RANDY WELLS – WHERE PHOTOS, VIDEO, AND WRITING ABOUT CLASSIC CARS, TRANSPORTATION, AND AUTOMOTIVE LIFESTYLE MEET – SEATTLE / L.A. DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY – BLOG

STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM WEST TO SOUTH

John Steinbeck’s 1962 book Travels With Charley: In Search of America was so inspiring that I was compelled to interpret my own journey in photos across America at the end of the 20th Century. Here are my notes from the second part of multiple trips.

For information on how to order my photo book Steinbeck’s America, please contact us HERE.

From West to South

At the time John Steinbeck undertook his journey across America he had been confirmed as one of the most significant figures in 20th century American literature. His work included a dozen celebrated novels, a collection of short stories, and several screenplays (Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, East of Eden). His keen sense of the environment and nature, and how man interacted with it, was unique – and in many ways he was a writer of the people. When he accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 he spoke these words: “The ancient commission of the writer has not changed. He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement.” Continue reading “”

STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM EAST TO WEST

Reading John Steinbeck’s 1962 book Travels With Charley: In Search of America in 1992 was so amazing to me that I felt compelled to photograph my own journey across America from 1992-1999 on analog film. Here are my notes from the first part of my trip.

For information on how to order my new photo book Steinbeck’s America, contact us HERE.

From East to West

When John Steinbeck left the safe haven of his Sag Harbor home on Long Island in the autumn of 1960 with his French poodle, Charley, he was embarking on a three month journey to rediscover the land he had championed and loved. He drove north to New England in his self-contained camper truck, which he named “Rocinante” after Don Quixote’s horse. There he visited his youngest son in Deerfield, Massachusetts and a literary friend on Maine’s Deer Island. He then turned west in what could be described as a hero’s journey. He had suffered episodes of numb fingers and slurred speech the previous winter, and at age 58 was contemplating his own mortality. With the vastness of a continent before him, he likened his self-appointed mission to the overwhelming task of beginning a new novel. Undeterred, he undertook his last epic road trip with Charley by his side. Continue reading “”

HOME AFTER MY OFF-SEASON SOUTHWEST ADVENTURE

I was fortunate to have wonderful weather in Arizona, Nevada and Utah this past week. I also made sure my route avoided popular destinations, with the exception of Forrest Gump Point at Monument Valley (it’s far less crowded at sunrise as seen above).

Ten locations in seven days, getting up at sunrise, driving 5 hours, then somewhere else at sunset for the whole week. There were many great opportunities for photos, and my trip went without a hitch, except when an eagle hit the windshield of my rental car – shattering it on the last evening of my trip – two days after a teenager fell to his death trying to make a photograph from a cliff four miles from my accident.

I’m fine and will be returning to the SW USA later this year for more photography, trying my best to avoid bird and deer strikes, and remaining safe on location.

Be Careful Out There. No photograph is worth your life:

19 Year Old Falls To Death

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WHERE TO GO NEXT?

This time of year my mind begins to wander to locales less wet than the Pacific Northwest. Mexico is always good in the winter, but for something closer to home, nothing beats the U.S. Southwest for a feeling of expansiveness and freedom.

THANK YOU PORSCHE 356 REGISTRY MAGAZINE

Editor Peter Bodensteiner was kind enough to approve an assignment for a feature published this month prior to my attending the 2023 Goodwood Revival in southern England. The group I traveled with were Sacramento area 356 Registry participants guided by original Goodwood member Stephen Childs.

You can imagine how much fun it was to dress in period costume while photographing and hanging out with these folks and all the illuminate attending this amazing historic racing event! This is one trip I would do again!

Porsche 356 Registry Magazine