Category: Travel / Nature Blog

HOUSTON’S FOTOFEST

Next month I’ll be traveling to one of my favorite big cities: Houston, Texas. The purpose of my visit is to promote my forthcoming book, Imagine A Nation: In Search of America. I’ll be meeting with publishers and gallery owners in preparation for 2012, my hoped for publication date. The venue is the famous FotoFest, a biennial photographic community gathering which this year features contemporary U.S. photography. I’m really excited by all the possibilities that lay in store and the people I will be meeting. In my spare time I’ll be sure and take in some ribs and architectural photography!

fotofest.org

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MARDI GRAS IN NEW ORLEANS

February 16th is the date for Mardi Gras this year, and New Orleans is one of the best places in the US for celebrating Fat Tuesday (the French translation for this carnival). If you didn’t get enough of rich foods and libations this past holiday season, here’s one last chance for hedonism before confessing your sins and going on a diet. Continue reading “”

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EXPLORING THE FLORIDA KEYS

This time of year my mind begins to wander to warmer climates like southern Florida. Places like Key Largo and Key West recall memories of Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffet. The word “Key” comes from the Spanish “Cayo” meaning small island. And true to its origin, this tiny string of islands connected by bridges separates the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico.

January and February are the best times to visit the Keys – hurricane season and the holidays are over, but spring break has not yet started. It’s quiet and temperatures are cool: mid 70’s during the day and 60’s at night. There are many unique plants and animals here, and the tropical climate ensures that something is blooming all year round. Continue reading “”

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CANYON DE CHELLY

Ever since visiting these remote sandstone canyons in the ‘80’s, I have been in awe of their subtle and lasting beauty. The peacefulness of this 131 square mile landscape continues to haunt me to this day. It is located in northeastern Arizona within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. This no-fee National Monument preserves pueblo ruins of the earlier indigenous tribes that lived in the area, including the Anasazi and Navajo Native Americans. The name Chelly is a Spanish use of the Navajo Tséyi, which means “canyon”. Continue reading “”

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DRIVING THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST

Travel is a great way to see the world and experience its many cultures. Although it’s very exciting to fly far away to a place like Africa or Australia, local adventures can beckon just as strongly. Introducing his book, Travels with Charley (Charley was a French poodle), the famous American writer John Steinbeck said: “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”

One of my favorite locales closer to home is the central California coast. Continue reading “”

HELLO AND WELCOME TO MY BLOG

I’m starting the New Year in 2010 with this commentary site, which reflects my personal areas of interest and how I view the temporal quality of life. My goal is to post something at least once a week on one of my four major passions: Photography/Video, Classic Porsches, Travel, and Music.

Hopefully I’ll provide a useful perspective on how each of these pursuits can be experienced with more than one unique sensory experience. I plan to review on average one photo tip, one sports car article/video, one journey, and one music album every month.

-Randy Wells

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I MADE THIS PHOTOGRAPH OVER 40 YEARS AGO

Hard to believe today, but this was my subject in New Zealand in the spring of 1980. A boy in a worn Superman t-shirt sitting in front of a corner store on the south island of New Zealand. I remember I had a 24mm f/1.4 lens on my Canon F-1 with Kodachrome 25 film. Seems just like yesterday with my buddy who’s celebrating his birthday this week … wish I was there now.