards being optional - is another matter.

Well maintained grounds and a great site for taking pictures. I should have stayed longer. Even the shade-side pics came out okay. It seems the next one will be in Dana Point.

The street shots are in downtown Long Beach the day before the event at Trump's. People waved at me because I was the only photog at the entrance and they thought I was official or something. The official photogs were down the street. Dummies.

Strange little back lot for such nice cars. Another show in a park in Glendale was perfect for these Buicks. My garage would also be perfect for them.

What can anyone say about Pebble Beach? It has the best cars, it's the most expensive and the most crowded venue, and some nervous owners look at you like you're a 2-year-old kid with a flame thrower. It's great.

My second trip to the Jaguar show at Spanish Landing. I sure like having a reason to go there. Maybe I dropped something there the last time... Yeah, that's it.

It was way too hot that day. I could have gotten a lot more cars had I not feared heat exhaustion. I wimped out and limped out.

Wonderful GM cars from the '40s and '50s that day. But the grass was quite dead in most places and the reflected light killed the contrast. Still, the hotdogs were great.

A typical inland show. Some nasty stuff, but a few good cars. But mostly nasty stuff.

Original Mike's is a regular event. You never know what might show up. If the car selection isn't good the beer is.

My Father's Day wish was to shoot this event. I got about half of it before giving in to family and going home for my Dad dinner. Then of course they complain that I need to lose weight.

An old haunt from my youth - I used to run there back when I could run without wheezing and coughing. Since it's a mile-square park, the cars are of course parked just a few inches away from each other.

I remember when they opened this park and library; many fond memories. You can always annoy the ducks when the cars run out.

These shows on the old main streets are great. There's always a nice mix of cars, and the old shops and large trees are a great backdrop when some of the cars aren't so interesting.

Dirt dirt dirt. I hate dirt under cars on a sunny day. It reflects light and kills the contrast adjustments. Check the map (little globe icon next to the name) and the soccer field is STILL dirt.

I used to take the family to Ports o' Call every year to go boating and check out the shops and restaurants. It's getting a bit run down now unfortunately. But the woody shows are worth the trip. Avoid the west side, though, that's where they do the unloading and the fish smell can knock you out. Really.

Yet another dry summer's day at the park. Tough developing ensued after this shoot.

This was a little one-off show where I bumped into a guy I know who managed to sell his '54 Chevy wagon. He and his wagon are here together for the last time. Ironically, I took shots of the same Chevy at another show where he bought it a few years earlier.

I love the beach shows. Forget the lighting issues, it's just fun to be there d00d.

My first time at the La Verne show. Great cars and great food.

What an epic event this was. I could have spent the weekend trying to keep up. I was swinging around in every direction taking shots of the cars whizzing past. My neck hurts just remembering it.

Being on a business trip in Vegas, I knew I was going to get some shots at this museum. The camera was that cheap Olympus, but the cars stood out anyway.

After two weeks and three states worth of vacation travel, I found the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ, by accident after shooting the petrified forest and painted desert. Needed gas and pulled off the highway next to it. What a poignant place Route 66 is. It's like the Pixar movie "Cars" but without the jokes.

My first and very memorable trip to Palm Springs for a shoot.

Cramped little parking lot. But I like old Pontiacs and I had to be there.

The Pomona Fairplex is close to my house but I usually avoid the crowded venue. This is only the second shoot I've done there and without a tripod it wasn't easy to shoot indoors. I don't recommend it.

Inland cities usually have uninteresting cars. This was one of the few times I shot east of my house because the '30 Ford coupe belonged to a friend. He's since sold it.

My first shoot there, it's since become one of my favorite annual events. And I always bring home some German beer samples.

Nice mix of the classic and not-so-classic. The parking was difficult but worth it.

The clouds were so low that day you could touch them. The cars benefited from the atmosphere it created. Especially the '26 Ford - I swear it was haunted, I couldn't get a sharp picture of it.

Muddy day after a rain. The owners were a bit sullen.

What a great day this was. I really want to do it again - partly because the originals were lost in a disk crash, but also because the older Japanese makes vanished after a few years and it's nostalgic for this SoCal guy to see them again.

The weather at the beach was so nice that I hardly noticed the cars were shoehorned together.

My first concours event. I didn't know better than to shoot everything in sight. Now I get tired after a few minutes and start looking for the lunch truck.

A wonderful little downtown setting, as are most of these old downtown areas.

My first time at Spanish Landing Park. What a nice place to just relax after a long day of walking among the classic Jags.

I used to work in San Dimas and bought old car magazines and ads from the antique stores on this street. The restaurants aren't bad either.

Crowded Glendale. Is that redundant?

I lost these pics more than once in disk crashes. Just happened to find these on the original flash card in the camera after three years. Not worth renaming again, it was a very large show that took three days to shoot. So these are straight out of the old Olympus except for resizing.

Three weeks traveling through Thailand. You'd think I had better things to do than shoot vans.

These are mostly from Donut Derelicts in HB and other small shows. The size of the folder is getting too big now though.