Category: Travel / Nature Blog

9-19-23

BACK FROM GOODWOOD REVIVAL, HEADING TO RENNSPORT REUNION

This year has been all about car meets and motorsports for me. Checking off bucket list items has been a pleasure, and I feel grateful to have been able to do it on assignment. Along the way I’ve also been able to do some studio work and on location storytelling. I’ll need some time this winter just to catch up on all the jobs I’ve taken on!

Stunning aerial image of Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Tahiti by travel-photographer-randy-wells-videographer-filmmaker-cinematographer-storyteller-writer-location-and-studio-specialist

TRAVEL IS NO LONGER ON MY BUCKET LIST

I don’t believe that travel is anywhere near as enjoyable as it was 25 years ago.

That doesn’t mean I don’t travel much. I’ll have been to Palm Springs, Phoenix, Monterey, L.A., Ireland, France, and England on assignment this year.

It’s just that I don’t have a bucket list anymore. I’ve seen a lot, and what remains is not something I have to see in my lifetime. Well, maybe a return to Ireland, Bora Bora, and Rome (off season) would be nice.

Vox’s Rebecca Jennings recently wrote. “But it all ends the same: with thousands of people doing the same things, in the same places, at the same times.” I would approach bucket-list travel in ways that are respectful to both yourself and to the places you visit. Seek out undiscovered locations or travel during the off-season, and support local businesses with your arrangements and accommodations.

THE OTHER SIDE OF PARIS

I arrived in Paris last month on the eve before the riots began. While photographing the Arc de Triomphe the next morning at dawn, I made this photo with police vans and cars on their way to what were the districts in turmoil. Only later did I understand the significance of this image.

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.

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.

RED SKY IN MORNING

… Sailors take warning. It’s an old adage, along with studying clouds, that has proven helpful for me in predicting weather conditions for photography. Here’s a red sunrise I was gifted with at the harbor in Ilwaco, WA recently.

Merry Christmas! The holiday that celebrates the birth of a fisher of men.

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9-8-22

QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Britain’s longest-reigning monarch died today at age 96. I was in London the week Princess Diana was killed in Paris. If this next week is anything like what I saw then, and it surely will be, it’ll be something to experience. The English have always had a special relationship with the queen mother, and it will on full display everywhere.

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MY FATHER WAS CHUCK WELLS

Chuck Wells and his Alaskan king crab boat, the F/V Shaman, from 40 years ago were little known on the Internet until an on-line article appeared last year.

My father was one of the shrewdest people I’ve ever known. He was way ahead of his time. Although he made and lost millions, I’m still proud of him. I made this image onboard in 60 knot seas, which was our limit for pulling 800 pound pots.

When he stopped fishing crab in the late ’90s, the concept of a “World’s Deadliest Catch” dramatic TV documentary was just getting started. Continue reading “”

BACK FROM PORSCHE PARADE

Once again, the Porsche Club of America sent me to cover their annual Parade. This year the big event was held in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. Over 1000 Porsches attended, among them this rare 1992 Euro Carrera 911 RS in Raspberry.

Thanks to the whole Panorama Magazine team for all the good times and photo ops. Look for my features to be published in the coming months.

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INSTA REPEAT

Here’s an image I made in the late ’80s. It was extensively published in print and has been copied since by other photographers many times. With the advent of social media, this phenomenon is in hyperdrive. Shooting for the approval of others (i.e. chasing likes or followers) is just plain dumb. It’s almost as bad as photographing for unsustainably low pay. How bad are things? Just check this out:

INSTA REPEAT

JUST BACK FROM A LONG ROAD TRIP

It’s good to be back home, but it’s also exciting to have had such a productive journey last month. I photographed 15 cars, 11 of them in 4 days, and made some new friends in the Porsche 356 and 911 communities along the way. Here’s a photo I made with my Leica Q on a windy day along Rte 66, one of my favorite roads.

5-16-22

R GRUPPE TREFFEN

St. George, Utah near Zion National Park was the location of last weekend’s 21st R Gruppe Treffen. About 50 early Porsche 911s made the trek from parts across the USA. Here’s a shot above of a Silver ’72 made from a ’70 coupe all the way from Seattle. A majestic setting and a great group of people.

Randy Wells

LUCKY STILL

I wrote this to a talented professional automotive photographer struggling in today’s world:

“Don’t be bothered by some of the stuff you see happening from those trying to make a living as a car photographer today. For the most part, they either have financial backing or cannot see the effects of the low fees they accept for their work.”

“Understand that most will never achieve what we were lucky enough to experience in the past. What we did then (and still manage to do today when the client has a budget) is considered a glamour profession. And it can actually feel that way when you are shooting, being treated fairly, and see your work published. Continue reading “”