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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

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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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HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY

“PUT THE MESSAGE IN THE BOX, PUT THE BOX INTO THE CAR, DRIVE THE CAR AROUND THE WORLD, UNTIL YOU GET HEARD”

World Party was a somewhat obscure band led by the recently deceased Karl Wallinger, who left the Celtic group The Waterboys to produce a string of stellar solo albums, including Goodbye Jumbo in 1990. Except in the UK, much of the world never heard this record at the time, although Q Magazine loved it. It’s best on original vinyl, but the CD will do just fine. You can also stream it dumbed down.

This music is a channeled mix of The Beatles, Rolling Stones 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.

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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. It can take up to five years, but learning on the job requires that. Just don’t try to fake it ’till you make it. That never works for very long.

(Illustrator: Unknown)

STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM WEST TO SOUTH

John Steinbeck’s 1962 book Travels With Charley: In Search of America was so inspiring that I was compelled to interpret my own journey in photos across America at the end of the 20th Century. Here are my notes from the second part of multiple trips.

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

From West to South

At the time John Steinbeck undertook his journey across America he had been confirmed as one of the most significant figures in 20th century American literature. His work included a dozen celebrated novels, a collection of short stories, and several screenplays (Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, East of Eden). His keen sense of the environment and nature, and how man interacted with it, was unique – and in many ways he was a writer of the people. When he accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 he spoke these words: “The ancient commission of the writer has not changed. He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement.” Continue reading “”

STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM EAST TO WEST

Reading John Steinbeck’s 1962 book Travels With Charley: In Search of America in 1992 was so amazing that I felt compelled to document my own journey across America at the end of the 20th Century on analog film. Here are my notes from the first part of my trip.

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

From East to West

When John Steinbeck left the safe haven of his Sag Harbor home on Long Island in the autumn of 1960 with his French poodle, Charley, he was embarking on a three month journey to rediscover the land he had championed and loved. He drove north to New England in his self-contained camper truck, which he named “Rocinante” after Don Quixote’s horse. There he visited his youngest son in Deerfield, Massachusetts and a literary friend on Maine’s Deer Island. He then turned west in what could be described as a hero’s journey. He had suffered episodes of numb fingers and slurred speech the previous winter, and at age 58 was contemplating his own mortality. With the vastness of a continent before him, he likened his self-appointed mission to the overwhelming task of beginning a new novel. Undeterred, he undertook his last epic road trip with Charley by his side. Continue reading “”

SEPIA IS THE NEW BLACK

PCA’s national Porsche magazine, Panorama, has published a feature of mine on two Sepia Brown colored 911 Targas separated by 50 years in age. Richard Raimist is the owner who so helpfully provided these perfect Porsches on location in Palm Springs at the annual Porsche Parade last summer. Lots of details and comparisons between them fill ten pages accompanied by my images made at sunrise. Enjoy!

Porsche Panorama Magazine

HOME AFTER MY OFF-SEASON SOUTHWEST ADVENTURE

I was fortunate to have wonderful weather in Arizona, Nevada and Utah this past week. I also made sure my route avoided popular destinations, with the exception of Forrest Gump Point at Monument Valley (it’s far less crowded at sunrise as seen above).

Ten locations in seven days, getting up at sunrise, driving 5 hours, then somewhere else at sunset for the whole week. There were many great opportunities for photos, and my trip went without a hitch, except when an eagle hit the windshield of my rental car – shattering it on the last evening of my trip – two days after a teenager fell to his death trying to make a photograph from a cliff four miles from my accident.

I’m fine and will be returning to the SW USA later this year for more photography, trying my best to avoid bird and deer strikes, and remaining safe on location.

Be Careful Out There. No photograph is worth your life:

19 Year Old Falls To Death

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WHERE TO GO NEXT?

This time of year my mind begins to wander to locales less wet than the Pacific Northwest. Mexico is always good in the winter, but for something closer to home, nothing beats the U.S. Southwest for a feeling of expansiveness and freedom.

Sacramento group from L to R
Front row: Kathy Ungari, Laura Kolafa, Vicki Childs, Stephen Childs, Mary Borden, Kim Nelson, Rachel Nelson.
Back row: Randy Wells, Frank Kolafa, Bruce Ungari, David Borden.

THANK YOU PORSCHE 356 REGISTRY MAGAZINE

Editor Peter Bodensteiner was kind enough to approve an assignment for a feature published this month prior to my attending the 2023 Goodwood Revival in southern England. The group I traveled with were Sacramento area 356 Registry participants guided by original Goodwood member Stephen Childs.

You can imagine how much fun it was to dress in period costume while photographing and hanging out with these folks and all the illuminate attending this amazing historic racing event! This is one trip I would do again!

Porsche 356 Registry Magazine

WILL IT BE A HAPPY NEW YEAR?

“In an increasingly polarized world, one of photography’s most profound strengths is its ability to cultivate empathy and compassion across cultures. At its best, photography can transport us into unfamiliar environments, activities, and viewpoints. It reveals the humanity in people whose lives and backgrounds differ vastly from our own. Photography has a transcendent way of building understanding and sympathy by showing us new perspectives.” – Alex Cooke of FStoppers

(Randy Wells at photo shoot, December 2023)

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CELEBRATING THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS BLOG SITE!

Happy New Year!

It seems unbelievable to me, but when I started this blog site at the beginning of 2010, I never thought I would publish over 1,000 posts.

As simple as it might sound, way back then, I made it my goal to post something about photos, films, music, cars or travel on a regular basis every week. Somehow I stuck to it. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have!

(Photo of Randy: Somewhere in England 2023 by Andrea Wells)