Author Topic: Just got back from Las Vegas....  (Read 3416 times)

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Offline RayTheRat

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Just got back from Las Vegas....
« on: April 04, 2010, 10:05:34 PM »
...where the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend was held...and while I was there, I visited the Imperial Palace Auto Collection...part of Harrah's collection.  I saw the "original" one in Reno 30-some years ago...and this one was kinda different in that most of the cars had price tags on 'em.  Some were "display only" but not many.  I'll post some photos from that shoot a little later.  (I thought I was gonna spent 45 minutes to an hour there...and spent about 4 hours gettin a whole lotta shots.  I got a photo of the data card for each one of them and that'll be part of the web page when I get it done.

Then there was the VLV car show.  Far out stuff!  And a buncha lovely lady "pinup girls."  I was amazed that each one seemed honored and flattered that I'd ask her to pose by a car...or just shoot her all alone.  It was really kool. 

There were some real interesting cars there...and a performance by Chuck Berry, who, for someone who's 83 years old, put on one hell of a show.  The crowd (including me) loved it.  I haven't cheered myself to the point of hoarseness like that since the 70s.

I'm gonna attach some photos.  The first 3 cars are owned by Paul Tracy.  Yeah, that Paul Tracy.  The champ car racer.  He's got pretty good taste.

Here they are....oh, the last one is CB doing an octogenarian version of his famous "Duck Walk."

Can ya tell that I had a great time?  I really did...although I woke up with blisters on my shaven head that have broken and are kinda messy today.  I think I might have gotten just a tiny bit too much sun.  :)


Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2010, 11:25:04 PM »
Here they are....oh, the last one is CB doing an octogenarian version of his famous "Duck Walk."

Chuck Berry wrote 'em all - just ask him. :roll:
But for 83 years old, he doesn't look a day older than Keith Richards. :-D

Behind "Betty Page", behind Paul Tracy's Chevy, there appears to be a 58 4 door De Soto (?)  You didn't by chance get a closeup of that, did you?

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas - Unless Ray brought his camera . . .
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline gearheadeh

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2010, 12:03:52 AM »
Interesting....look at the number of views of each of the four pics. Priority seems to be: Girls, Rust, Guitars, and last a nice flame job!
40 is the old age of Youth, 50 is the young age of the Senior years.

Offline dw230

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2010, 11:50:15 AM »
While Ray takes the time to post his photos there are a lot of nice cars in this gallery:

http://www.bangshift.com/gallery/girls-of-Viva-Las-Vegas-gallery.html

DW
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Offline RayTheRat

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2010, 06:34:02 PM »
Here they are....oh, the last one is CB doing an octogenarian version of his famous "Duck Walk."

Behind "Betty Page", behind Paul Tracy's Chevy, there appears to be a 58 4 door De Soto (?)  You didn't by chance get a closeup of that, did you?
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas - Unless Ray brought his camera . . .

Chuck Berry wrote 'em all - just ask him. :roll:
But for 83 years old, he doesn't look a day older than Keith Richards. :-D

LOL!  I'd have to say that Richards (at 66) looks even older than I do!  When I want to mess with people I tell 'em I'm 10 years older than I am and I've never been questioned about it.  :)  Heart disease is not very kind to ya.  (That's not a whine, more of a chuckle.)

Anyway, I didn't get any more shots of the Desoto.  I looked at the shots on bangshift.com and didn't see it there, either.  Here's the deal: I got an attitude toward 4-door cars.  I spose it goes back to the early years when driving a 4-door almost always elicited comments like, "so yer mom let ya driver her car, huh?"  The fact that my Burb has 4 doors (well, 6 if ya count the ambulance doors in the back) still kinda grates on my nerves.  Blemme, if I could find one of the 67-72 3-door Burbs, I'd give it some real serious thought.

So that kinda affects my choice of subjects when I shoot a car show.  I think it's pretty much a subconscious thing, but I don't think I'm alone in it.  On the bangshift pages, most of the sedans (I'm including post-type sedans and pillarless hardtops) seem to be 2-door cars. 

As I wrote, the day before, I'd shot the collection at the Imperial Palace.  That was a different deal.  Rolls-Royces (which made up a significant portion of the collection) were almost all 4-doors.  Limos or Sedanca body styles have 4 or more doors.  So I shot 'em as historical vehicles, not as "kool rides."  So I spose it's in the eyes of the beholder.  There was one 4-door car of which I shot several photos: a 1953 Buick.  I did that cuz it was my first car (you can see how this ties in with that attitude) except I had a Super and that one was a Roadmaster.  But they were both black 4-doors.  I hated that car and I hated the Dynaflow transmission even more.  It wasn't the "most hated" of the vehicles I owned (that went to a 78 Ford Fairmont that I bought for my first wife...and it hated me back.)

So the majority of my shots are 2-doors, unless there's something real interesting about 'em.  Like the 60 Caddy that had undergone a "roofectomy."  That was interesting.  (There was a 59 that had the same treatment.)  There were a few others, but not many.

I know that 2-door cars of 30s-60s vintage are gettin rarer by the minute and I understand why they end up as rods or cruisers or chain saw phaetons or get transformed into 2-doors....like one that I'm attaching.  But still....


Offline floydjer

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2010, 07:26:39 PM »
ALLMOST on topic..........A friend met Keith Richards a couple years ago. Said he looks WORSE in person. He could see through his skin like a tropical fish.  Scary.  J.B.
I`d never advocate drugs,alcohol,violence or insanity to anyone...But they work for me.

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2010, 07:46:25 PM »
Here's the deal: I got an attitude toward 4-door cars.  I spose it goes back to the early years when driving a 4-door almost always elicited comments like, "so yer mom let ya driver her car, huh?"
 
I know that 2-door cars of 30s-60s vintage are gettin rarer by the minute and I understand why they end up as rods or cruisers or chain saw phaetons or get transformed into 2-doors....like one that I'm attaching.  But still....

The reason I asked was I'm a huge fan of the Virgil Exner Mopar stuff.  When I was a kid, my dad had both a '62 Dodge Dart post (so ugly, it was beautiful) and a '62 Chrysler 300 (non letter-car, but still with a pretty stout 383).  Jo Han made a 1/25 scale model of the 300, and I built a "Ranchero" style pickup out of it.  It came out really cool, and I've never completely gotten out of my mind the idea of doing such a treatment on a real Chrysler/De Soto/Plymouth of the same era.  It'll have to wait until the Midget is rolling, but a "Bore-Door" might make a good starting point for such a project.

Thanks for the pics, Ray!
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Stan Back

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2010, 09:15:43 PM »
MM --

I'm sure you noticed how he moved half the back dooor onto the front.  Keeps the proportion more righter for a two-door.  Lots of people have made the mistake just using the front (4-door) door.  Never looks right.

Reminds me of when I built the 28 Mercury Torpedo Salon.  Found out they had Bondo in gallon cans, rather the the quarts I was buying.  Quite a savings.  But it was a (b)itch to get the whole gallon on before it went off after you'd mixed it up.

Stan
Past (Only) Member of the San Berdoo Roadsters -- "California's Most-Exclusive Roadster Club" -- 19 Years of Bonneville and/or El Mirage Street Roadster Records

Offline RayTheRat

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2010, 10:20:28 PM »
LOL!  Mixing a gallon at a time, huh?  I bet you looked like a one-armed paperhanger.  :)

I finally got all but one of the sections done and on the server:
http://www.chevyasylum.com/cruisin/cruisin2010/20100403/Welcome.html
It was a very interesting deal.  I dunno if I'll go back next year...I just might.  Anyway, there are photos of lovely ladies of all sorts, a section for "Ink" (I bet SSS and Nancy coulda outdone 'em, had they been there.  And there are a few more of the Chuck Berry performance.

There's a Ferrari Challenge race at Miller's this weekend.  So I wanna get as caught up as I can be. 

That means I gotta go look at the photos from the Imperial Palace collection.  For joy.  I wish I was twins.  I could get twice as overwhelmed.


Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2010, 11:18:19 PM »
I noticed that a few of these girls had "Ray" tatooed in big letters across their chest.  You must be a popular guy.

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2010, 11:27:59 PM »
Ray,

Nice shot here, very nice ummmmmm. ummmmmm. ummmmmm. Tattoo....

Jon

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2010, 11:30:04 PM »
MM --

I'm sure you noticed how he moved half the back dooor onto the front.  Keeps the proportion more righter for a two-door.  Lots of people have made the mistake just using the front (4-door) door.  Never looks right.


Actually, Stan, that's precisely why I'm thinking of a four-door - keep the pickup proportions in check with a shorter front door.  Problem is, you lose that elegant roof line.

A gallon at a time?!?!? :? :-o  It's probably STILL warm to the touch!
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline RayTheRat

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Re: Just got back from Las Vegas....
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2010, 04:21:06 PM »
Ray,

Nice shot here, very nice ummmmmm. ummmmmm. ummmmmm. Tattoo....

Jon


Just a little ink on display there.  Some of it was gorgeous.  So were the ladies. 

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cruisin/cruisin2010/20100403/oddsnends/100403.html and

http://www.chevyasylum.com/cruisin/cruisin2010/20100403/lovlies/100403.html

Enjoy