Biker bars and Italian restaurants

I thought that might get someone's attention :) <p>

 

I have a few new pictures to post. I took these fairly recently with my Argus C3 and Minolta SRT-101 cameras. Both

rolls are Kodak Gold 200 film. <p>

 

This car is always parked at a garage just down the street from where I live. I guess the owner must work there.

It's pretty cool. It's a Mustang, but I'm just curious, does anyone know what year? I took this picture with

the Argus C3, and a classic camera and a classic car go together! <p>

 

<img src="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/010_10.jpg"><p>

 

I took this next picture with the Argus too. It's the famous "Music Room." Well, actually, as far as I know,

this place isn't really famous. But it certainly is <i>infamous</i>. It's a biker bar on the same street.<p>

 

<img src = "http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/020_20.jpg"><p>

 

I took the picture around 9:30 in the morning, and so there weren't any bikers around at the time. This view is

facing west, so the only time I could get good lighting is in the morning.<p>

 

I could tell so many little stories about the weird (and probably drunk) people I've run into every time I've

walked by this place. The first time was when I was a kid, around 16 or 17 years old. I was walking down the

street with a friend from school, and a lady standing outside the bar blurted out as we walked by "wow, these

youngsters look better all the time...too bad they wear their shirts so long that you can't see their a**es."

(This was in the late 90's when kids were wearing baggy shirts and pants.) Great. Like I <i>really</i> wanted to be

hit on (or should I say molested) by a biker lady that was probably older than my mom at the time.<p>

 

Another time, (also when I was a kid) I had gone to Burger King, which is about a block down the street from the

bar. I was riding my bicycle back home and I happened to pass by the bar as some guy was coming out. He shouted

out "mmm....burger! Give me a burger!" and chased me up the street for a while. I just pedaled faster. <p>

 

Even now, I'd still be afraid to actually go inside. Maybe when I'm older, in about 20-30 years, I'll fit in.

I'm not quite "grizzled" enough just yet.<p>

 

I took this next picture with the Minolta SRT-101. This is "Francesco's," an Italian restaurant on the same

street (just a block away from the biker bar, actually). It's been closed for a while now. They never did well,

and they weren't open that long. I was curious and I went inside one time a few years ago when they were still

open, but it was just a little too fancy and "stuffy" for my taste. That's probably why they never really had

that many customers. It's the wrong area for a fancy restaurant. It's kind of a shame though - it looked like it

could have been a nice place, and it would have been something different.<p>

 

<img src= "http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/010_10-1.jpg"><p>

 

<img src ="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/015_15.jpg"><p>

 

This following picture is the same Lutheran church which was in the B&W pictures I posted earlier from the Kiev

30. I kind of goofed and underexposed it a little, but I don't think it came out too bad. <p>

 

<img src = "http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/018_18.jpg"><p>

 

The last photo is one of my favorite candid pictures. This is Christopher, my friend's little brother. (Well,

he's also my friend now, and he's become kind of like a little brother to me now too). I had no idea if it would

even turn out at all. This was indoors, and the only light source was a couple of small open windows. I opened

up the aperture all the way to f/1.4 and set the shutter speed to 1/30. I had to be quick, because Chris is

really self-conscious and doesn't like to have his picture taken. So I had to get it before he even knew I was

pointing the camera towards him! I held the camera as steady as I could and snapped the picture. It came out a

lot better than I thought it would. I took a wild guess on the exposure.<p>

 

<img src="http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/001_1b.jpg"><p>

 

That's about all for now. I just developed a roll of film tonight, with some pretty cool pictures I took at the

train station. So I'll have more to post soon.

<p>Great shots Chris,<br>

It's wonderful to see the area you live in, so different from my flat country. Pretty darn sharp images from both the Argus and the Minolta. Nice composition on the The Lutheran church, like with the Kiev 30 shot.</p>

<p>Regards,</p>

<p>Rick</p>

<p>Good documentary style shots Chris. And your narrative makes them all that more interesting. Color negative material is pretty forgiving these days so that your interior photo of your friend is possible even if the light was low. The way to tell if you nailed the exposure is to look at the negs. Yes please do post more of your photos. I think that all here are are enjoying your journey of discovery expressed through your classic cameras.</p>

<p>Good shooting , Chris. Kodak Gold 200 is my favorite color negative film. It's very forgiving and the blues and blacks are the best, in my opinion. I use a good polarizer and rate it at ISO 100-125 and expose for the highlights in early morning sun-up or long shadow afternoon lighting. <br>

Looks like a '65 Stang to me. Unsure of the year on a classic American car ? Take a peek at the taillight lens - on the edges will usually be the year. </p>

<p>One day, in the not too distant future, you'll be happy to hit on by a woman of <em>any</em> age.</p>

<p>Cool post, Chris.</p>

<p>Great, Kodak Gold 200 too, I use it all the time. These are fun shots. There is a Francesco's resturant in Oakland, CA, and it looks like yours stole the Oakland's sign. </p>

<p>Very nice Chris. Good use of the cameras and I like your nice storytelling. </p>

<p>1968 Mustang I believe.</p>

<p>Nic work ! The colors are vibrant and I agree whole heartedly with classic cars with classic cameras. I can't nail the year exactly on the Mustand but between 65 and 69 is close enough! It does look bitchin' The portrait came out great. I often do the same .. just go for the longest exposure I can hand hold. Good Idea and very intimate natural light portrait.</p>

<p>Nice of you to include a picture for all the Lutheran bikers and Italians on Photonet! </p>

<p>Great series. Good color and sharpness and an interesting view of the area near where you live. BTW, my first car was a '69 Mustang. It only had the 302 2 barrel, but it would really move. A friend of mine's parents had a '69 Fastback with the 351 Cleveland engine. It had a 4 barrel carb and dual glass pack mufflers. It had so much torque that sometimes on automatic 1st to 2nd gear upshifts at low throttle it would chirp a tire.</p>

<p>That's dramatic country you live in, <strong>Chris</strong>, with a fine clear light. Good sharp pics and an amusing narrative. There are <em>young</em> biker ladies, mind you..Looking forward to the next installment!</p>

<p>Hi Chris,<br>

Great series of pictures and information about all those you posted.And I am glad to see you are starting to post again.</p>

<p>"If you can read this, the b!tch fell off" - I am guessing the one that hit on you had a shirt that proclaimed she was the b!tch in question :) And come on, admit it, you liked it ;) </p>

<p>Interesting photos - the mustang looks early, I am no expert, but I would say 68 if I had to guess. I like the portrait you took.</p>

<p>That's a 1968 Mustang. It is probably a straight 6 cylinder. I had a 1968 back in the day, with the 289 V8. But, I've always really been a Chevy man.</p>

<p>Reed</p>

<p>It's amazing how much the '65 thru '68 resemble each other. The main giveaway is the twin scoops and the reflector on the rear quarter panel of the '68 not present on the '65. The side scoops are a little different as well but not quite as noticeable. As for looking at the tail light lenses for the year, that doesn't always work. A '65 mustang may say '64 on the tail light. The year on the tail light is the first year they made a particular style lens. If they used the same style for two years, say '67 and '68, the light would likely say '67.</p>

Thanks for looking guys! I really appreciate all your comments and feedback. I learned a little about classic cars too!

 

I'm about to post some new black and white pictures that I just developed last night. I took them at the train station a few days ago.