Not Hiring

Not Hiring, Ontario, California

I love this image! I mean, really love it! It’s so light and bright and the colors are so soft – but the subject matter is as hard as can be.

I’ve never seen a Not Hiring sign before, but I totally get why it’s necessary here. A construction project of this size on the side of the 10 Freeway is obviously going to be a huge magnet for all the unemployed construction workers in the Inland Empire. But how sad that it’s necessary! How sad that a company could be so inundated with job seekers that they need a sign to help stem the flow. Unemployment is at 15% in the Inland Empire right now – just way too high.

I’ve been playing around with the idea of a project – on the economic crisis. Not seriously pursuing it as a project, but just sort of toying around with the idea. And this image is the best of the lot so far – and the first to focus on unemployment. I’m still not sure if I want to make a full blown project out of this, but I do plan to continue playing around with it, and seeing if anything comes of it.

Riverside Car Show

Every year the community of car enthusiasts in Riverside host a big car show called “Show and Go” in the downtown area. They block off the main intersections downtown for the weekend, and the cars are driven in a loop, so if you’re there to view it, you can arrive whenever you like, and park on any side street, and there will be cool vintage cars cruising by, as well as other cars parked along the main streets, with their hoods open – inviting you to look and discuss. The owners are usually hovering nearby, and love to answer questions!

I showed up on the first morning, and only stayed an hour – for the main parade – but there was a LOT I didn’t see. You could definitely spend the whole day just looking at cars!

Bumblebee from Transformers
This 1977 Chevy Camaro named Bumblebee has a Hollywood pedigree! It appeared in the 2007 movie, Transformers.

Hood OrnamentHot Cars and Palm Trees

Mayor Ron Loveridge
The mayor of Riverside, Ron Loveridge.

Car enthusiasts in Riverside host a big car show called “Show and Go” in the downtown area.Woody with Surfboards
Convertibles and a Woody with surfboards on top! How cool, and how Californian is that?

Vintage Police Car
Notice the dog in the backseat window of this vintage police car.

Turquoise Chevy with Fuzzy DiceRiverside Car Show
A turquoise Chevy with the requisite fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror…

Silver Convertible at the Riverside Car Show
I don’t know what this car is, but it sure is cute!

Motorcycle at Riverside Car Show