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Randy Wells is a car photographer based in Seattle and L.A. His automotive photography has been voted among the best in the Pacific Northwest.

Randy Wells, Seattle, Santa Barbara, Car, Photographer, Best Automotive, Photography by Randy Wells

PORTFOLIO

Randy Wells has the good fortune to photograph, film, and write about cars and transportation for the best manufacturers, advertising agencies, collectors, auction houses, and magazines full-time. His work has appeared more than 20,000 times worldwide, including magazines like National Geographic. All his work is personally handcrafted. See the link above for 65 galleries featuring thousands of stock images available for prints and licensing.

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FORESHADOWING

If the latest reports are to be believed, this world is in trouble (and that’s putting aside all the humanity problems). Solar eclipses, solar flares, global warming predicted at +2.5 degrees celsius, and AI that can’t be explained but is going to be used everywhere anyway. I think they may have got it wrong in the Stanley Kubrick 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, it looks like it could all come down around 2050.

Enjoy it while you can.

(Image above: Courtesy of MGM)

STREETLIFE SERENADER

“Streetlife Serenader” is one the best Billy Joel songs but it doesn’t make most lists. Why? Because it’s too good. Probably best heard on the live album Songs In the Attic.

BREAKFAST IN AMERICA

What would you say to an album that summed up the neural code of America in less than 60 minutes?

It seems astonishing to think that 45 years ago a band from the UK named Supertramp could create a #1 album worldwide that purports to understand the complexities of America. It turns out they could, because this nation has never been all that complicated.

THE ROAD TO H*** IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

The key is to never let it get you down. There can be a lot of mis-communication when everyone is coming from a different point of view. Fractured is how I see the world today. It can be frustrating, but it’s up to each of us to follow what we know to be the truth. It’s good actions that matter. Forget the rest. ‘Relax-Ay-Voo’

4-15-24

I’M ON A CAYMAN ROLL

It wasn’t that long ago that I wrote and photographed a feature for the Porsche Club of America’s national magazine on a Cayman S that was perhaps the most expensive one ever ordered. Now, the April 2024 issue features one of the least expensive used Cayman S models purchased that has been turned into a top-time-of-the-day autocross weapon.
Congrats to Tara and Steven Lau for their wins at last year’s Porsche Parade and national SCCA events! Check it out in the latest Porsche Panorama Magazine.

Image of worn out flowers in South Puget Sound, Washington, Pacific Northwest

YOU CAN SEND ME DEAD FLOWERS

“When you’re sitting there in your silk upholstered chair…”

Maybe you know those lyrics, and maybe you don’t. Yet, everyone who has heard a Robert Ludwig (RL) mastered first UK LP pressing of Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones played back on a great sounding system knows exactly what I’m talking about.

RECORD COLLECTING

If you are after the best reproduction of sound quality in recorded music for any performance you will want to collect direct copies of the original master tape. That’s true for everything recorded up to about 1985. After that most music was recorded digitally.

Of course, direct copies on tape are very hard to find or very expensive, or both. So most serious audiophiles spring for the original all analog LP record created the years the album was first released in the country where the music was recorded, mastered, and cut to vinyl. Continue reading “”

ICM

“Intentional Camera Movement” (ICM) is the hot new topic in photography, joining that other popular image description,”Bokeh”. I’ve been told these terms mean “motion panning” and “backdrop blur”, respectively. Reminds me of the use of “negative space” as just another word for “background”. This new terminology sure makes the person using it sound like they know what they are talking about!

Funny thing is, motion panning (aka ICM) in color photography has been in use since Ernst Haas fist pioneered the technique in 1954 while using ASA 10 original Kodachrome in low light (see his photograph “Bullfight” above). The other art synonyms have been around even longer. Silly me.

4-3-24

HAPPY WORLD PARTY DAY!

World Party, along with the newly coined day, is the name of a band led by the recently deceased Karl Wallinger. He was part of the Celtic group The Waterboys but left in the late ’80s to produce a string of stellar solo albums, including Goodbye Jumbo in 1990. Much of the world never paid attention to this non-grunge record at the time. Yet, in the UK it was hit, it was nominated for a Grammy, and made the best list at Q Magazine. Like all his records, they sound great on original vinyl, but an early CD will do just fine. You can also stream it dumbed down, or hear it remastered compressed and loud on a new CD or LP.

Wallinger’s music is a channeled mix of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dylan, and Beach Boys set to catchy lyrics. There are some lessons for life enclosed in his albums for those who are bored with inconsequential music.

(Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

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SHARE YOUR WORK WITH A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL

Showing your work to your family and friends only goes so far. To receive the most honest and critical evaluation of your photography, choose a professional working in your field to view your best stuff. That way you have a qualified opinion that can help you keep growing in an efficient manner.

(Photo of Randy on assignment: Andrea Wells)

3-20-24

STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM SOUTH TO EAST

Travels With Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck is a good read. so much so that I felt compelled to document my own journey across America at the end of the 20th Century on analog film. I traveled in my camper van over 150K miles in four years, mostly alone, shooting from dawn to dusk. I wore out that van, so I bought another one and photographed for another three years, ending my travels along Steinbeck’s route in 1999.

The first printing of my Steinbeck’s America book is a very limited edition, which is numbered and autographed. The book is 7”x7” softcover with deluxe gloss cover and 156 heavyweight pearl pages with 121 full color photographs.

For information on how to order my photo book Steinbeck’s America, please contact me HERE.

Here are my notes from the third part of my trip.

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CHEAP AND GOOD ENOUGH

If you are a budding photographer who wants to add a side hustle shooting automobiles, make sure you are “cheap” and “good enough”. That way you might get enough gigs to survive your first year in business. If you work really hard shooting cars once a week and practicing Photoshop every day, you may eventually have “something to say” (aka: develop a great eye and a style) that will separate you from the pack. Then you can charge more. If that happens, it can take up to five years, but learning on the job requires that. Remember, it takes 10,000 hours of intense focus to become an expert, technically. Just don’t try to fake it ’till you make it. That never works for very long.

(Illustrator: Unknown)