Author: Randy Wells

SETTING THE PACE

Thanks to Aaron Jenkins, Walter Gerber, Michael Collins and John Goodman for their collaboration in producing a story for Forza Magazine using my text and photos. The featured Goodman owned Ferrari/I.DE.A. Mondial-t is a one-off pace-car commissioned by PPG Industries for the CART/PPG Indy Car World Series in the late ’80s. What a hoot it was to drive with that livery and all those safety lights onboard! Continue reading “”

RANDY’S PHOTO: A FINALIST AT THE MOTOR PRESS GUILD AWARDS

Randy Wells’ image of a Porsche Speedster in the snow, “Frozen in Time”, was one of three finalists in the photo category of the Motor Press Guild’s prestigious Dean Batchelor Award. Fellow Panorama Magazine photographer Bob Chapman won the top photo category with his overhead speed shot of a 997 GT3 RSR. Bob and Randy’s photos appeared in the the January and February 2013 issues of Panorama respectively, edited by fellow writing finalist Pete Stout. Continue reading “”

IS THERE LIFE AFTER RACING?

“Racing is life. Everything that happens before or after is just waiting.” Did a race car driver ever speak truer words?

Judging by the reverence with which Steve McQueen’s line from the movie Le Mans is held, I’d say not. Yet, for some racers there is more to “Life After Racing”… like long-time PCA member Richard Sutliffe. Continue reading “”

ROAD SCHOLARS

Congratulations to Cam Ingram, Kevin Watts and everyone at Road Scholars for a banner year in rare collectible car restoration, awards, and sales. And, as always, thanks to Porsche specialist Chris Powell for his support and contributions to my images of the Road Scholars west coast inventory. Their website is a great showcase for my photography. Continue reading “”

JFK REMEMBERED

This week marks the 50th anniversary of U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s assasination on Novemebr 22, 1963. It was undoubtedly the darkest day for our nation and its National Security. Imagine what would have happened if had he not been killed. It’s of any consequence, there’s only 25 years left until the public is able to view the CIA’s documents from that event. Continue reading “”

ART KANE

Some photographers are universally known. Most are not, including a few geniuses.

Art Kane was a NY commercial photographer who was a pioneer in many ways. He is perhaps best known for his 1958 group shot of 57 famous jazz musicians gathered together on the streets of Harlem. Another image he created was the cover of an album for The Who called The Kids are Alright, a reference to London “mods” who embraced the rock group in the ’60s.

Here’s an alternate from that shoot, The Who wrapped in the Union Jack with children included. It was made in the Morningside Park of New York in 1968. He was a master of the 24mm lens.

Continue reading “”

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Black cats have been associated with Halloween since the harvest festival began in about 1745 AD. Although cats of all types have been associated with the occult, black felines in particular appear most often in folklore. Several legends exist, like black cats being evil, causing bad luck, being linked to witches, and many other dark things. Very scary! Continue reading “”

LED ZEPPELIN II – A MASTERING LESSON

44 years ago today, Led Zeppelin released their second album. Eddie Kramer had engineered it, and Bob Ludwig was called in to give the record a “hotter” sound in the LP mastering phase. The resulting pressings have an “RL” inscribed in the run out area of the vinyl. Unfortunately, the dynamics in the grooves made these records unplayable on the inexpensive turntables of the day. So the lacquers were replaced with tamer sounding ones. Continue reading “”

I LOVE FALL

Testing some lenses today and was surprised by the results. Here’s a snap I took with a 1970 Leica 21mm Super Angulon rangefinder lens on a 2012 Leica M9-P camera body from my back door.

There is something special about this vintage optic and Leica’s older Summilux, Summicron, and Summaron lenses. Compared to modern Leica aspherical lenses, they can create a more three dimensional quality and a natural vignetting without correction right out of the camera. Plenty sharp and less post-production! Continue reading “”

NEIL YOUNG – ON THE BEACH BY CASSIUS (SH FORUM)

“Was it the Falcon? The Flying V used on the previous year’s tour?”

“It doesn’t really matter what guitar it was, because it’s the tone that cuts through. It’s the ‘real-est’. The most emotive piece of music I’ve ever heard.” Continue reading “”

“RUSH” PREMIERES

Had a chance to see Ron Howard’s “Rush” in a movie theatre last night and came away very impressed. It portrays the Formula 1 racing rivalry between Austrian Niki Lauda and Brit James Hunt leading to the climactic 1976 Driver’s Championship. Unlike previous motorsports films, it has an absolutely compelling story line and believable character development. It is also wonderfully cinematic in scope with great attention to period-correct details. Continue reading “”