I'm just an average guy, nobody special. I take pictures, mostly of classic cars, sometimes of nature. I am a learning amateur.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Midnight Mass 2009 Pictures

The rest of my Midnight Mass 2009 pictures can be found here

Was a good show, keeps getting bigger every year. The size this year was almost too overwhelming.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Some Pictures from May

Pink is Outcast (by Brain Toad Photography)
Pink is Outcast

All Alone (by Brain Toad Photography)
All Alone

Rusty Grille (by Brain Toad Photography)
Rusty Grille

1934 Dodge Brothers (by Brain Toad Photography)
1934 Dodge Brothers

Grille with a Nose (by Brain Toad Photography)
Grille with a Nose

Face in Chrome (by Brain Toad Photography)
Face in Chrome

Black and White Chrome (by Brain Toad Photography)
Black and White Chrome

Hood Head (by Brain Toad Photography)
Hood Head

Packard Swan (by Brain Toad Photography)
Packard Swan

Soaring (by Brain Toad Photography)
Soaring

Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Deck Shoots a Stream

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Night Moves

It has been awhile since I've posted here, mainly because I haven't had much to post. My photography has been limited to what inspiration I can get while at school. No car shows until the end of March and there isn't much to shoot on campus or off. Especially during the rain we had for the past month. Though this past week has been amazingly clear and while I didn't get out during the day to shoot, I did get out at night. The first sessions was to shoot the massive moon we had this past week that was made even more clear by the lack of clouds in the sky.

The problem was that I didn't have my tripod, so I was stuck using a monopod and a sapling support as a brace to steady my camera and it didn't work well. I also didn't remove my UV filter, which I find out later causes some problems with night shots.

Attempt at Moon Photography (by Brain Toad Photography)
It was bright, very bright. This brightness plus the blur created an effect much like the sun at night.

Attempt at Moon Photography (by Brain Toad Photography)
That bluish dot is what happens when you leave your UV filter on at night. I thought it was just lens flare.

So after that sorry attempt, I decided I need my tripod. Since my dad was already making a trip up to give me something, I asked him to grab my tripod. That night I went out again. It was still clear though the moon was gone from the sky. It was also mighty cold and after less than a half hour outside my hands were numb. I think I'll wait until it warms up a bit before I go out again.

By the Lake (by Brain Toad Photography)
I'm trying to use Aperture priority more in my shooting. I know with night shots Shutter priority makes more sense, but aperture is easier to set. In order to get good shutter speeds, I had to crank up the f-number. Which gave the lights a really cool effect.

The Flash Got in My Shot (by Brain Toad Photography)
The light trails it created for the cars driving by was quite neat. I call this one "The Flash Got in My Shot", because of the red blur.

Reddish Sky (by Brain Toad Photography)
The sky came out really orange in some shots. Not sure if this was because it sun had only completely set not too long ago, or because of the light pollution of the area.

Down the Middle Towards Construction (by Brain Toad Photography)
My aim for this shot was to capture the lighted dorms still under construction way in the back. But the lamp posts ended up being the focus. The star effect really gives it a "fake" feel, I really like it.

I really couldn't get the center on this shot. I couldn't eyeball it very well, so I kept making adjustments and shooting. And I ended up with two shots, same settings but slightly different centers. I thought it would be good for a wiggle stereoscopy, to give a 3D effect. However, the pictures are a bit too different and it doesn't work as well. I may try this again though, the tripod makes it easy.

Wiggle Stereoscopy

All my night shots and all future night shots can be found in my Night Photography set on Flickr. I'll post more once I get a good batch going. I'll also post some pictures from the Good Guys car show in a few weeks.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Thought Gears

I'm not what you would call a perfect car guy. I love looking at, studying, and admiring cars. I don't know how an engine works, what the cubic centimeters numbers means or what the difference between a big block and small block Chevy engine is. I don't change my own oil, fix my own problems, or even open my hood unless I'm filling the wiper fluid. I'm not above any of that, I just never learned how, not that I wouldn't be willing. But I am a great admirer of classic cars, why else would I take near 5000 pictures of them in less than 3 years?

And there is a specific type of car I love. Some call them rat rods, others call them traditional hot rods, or suede. These cars aren't shined a showroom finish, tucked away in the garage, only coming out to be loaded onto the trailer to be bussed to the Rod & Custom Show or the West Coast Nationals. They live their lives outside or in beat down garages, they are driven daily if they run, worked on daily if they aren't. They are bare metal, rusted, or primered. Their wheels are usually the cleanest and newest thing on them, because they are the cheapest. They are a mismatch of parts, scraps, blood, sweat and tears. They are obvious works of love by these individuals. These classics don't need to shine, they just have to run.


1952 Buick (by Brain Toad Photography)
1952 Buick, no gloss, no shine, just flat paint with hand painted flames.

1950 Chevrolet (by Brain Toad Photography)
1950 Chevrolet, a Frankenstein of color, fading original paint perhaps, or the result of different tests

6th Street Garage Pickup (by Brain Toad Photography)
Rust doesn't mean the car isn't loved, in some cases the rust buckets get more love the the gleen machines

Ford Model A Rod (by Brain Toad Photography)
Tractors are legitimate sources for parts

1951 Chevrolet (by Brain Toad Photography)
1951 Chevrolet, just because you own a Chevy doesn't mean you can't have a Pontiac hood ornament

Spade Rat Rod (by Brain Toad Photography)
Rust is a valid color in these parts

Ford Coupe (by Brain Toad Photography)
You can still color coordinate and still look cool

Kirby 1956 Ford Sedan Delivery (by Brain Toad Photography)
It worked then, it still works now, what other reason do you need?

"El Cheapo" Bucket (by Brain Toad Photography)
What is in a name?

1959 Edsel Corsair (by Brain Toad Photography)
1959 Edsel, this style works even past the Hot Rod era

Almost Ready (by Brain Toad Photography)
What is paint but just another expense?

Lucy and Her Truck (by Brain Toad Photography)
With Bettie by your side, can you do any wrong?

Custom Weaponry Bicycle (by Brain Toad Photography)
It doesn't even require an engine to be a true piece of work

Volkswagen Custom (by Brain Toad Photography)
Just because you weren't born in the USA, doesn't mean you can't still be a true American classic

Rat Rod (by Brain Toad Photography)
If your back wheels are almost as big as your body, you are doing something right

Rusty Rod (by Brain Toad Photography)
Your car is also the best seat in the house

You Missed Some Spots (by Brain Toad Photography)
A little nudity is always appreciated

Just Back from the Salt Races (by Brain Toad Photography)
Don't bother cleaning your car after your run through the mud or salt, no one will judge you

Long and Low (by Brain Toad Photography)
And it's always good to bring along a designated driver


I love these cars. If it wasn't for them, I would have never fell in love with classic cars. These cars and their owners showed me that not every car guy owns a car to show off once a year, but there is people out there who do it for the love of the vehicle, the work, and the culture. I salute the owners of these hot rods, rat rods, suede machines and leadsleds.

(Pictures taken from my Billetproof 2006, 2007, and 2008, Midnight Mass 2007 and 2008, and Last Originals 2008 sets)

Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas 2008

I was going to avoid doing a "Christmas haul" type entry because it feels like bragging and I doubt any other people care about what I got.  But I decided to do an entry about Christmas anyway, except sprinkle it with some photos and talk about my Christmas experience this year.

Christmas is of course one of my favorite holidays.  I'm a sucker for tradition, I'm not big on change, so tradition is a happy time for me.  Traditions help solidify memories and keep these organized, plus I enjoy all of the traditions that we've established.  Christmas Eve is just me and the parents.  In the past we took the day to go have lunch with my grandmother on my mom's side and visit her brother to deliver goodies, but since my grandmother's passing this tradition has fallen away, so now it is just a time spent with the parents.  We get a movie, not always a Christmas movie, but more often than not it is and watch it during dinner.  This year it was A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott (I also watched the MST3K version of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians earlier in the day but that wasn't part of any tradition).  Our Christmas Eve dinner is a tri-tip roast with baked potatoes, a Caesar salad and garlic bread with a dessert of cherry pie, none of it strctly home made (tri-tip is pre-marinated, salad comes from a bag, garlic bread is pre-made and the cherry pie is canned cherries + frozen crust), but it's still a great meal and it's all about enjoying the movie together.  Plus any tri-tip is good tri-tip if cooked right, which my mom does quite well.  Then I follow it up by watching A Christmas Carol in bed before I sleep, ever since TBS started showing it 24 hours.

Christmas morning hasn't changed since I was a little kid, except with me getting up progressively later as the years go on.  When I was a kid I was the first one up, then the second and this year for the first time ever, I slept in until 9 and was the last one up.  It may have had something to do with the fact I had stayed up until 2 am and slept until noon for the past few days and had stayed up until 2 the night before.  But it was an okay break in tradition and made the transition into gift opening much easier, I think.  We turned on the log on TV (this has replaced Christmas music on the stereo over the years, since it's just plain cooler, I mean what beats a fake fire on TV?)  Stocking gifts are first, then regular gifts.  Of highlight from my parents were some Disney/Star Wars stuff, a book about my Nikon D40 (operation, tips and tricks type stuff), some of the Star Wars books I needed and the newer version of the Car Spotters Bible, the book I used to identify the cars I take pictures of.  This book puts all the same pictures from the past book in color, does away with the seperation between decade groups, and carries with it some of the flaws from the previous version like giving some cars their own sections for no reasons (Mustang and Thunderbird have their own section, but all other Fords are together, except Falcons), as well as adding some new flaws such as removing all the Chevy II-era Novas and not including pre-40 vehicles.  But otherwise it's nice to own, especially since my original copy is falling apart.

Traditional Christmas morning breakfast followed, except this time it got mixed up a little.  In the past it was scrambled eggs with leftover tri-tip mixed in and toast, this year it was tri-tip and cheese omlettes and breakfast sausage with toast.  I much prefer this version, as I much prefer my dad's omlettes over scrambled eggs and the meat intregates much better with it.  This breakfast is late and big enough to eliminate the need for lunch.

In the afternoon we headed to my grandparents for the rest of the events.  This year I was looking forward to it a lot, as it would be the first Christmas for Evelyn where she would actually know what was going on, as her actual first Christmas she was only 6 months, and wasn't really aware of the signifcance of it all.  She was being a cute brat the whole day, going around the kitchen demanding everyone give her chips and run between Lindsay's room and the living room.  First thing was of course stockings, which Evelyn wasn't much interested in once she got hold of one toy she really liked.  Because of the relatively large size of the family, I rarely see what anyone else is getting unless they are in my immediate vincinity, so it's a bit odd.  Next was some time for snacking before the main presents.  All the grandkids got one big "Santa" gift from my grandparents and I think Vanessa was the most enamored with her's over everyone, as she got a Wii which she has been wanting since it came out.  She nearly passed out, I almost expected her to slip into N64-kid mode.  Mine was a Magellan GPS, which I only recently wanted, as I realized at SSU I was printing out way too many Google maps to get around, the fact I have a shitpoor sense of direction and would get somewhat lost quite regularly.  I was quite happy with this, I'm hoping it will work out well for me.  I also got a bunch of car washing supplies from my Aunt and a crazy Marc Ecko Darth Vader shirt that I'll end up returning because it's way too flamboyant and fancy for my tastes.

Evelyn wasn't too into the whole gift upwrapping thing.  She opend up her present from her father, a easel and demanded her mother open it for her, rather than go for any other presents.  She eventually moved onto her other presents.  She got a tea set that she really loved and played with for the rest of the night.  She also got a ton of books from both myself and my mom, me giving her two Eric Carle books, the Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Brown Bear What Do You See, the former being my most favorite book from childhood.  I'm hoping she enjoys it as well, and I think with her amount of intelligence, I can see her beginning to read much earlier than most other kids, if her level of speech is any sign (she is only 18 months but probably has the speech patterns of a two year old).  I joked with Vanessa we're going to turn her into a nerd.  But that's not a bad thing, I mean her uncle is a nerd.

After the presents and subsequent recovery, the Wii was set up and fun was had by most playing Wii Sports.  Even my dad and aunt joined in on the fun.  I think Ernie ended up playing more than Vanessa however.  I think everyone will get a lot of use out of the Wii.  Many of my memories with Vanessa at my grandparents were filled with playing SNES, so I see the Wii fitting very well into that household, until she moves to Sacramento and taking it with her.

Christmas dinner was the usual ham, though it was missing the traditional spinach casserole as there was no spinach in Concord apparantly.  While it wasn't a very together dinner, with various members of the family not eating dinner at the table, it was still very nice and enjoyable, even though Evelyn was becomming quite cranky at this part.  The rest of the night was filled with more Wii playing and dessert.

Overall it was a very good Christmas, it reminded me how much I enjoy my family no matter how many stupid things they do, how annoying they can be and how much changes, they are still a great part of me.  I'm looking forward to next year's, as Evelyn gets older and is able to enjoy everything more.

And now for some pictures.  All my Christmas 2008 pictures can be found in thier Flickr set.

The Christmas Tree (by Brain Toad Photography)
The Christmas tree at home

The Christmas Tree Spots (by Brain Toad Photography)
At one point the autofocus on my camera said this was in focus, I didn't agree but thought it made a good shot

The Star (by Brain Toad Photography)
The Star topper, I refuse to have an angel on our tree as it looks like the tree is shoved up the angel's ass

The tiny Christmas village (by Brain Toad Photography)
My mom's mini-Christmas village

Away in a maner (by Brain Toad Photography)
The nativity scene. This year I decided to mess with it. I put my Christmas C-3PO Galactic Hero in at first and later put in a Homie looking over the baby Jesus. Threepio was found almost immediately, but the homie had to be pointed out. I put him back in later thought. He just works perfectly in the scene.

The Stockings (by Brain Toad Photography)
The numerous stockings at my grandparent's, they were placed in the family room this year as there was no room for them in the living room

Grandparent's tree (by Brain Toad Photography)
My grandma always does a great job with the tree, I can only imagine the time she spends with it

Drink it up (by Brain Toad Photography)
Vanessa and Ernie with their drinks of choice, though Vanessa could barely finish that margarita

A mother-daughter moment (by Brain Toad Photography)
Not sure why Evelyn was making this goofy face, but I like this shot

Smiling for her uncle (by Brain Toad Photography)
I never ask anyone to smile for my shots, especially Evelyn. She does it automatically when she sees a camera, her mother has her well trained.

So that was my Christmas.  I hope everyone who does celebrate also had a great time and a Happy New Year to all

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Photos from November

I'm going to start a new tradition of making a post at the end of a month to post a select few pictures from that month. Of course it's already starting in December, so I'm a bit late for November pictures, but whatever. It's also probably a bad time to start this tradition, as my main source of pictures doesn't start again in full swing until July or so. But maybe this will force me to take more non-car show pictures. So let's begin, November photos!

When I was home for Halloween I got to play with my dad's home made light box/studio, made from a bucket with a hole cut out of the side and a light placed on top. I did some photos of some diecast and really liked them. I had to do some white balance adjustment thought
Johnny Lightning 1959 Chevrolet Impala 1:64 Scale Die Cast (by Brain Toad Photography)
1959 Chevrolet Impala by Johnny Lightning

Hot Wheels "Bone Shaker" 1:64 scale die cast (by Brain Toad Photography)
"Bone Shaker" by Hot Wheels

November only housed one car show and that was the Good Guys Autumn Get Together. The weather wasn't great and I was pretty sick, so my picture taking was limited. But I still got some photos anyway.

1959 Chevrolet Impala Hood Ornament (by Brain Toad Photography)
1959 Chevrolet Impala hood ornament with rain drops

1950 Ford (by Brain Toad Photography)
1950 Ford

1946 Cadillac Hood Ornament (by Brain Toad Photography)
1946 Cadillac hood ornament

Mercury (by Brain Toad Photography)
Classic Hot Rod Mercury

1955 Oldsmobile Super 88 Grille (by Brain Toad Photography)
1955 Oldsmobile Super 88

1928 Graham-Paige (by Brain Toad Photography)
1925 Graham-Paige that traveled from Argentina to Alaska

1932 Ford (by Brain Toad Photography)
1932 Ford


I already posted this before, but I'll post it again. My 1957 Hawthorne bike
1957 Hawthorne - Riding View (by Brain Toad Photography)


Of course November is the time of Thanksgiving and this year I have been bringing my camera to the family gatherings this year in order to capture more of the event and trying out people pictures. I hate posed pictures though, so I try to be inconspicuous and capture events

Messy and smiling (by Brain Toad Photography)
Though of course I can't help missing out on an Evelyn pose, she was the main subject of most of my photos anyway.

No flash and a wild child makes for fun pictures (by Brain Toad Photography)
A happy accident type photo

Goofy face (by Brain Toad Photography)
A goofy old manish face

The dinner table waiting for food (by Brain Toad Photography)
The table


And the final pictures from November were taken at the Great Train Expo, a model train show that travels around the country. I went to the one at the Alameda Fairgrounds since I was already home for the weekend, I love model trains, and wanted to take some pictures anyway.

The Union Pacific (N scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
N Scale Union Pacific

KBAZ Radio (Z scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
Z Scale radio station

The rail yard (Z scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
Z scale rail yard

Tramp telling a story (On30 Scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
On30 gauge tramps

Coming around the bend (On30 Scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
On30 Locomotive

And the band played on (G scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
G scale band

Coming down the tracks (G scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
G scale locomotive

The City of Pleasanton (LEGO) (by Brain Toad Photography)
LEGO Pleasanton

The Western Pacific heading through town (N scale) (by Brain Toad Photography)
N scale town


That does it for my pictures from November. You can guess what Decembers will be filled with, though Christmas photos may get their own post all together. I don't know what else I'll be photographing in December, however.


Also, though I have no reason to really ask any of you, casual readers to do so, I thought I'd throw it out there. AT&T recently terminated their agreement with Flickr on providing AT&T DSL customers with a free pro account, so come February I'll be losing my Pro account if I do not purchase one. So I ask for any donations if you wish to do so. My Flickr Pro account is pretty much why I got so into taking pictures. Why take 500 pictures if it takes you months to upload them?

So if you are feeling generous, please click the donation button below. Any amount is appreciated. I wish I could offer something in return, but I really have no ideas.





About Me

I'm just an average guy. I'm a student at Sonoma State University. I take pictures, mostly of classic cars.