Riff Raff Riot - 10.9.10 (Part I)

Moose Lodge, Greenlawn, NY

It seems that every classic car show I went to this summer, the rain followed. I finally caught a break this past weekend with a bright sunny day. "Finally!" thought I, "No photographs of cars with raindrops!" Well, the glaring afternoon sun created a whole new set of issues; glare on chrome and harsh shadows. One good thing, though, is that the reflections were fantastic... and hey, no shots of cars with raindrops.

Believe it or not, only one '57 Bel Air showed up. There was, however, a red Nomad wagon from the same year.

This rat rod looked like it had been shot up. A LOT.

An award-winning tribute to Bonneville Salt Flats...

...signed by George Barris.

Plymouth hood ornament:

Gorilla Monsoon's Dodge Magnum - he did all the work himself:

A close-up under his hood:

Detail of a '63 Cobra. It's a kit car, but it wasn't any less hot:

Custom cycles:

Local rockabilly bands played throughout the day, and in between, there were raffles (I won tickets to roller derby, thanks!) and a hula-hoop contest.

In the evening when the cars left, the party went inside for more entertainment. This is Barry Ryan's Rockabilly Express...

...Adam RealMan swallowing progressively longer swords...

...and Big Daddy Deluxe...

...with pin-up girl and chanteuse extraordinaire JRocket joining them for a song.

I had to head back to Queens with my friends, so I sadly missed headliner Robert Gordon.

Part II really will be posted soon with more photos concentrating on the custom detailing. I haven't decided if the rest of the photos will end up on Flickr or SmugMug, so I'll post that link in the next installment.

Shore Blvd., Astoria, 5.16.10 Part II

After photographing the gorgeous Corvettes this past Sunday, I strolled north on the boulevard, content with what I shot and thinking about heading home. I had seen a hot rod buzzing around earlier, then I saw it pass me again, turn around at the end of the strip, and slowly head back towards where I was walking. I took a few "candid" shots, then after it parked, walked over and asked the owner if I could take a few shots. His name is Vinnie but everyone knows his as "Cuz," as can be seen painted on the windshield of the '23 Ford T-bucket.
(It says "Cuz's T.") I've seen him down here before, but like the Corvettes, he's got a steady stream of admirers asking questions about the car. (Maybe he should make a sign like Joe Chevy.)Straight to the engine shots:



I love all of the little details he's got on the car - he's got dice capping every valve cap:

As we talked, a friend of his in a Prowler pulled up. Lucky for me, the minivan behind him pulled out so the Prowler could park. The two cars together were irresistible to everyone passing by! Groups of people stopped to admire them. I had to be patient to get the shots with as few people and their shadows as possible.

Wow - thank you Plymouth for this beauty...