Author: Randy Wells

ANOTHER TRIPTYCH.

I had so much fun making the previous one, that I felt compelled to create another triptych. The more you practice your creativity the more access you’ll have to it.

“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” -Andy Warhol

5-25-23

CRAZY DAY

First thing that happened for me today was an email from Vicarious Magazine with a new cover photo of mine and an eight page PDF profiling my Ferrari photography (what an honor!). Look for it this summer.

Then came a post on instagram: @porschepanoramamagazine

It featured my photos of a bright green Porsche Cayman S with an equally bold red interior. The images were published in PCA’s Panorama Magazine a couple of months ago. Wow, that was an even wilder experience with over 3,000 likes and 150 comments in just a few hours! It appears this car’s custom over-the-top build and color combo stirred up a bunch of emotions. I’m just content to sit back and watch as events unfold!

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BONNEVILLE SPEEDWAY

Check out my latest short video made during my time at Bonneville Speed Week a few years ago.

The forecast is for on schedule racing this summer!

Save the Salt…

HERE’S THE SPEAKER FOR LISTENING TO HEJIRA

The 30th anniversary Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus speaker is now available. It’s the classic shell-inspired, four-driver design that still looks out of this world after three decades of production.

This unique pair in Abalone Pearl is a one-off, hand-made to order visual, tactile and aural feast. Built in Worthing, England, each single enclosure takes over a week to build before sanding, painting, and polishing. The waitlist currently stands at over two years. Only $70,000… but you do get two speakers.

5-6-23

HEJIRA

Still one of my favorite albums, full of feeling and imagery.

It is a superb record by Joni, a return to her jazz influences with the amazing Jaco Pastorius on bass. It’s a musical high point, a complete portrait of a true artist following her muse unencumbered. A great road album given the right mood. Still a best listen on LP.

(Cover Photo: Norman Seeff)

MAY IS NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY MONTH – TRIPTYCH

Here’s me having fun with some photos I’ve made that seen unrelated to each other. Together they combine to make an emotional composite of sorts. It’s all about being creative!

ERNST HAAS – THE ART OF SEEING

Ernst Haas (1921-1986) was a pioneer. He received both the first color feature in Life Magazine and the first one-person show of color photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His book The Creation, which I purchased in 1976, was the reason I decided to become a photographer. I later joined him for a workshop in Japan for two weeks during the summer of 1984. The 2019 video link below revisits my mentor’s interviews and films that show his way of seeing.

The Art of Seeing

Photo (R to L): Ernst, Takiko and guide, Japan, 1984

THE NEW PORSCHE 911 DAKAR

“The 911 is the only car that you can drive from an African safari to Le Mans, then to the theatre and onto the streets of New York.”
Ferry Porsche

Imagine a brand new 911 with a rally design package, three inches extra ground clearance, a stainless steel engine guard, a GT3 motor, rally electronic mode and carbon fiber race seats in the cabin, knobby tires and mud flaps, all in a Rothmans livery. Sahara desert here we come!

(Photo:Courtesy Porsche AG)

RUF TURBO R – WORLD’S FASTEST CAR IN 1988

It was my honor to photograph and write about this rare, unique and fast RUF Turbo R based on Porsche’s 993. This very limited edition AWD car (1 of 4) is a beauty and owned by some very nice folks. Thanks again to all at PCA Panorama for publishing this feature in the April 2023 issue. (Click image to make opening spread larger)

4-9-23

Image of tulips in Skagit Valley in the spring, Washington, Pacific Northwest by Randy Wells

SPRING TULIPS IN SKAGIT VALLEY WASHINGTON

The next couple of weeks will be prime time for tulip viewing in the Skagit Valley of Washington State. The bloom is a little later this year due to the unusual winter snow storms.

THE LOS ANGELES PETERSEN MUSEUM “WE ARE PORSCHE” EXHIBIT

From PCA.ORG:

“The Petersen Automotive Museum is known for hosting some of the most impressive exhibitions celebrating the automobile. The museum will once again host a new exhibition, called ‘We are Porsche,’ officially opening to the public April 16. For those who want an extra special experience, they should look into booking a spot on April 15, the opening preview day.

The exhibit features 40 Porsche spanning all eras since the 1950s that tell the story of Porsche progression from boutique sports car manufacturer to powerhouse automaker. From Porsche 904 to 907, 356 to 986, new and old 935s, and so much more, it’s worth checking out ‘We Are Porsche’ whether on opening day after.”

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FIRST CAME CELL PHONE CAMERA APPS, THEN AI. NOW THERE’S GPT.

Artificial Intelligence is readily available for photographs and is in production for video at various platforms like Adobe. Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT) is now being readied by Microsoft and others for word processing text and conversations. The goal seems to be to increase productivity at a monthly cost to subscribers.

In the short term, writing run through GPT will be supplemented with “automated human-like enhancements”. In the long term, everything will appear more and more similar and homogenous, and no longer will that work be copyrightable. Unfortunately, everyone will probably think they are a photographer and a writer aided by AI and GPT, whether or not they have any real talent. It’s a brave new world for the artist, again.

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Image of a man sitting under a palapa in Bora Bora, Tahiti, French Polynesia, model released by Randy Wells

WHERE TO GO IN MARCH

About this time of year I grow tired of the PNW winter rain and yearn for someplace warm and dry.

Tahiti and Australia make my short list, as do closer locales like Hawaii and Mexico. I still pine for that bungalow on the beach in Bora Bora, where I spent a winter week below the equator in 1991.

Cumulus Clouds over AZ

ACCEPTANCE, NOT EXPECTATIONS

Not everyone seeks perfection. In contrast, I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist. It stems from my belief that things can always be better.

As I’ve matured, that trait has been somewhat subdued by my need to be more mindful of others. Judging others and criticizing behavior is not where I want to be. As I let go of that, my life becomes easier. And in today’s world, anything that simplifies my journey is most welcome.

(Photo: Randy Wells – Un-manipulated sky in Arizona)