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Randy Wells is well known worldwide as a car photographer based in WA and CA. His automotive photography has been voted among the best in Seattle and 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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Image of Chad McQueen, son of Steve McQueen, at the Rennsport Reunion III at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Florida, American Southeast

CHAD MCQUEEN HAS PASSED AWAY

It is with great sadness that I write, along with many others, how sad I am to hear of the passing of Steve McQueen’s only son. Chad is survived by a son Chase, his daughter Madison, and their grandmother Neile. Steve Jr. is another son of Chad’s, and his wife is Jeanie. My condolences to all. I met him a few times, and he was always very kind to me. Chad would have been 64 on December 28. Godspeed.

NEW COVER IMAGE

Thank you to Richard Baron, Creative Director at Porsche Club of America’s Panorama magazine, for picking this image of mine for the cover of the current issue. This cover photo is especially gratifying, as it was not easy to pull off. Thanks again to all at PCA for your continued support.

Porsche Panorama Magazine

PCA PNWR PORSCHE GRAND DISPLAY AT CARILLON POINT

Carillon Point in Kirkland, WA was the site of this year’s Porsche Grand Display in the Pacific Northwest. What fun it was to see everybody and their cars, while photographing with a 70-year-old Leica lens on a modern Canon R5!

PHOTOGRAPHY HAS BEEN NAMED THE MOST LETHAL ACTIVITY AT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

According to a report by NBC News, “National Park Service data revealed that there were 205 fatal falls across the entire park system in the U.S. from 2014 to 2019 — the most recent year for which data is available. At the Grand Canyon National Park, 14 people were killed in fatal falls in the same period. Photographing accounted for four of those unintentional deaths.”

Be careful out there! Don’t assume anything and don’t fall.

ALEX XYDIAS R.I.P

Another icon of the Bonneville Salt Flats has passed away. He was 102 years old. Alex Xydias was best known for driving the famous So-Cal streamliner in the early days of auto racing. In the late ’40s, he created the first version, made from a drop tank powered by a Flathead Ford V-8 60, built with the help of Dean Batchelor.

With assistance from Neil Emory, Rod’s grandfather, the car morphed into a version that won the Salt Flat Racing Association’s first Hot Rod Trophy at the 1949 Bonneville Nationals, with a speed of 193.54 mph. It would become the first to exceed 200 mph. Alex also opened the So-Cal Speed Shop in Burbank, one of the first of its kind in Southern California. I had the good fortune to meet him once at the Dean Batchelor MPG awards.

COLLATERAL

Twenty years ago, one of director Michael Mann’s finest crime drama films was released. Written by Stuart Beattie, Collateral was nominated for two Academy awards. It tells the story of a hit man (Tom Cruise) and a taxi driver (Jamie Foxx) driving around L.A. contemplating life while Cruise does his business while trying to avoid the cops (Mark Ruffalo). If you liked Heat you will like this one too.

8-19-24

HAPPY WORLD PHOTO DAY!

BONHAM’S FERRARI 330 GTC SELLS FOR $692,500 AT AUCTION

I recently photographed this Ferrari 330 GTC for Bonham’s Quail Monterey auction, along with some other collector cars for Bring a Trailer.

This is one sweet looking ride.

(Photographed with Canon R5 camera and RF 24-105 mm f/4 lens)

FASTER THAN 400 MPH

There are only 13 people in the world who have driven faster than 400 mph in a piston-powered car. George Poteet did it more times than the other 12 combined. The King of Amateur Landspeed Racing, who said he never got a speeding ticket, has died at 76. He topped 400 mph at least 55 times, in a carbon-fiber-clad vehicle called “The Speed Demon”. -TWSJ

(Photo: Mark Gewertz, The Wall Street Journal)

8-11-24

LIFE 2.0

It’s a feature of mine that is gaining a lot of attention for its soulful and encouraging message. It’s a story about a PCA couple who reinvented their lives to version 2.0 with two Porsches, a GT4 and a Boxster GTS. Check out the online version of PCA Panorama.

8-5-24

OVER-TOURISM IS AFFECTING RESIDENTS ADVERSELY

It’s been going on since I can remember, but the increase in tourists and snap shooters in the past ten years has become unbearable in certain locales. Just last summer, I saw it happening in the National Parks, Paris and London, and this year it has reached a breaking point as many flock to the Olympic Games in Europe. From idyllic settings like Santorini, Greece to Hallstatt, Austria, residents are protesting, occupying roads of entry, barricading “selfie” spots, and taking over the beaches. I don’t really blame them. It’s part of the reason I switched from being a travel photographer for a dozen years to an automotive filmmaker in 2004. I was seeing the changes and realized that I was part of the problem.

(Photographer: Unknown)

LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

Wherever you are, now is the time to relax and let all your concerns drift away. For me, that means being on the water of Puget Sound in Washington state. Exploring the environment on a boat has been a part of my life from the time I was a child in Alaska. I hope you are enjoying what you love today.

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

This song from the Talking Heads album Remain in Light gets better the older I get. Produced and cowritten by Brian Eno, it was recorded 24 years ago. Eno was also one of the mixers and played keyboards, guitars, bass guitar, percussion, and backing vocals. Still sounds great on vinyl.

MICROSOFT AI GETS IT WRONG AGAIN

The CEO of Microsoft AI Mustafa Suleyman has shown an alarming ignorance of copyright law after he claimed that all content on the open web is fair use. – PetaPixel

“I think with respect to content that’s already on the open web, the social contract of that content since the ’90s has been that it is fair use. Anyone can copy it, recreate with it, reproduce with it. That has been ‘freeware’, if you like, that’s been the understanding,” Suleyman says.