Author: Randy Wells

GIVING THANKS – R GRUPPE STYLE

When it comes to pilgrims (in the John Wayne sense), they don’t come much more down to earth than the passionate members of that early Porsche 911 hot rod club named R Gruppe.

The club’s foundations trace back to 1998 when Freeman Thomas of So Cal (modified Tangerine 1969 911E) called Cris Huergas of Nor Cal (modified Light Ivory 1969 911S). Huergas’ 911 had just been published in Excellence Magazine (#76 April ’98), and Thomas was inspired to contact him. Continue reading “”

NEW CANON WALK AROUND LENS ANNOUNCED

Canon recently announced a 24-70 f4 EF-L IS lens available next month. Will this replace my sharp but distortion prone 24-105 f4 EF-L IS lens? I’m not a big fan of the 24-70 f2.8 L lens, even in its improved version II, because of its larger overall size, larger filter size, and lack of image stabilization. Continue reading “”

AUTOMOTIVE FINE ART PRINTS

Last week a new gallery went up on my main photo website Images of America. This gallery features my newly developed automotive fine art. Forty images are up and fifty more are being created for specific markets. It’s been a four month journey crafting a post-processing technique that has lent an expressionist painterly quality to my images, prints and murals. Continue reading “”

DR. NO TURNS 50

Released in the Fall of 1962, an action thriller called Dr. No was unleashed on an unsuspecting public. The film starred a suave British secret agent with codename 007 and a license to kill: “Bond, James Bond.” Moviegoers were also introduced to the Ian Fleming book characters “M”, “Q” and “Miss Moneypenny”.

The debut Bond movie featured the iconic Sean Connery, as well as one of the agent’s top villains, the overachieving “Dr. No”, a brilliant power hungry madman. Of course, both were upstaged by bikini clad Ursula Andress as “Honey Ryder”. Continue reading “”

NEW BEATLES VINYL FROM EMI

I came across a copy of this LP just released today at my local record store: The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – in stereo.

I know what you’re thinking… “Wasn’t this famous record with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr at the top released in 1967? And, Randy, don’t you have the original UK, US, German, and Japanese pressings from that year, plus a bunch more?” Well, yes actually it was, and yes actually I do. Continue reading “”


GOPRO HERO3

Billed as “the world’s most versatile camera”, GoPro’s new HERO3 Black Edition is at the top of many photographer/videographer’s Holiday shopping lists. I’m getting one for Christmas!

According to GoPro, the HERO3 Black Edition captures professional cinema-quality video at 2X the resolution, frame-rate and low light performance of previous models. It’s also 25% lighter and 30% smaller. Photos and video are reportedly improved 3X overall. Continue reading “”

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

As we set our clocks back and say goodbye to Fall, here’s the final (for now) post in my creative process series on photography (a.k.a R
andy’s Photo tips):

“Do not paint the sleeve, become the arm.” -Andrew Wyeth

“In order to see, we must forget the name of the thing we are looking at.” -Manet

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up.” -Picasso Continue reading “”

I’M NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE

Just back from Salina, Kansas where I photographed Blue Heaven Studios’ 15th Annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads concerts. The live music was inspirational and aided by the superb acoustics in the converted church studio. It was a fun-filled weekend hanging out with Michael Fremer, Chad Kassem, Kevin Gray and many others. Continue reading “”

SEVEN DEADLY FEARS

The fifth part in a creative process series on photography:

Inner obstacles can keep an artist from doing their best.

Many professional photographers encounter inner fears that can keep them from practicing their craft or marketing their work. Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these obstacles to growth. Continue reading “”

DECLARATION OF INNER DEPENDENCE

In a nod to the coming election, here’s my take on the Rogue Nation credo:

We are not self absorbed. We are not sheep.
We take risks and pursue the long shot.
We shun personal gain in pursuit of the greater good.
We respect diversity.
We have raw talent and focus on that talent.
We are driven to succeed with our given talent.
We ignore accepted patterns and blaze our own trail.
We are never satisfied to rest on our laurels.
We have one foot in reality but are led by our dreams.

Continue reading “”

THE CARS – LET’S GO!

It was the summer of 1978. The Cars were moving in stereo. They let the good times roll and were just what I needed.

As it turns out, The Cars were just what another million music fans needed too. Recorded at London’s AIR studios, their debut record was so fresh and appealing that it instantly became an AM radio favorite and went Platinum in six months. Continue reading “”