It's xmas...i think?

Yeah, its xmas. i know this cause everyone see's me as the poor old single guy and invite me to xmas dinner or pre xmas brunch or something. not as many this year..hmmm. i wonder why?? too much grinch?? possibly!
anyway, the highlight usually is xmas eve street party at nikki and bryan's place down waikiki way (beachside 'burb in Perth). For the last 3yrs i usually go there, although last year i missed it from being a grinch so i had to go this year. i've never been to such an event as this. the (70%) whole street puts on a xmas light display and has their bbq out on the lawn welcoming visitors with greetings etc. (one lady says they bought 300 candy canes and they were gone by 8:30pm!!!) come dark the lights are bright and the steady flow of cars and people walking increases and is constant untill around 11:00pm! (i should mention it was around 36degreesC during the day!)
Food, drink, cake it's all taken in and slowly the night unfolds with visits from neighbours and friends coming past and saying hello and the throng of people continues. Even santa goes around to every house and greets them as well as a multitude of passers-by and a seemingly endless line of kids!
There is even a group of elderly carolers who stop at each house and sing carols then move on to the next one. this usually takes around 2 1/2 hrs or more to do!
A few of the houses are up for sale and in coming months new owners will move in and next year there may not be as many lights. how much longer will this renown event keep going?? who knows. it may get bigger, but as with most things it may just dwindle as so many others have. then were will the 5000 odd visitors go??
I know not. but i'm just going to enjoy it for as long as i can!!
merry Christmas everyone!!!

 CLICK ON PICS!

 some of the local kids dress up, notice how empty the street is?? not for long!

nikki and bryans place

  

Santa greets the kids

the two kids in the barrow were pulled around all night!

one house even had snow!!

The carolers

the streets are starting to get packed already!

even limo's were full of people having a look!

me and mark!

cheryl

the boys!

Aawwwww!

sparklers!

Om nom nom

santa having a rest

around 10pm

 

short vid around 9pm

of course as we were about to head home the guys thought it funny to park on my thongs. haha no. left a tyre pattern in them. see how they look later today eh! ;)

bikes - Gary King "Retro4"

I tend to got to a few car shows around town. and sometimes there's a car or bike there just just grabs my eye. a while back at the hotrod show i saw this rather cool custom bike that is mainly a Honda CB750 but with a hardtail frame. now i think this was just the right mix of parts and paint that would catch any custom guys eye, and a few people did notice it (it even had a write up in a bike mag displayed)
in short it has..
- unknown hardtail frame
- cb750 K6 engine bored to 810cc
- 4in overs on front forks
- harley sportster tank
- custom SS drag bars plus other parts from the US.
all together creates a very cool looking bike!

i think i'll be adding some more of what i've seen around town, just to keep this blog rollin along ;)

oh and i am having troubles trying to post replies (strange that i cant comment on my own friggan blog!)
if it cant be fixed i will change to wordpress!!!!

new lens!

As i have previously stated i needed better lenses for my camera. namely for motorsports, as i really hit the wall of sharpness with the kit lens. which is what they want of course! all good for the real amateur photog who doesn't need any sharp detail if all they shoot are friends and the pet doggy! but after a while when you push your abilities beyond the mainstream FB pics, you'll start to notice you cant get there on kit alone. you NEED to upgrade! and although i moan about my need for new glass i cant really whinge when i then go buy a car (or two!). so to let my camera know that i DO lurve it (and the fact our dollar is basically = to the US) i went online and looked around for a basic mid range tele lens. nothing too big (or $$$) but something that i can take to an event and still be able to get a decent pic. My budget is $0 so all the good f2.8 stuff was really out of the question. so i ended up getting a 50-200mm f4.5-5.6 pentax smc DA, not even the DA* as that is pricey, just the normal spec digi lens. but i can tell ye (yes, i meant YE!) that is a step in the right direction! i went to a country fair on the Saturday and got some decent shots with it..Hmmm promising!

 

   

so on Sunday i had the First round of our local drift comp at Barbagello raceway, this better work i thought!!
of course i forgot to reset the WB from last nights shots above and wondered wtf i had done??!?!! after a few shots i came to realize and quickly changed that (but i did miss a couple of shots). then i had to get 'in the zone' for speed shots, that also took a bit, and get used to this lens. but i think in the end i have indeed gone up in sharpness and quality!
 now, what next?... another lens or a car.....Hmmmmmm ..

 

 

                                                               This is my fave!!!  

 

also i started another Flickr acct just for my race/car photos.

where to now #2

Ok, so to add to the last episode of my backyard being full of cars. i Finally picked up the other half of the Reliants! this one was on a property about 40mins east of Perth in Gidgeegannup. so i grabbed the dodge and hired a trailer (i should buy one soon!!) and went to get it.
  I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near the condition of the Kitten, but beside the very dusty exterior and very used interior, the body isn't that bad! yeah it needs a small repair on the left front, but being f'glass that wont be a problem. and i'm sure you can get door rubbers and other seals from a rubber store (very generic stuff really, any good car shop/restorers should have them).
 And seeing it's a runner (was used as a daily) all the rest is just easy to do, although the fuel tank may need to be changed. but as i just re-did the one in the kitten i think i'll just grab one from a jap wreck and  use that.

 700cc all alloy engine, they came from the factory with a 650 but you could (after running around for a while) return it and get the 'upgrade' bigger 700 motor as this one did!

in the boot is a pair of what looks like mini moke wide rims! but being 10in they'll go on the kitten as this car has 12in rims!!! wow sporty as!

I intend to keep this one stock as, just a tidy up, replace seal/rubbers etc and paint. so different to the Kitten in body shape.
This one will have to wait a while to get worked on. as after the kitten i really need to get the skyline fixed and the Dodge tuned then maybe the VW. then,  this will be next........................maybe ;)