Category: Travel / Nature Blog

BELIEVING IS SEEING

Just back from a relaxing week on the water. A time for reflection and gratitude.

Thanks to all my friends and clients for your support. The assignments have been amazing and my personal projects have kept me busy when I’m not on the road. After some introspection I’m now open to work that includes being a personal photographer for large car collections and travel events.

LATEST COVER

Thanks to Vicarious Magazine for choosing my image of Porsches on the “Tail of the Dragon” in Tennessee for the cover of their current issue. See my travel destination story with more photos inside!

Image of a road in fog at Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee, American east coast by Randy Wells

TAIL OF THE DRAGON

Very few travel destinations have stories I’m excited about. I could do a book on “The Mother Road”, Rte 66, having traveled, photographed, written and read about it for 40 years, and I probably should have for its 100th Anniversary this year. However, I am not known for doing the obvious. I’d rather focus on the meaningful and overlooked.

Tennessee’s “Tail of the Dragon” is not necessarily overlooked, especially for sports car and motorcycle riders, but the twisty mountain road is just part of the story. What surrounds it, the people, the scenery and the experiences, just make it that much better.

I’m back home now after a couple of days driving it. Good times! Sorry rental car. Don’t worry it just needs an oil change, new tires and brake pads.
Look for a travel article in the future.

A BUSY TIME OF THE YEAR

Randy Wells, Seattle, Santa Barbara, Car, Photographer, Automotive, Photography, Image of the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, Pacific Northwest by Randy Wells

In the life of an automotive photographer and writer, there is always something to do. Much of it has to do with running a business: contacting clients and car collectors, sending estimates, and planning for the next assignment. Yet, the best part of my job remains the creative side: making photographs and writing.

When I’m not on deadline, I have a chance to do the creative part for myself. Fall is always a great time of the year for that, even if I tend to be busy with tying up summer projects. This year, I plan on traveling from my base in Seattle to the Columbia River Gorge. That’s where I can be free to make landscape images that are both abstract and informative. Fall color will be peaking there soon. Check it out!

TIME TO FLY A DRONE

As the weather in the Pacific Northwest continues to warm up and greenery is at their greenest, it’s time to capture some aerial images. The Palouse of eastern Washington is a great place to fly, as long as there are no crop dusters around.

(Photo of Randy and drone by Andrea Wells)

2-6-25

THE GALAPAGOS

As has been reported, overcrowding at selfie spots in Italy and Greece has led to pushback from locals. Consequently, aware travelers are veering away from the perceived artifice of major hotspots in favor of more authentic experiences. Here’s one for the adventurer who wants to get off the beaten path. Quito, Ecuador is a well-preserved city that is the oldest capitol in South America. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is a gateway to the Galapagos Islands. The islands are very protected with just a few groups allowed to visit each week. There you will see but not disturb primeval wildlife that exist no where else in the world. Not a bad way to go, especially during this time of year.

(Photo: Ernst Haas)

ANALOG MAN IN A DIGITAL WORLD

Here’s my airport security tray shot… Apparently this is the coolest thing to post on the web since your meal: Stuff in a gray bin that you think people might like.

I’ve always been different. My motto is to do the opposite of what everybody else is doing. You can probably tell I don’t follow fads, since I’ve been using one of these Leicas since 1984, and my cellphone is not made by Apple.

My tray is filled with stuff I’ve owned for years that I actually use. These cameras cover the film days to digital to the good enough cell phone camera. To be honest, I’ve never sent all this stuff through airport security on the same flight, but they’ve all been around the world.

8-5-24

OVER-TOURISM IS AFFECTING RESIDENTS ADVERSELY

It’s been going on since I can remember, but the increase in tourists and snap shooters in the past ten years has become unbearable in certain locales. Just last summer, I saw it happening in the National Parks, Paris and London, and this year it has reached a breaking point as many flock to the Olympic Games in Europe. From idyllic settings like Santorini, Greece to Hallstatt, Austria, residents are protesting, occupying roads of entry, barricading “selfie” spots, and taking over the beaches. I don’t really blame them. It’s part of the reason I switched from being a travel photographer for a dozen years to an automotive filmmaker in 2004. I was seeing the changes and realized that I was part of the problem.

(Photographer: Unknown)

LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

Wherever you are, now is the time to relax and let all your concerns drift away. For me, that means being on the water of Puget Sound in Washington state. Exploring the environment on a boat has been a part of my life from the time I was a child in Alaska. I hope you are enjoying what you love today.

Ferry, WA

WESTERN WASHINGTON TRAVEL STORY

PCA does it again with my newly published travel story for those looking to explore western Washington state this summer. It’s no secret that now is the best time of year to come to Seattle. Rather than hanging around the city, my advice is to hop on a ferry and head to Bainbridge Island. From there you can explore some of the best attractions this NW state has to offer, including more destinations like Whidbey and the San Juan Islands. Another option is to head to the Okanogan via roads north and east of the Puget Sound. I’d avoid the more touristed areas like Mt. Rainier and the like. Too many people.

3-20-24

STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM SOUTH TO EAST

Travels With Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck is a good read. so much so that I felt compelled to document my own journey across America at the end of the 20th Century on analog film. I traveled in my camper van over 150K miles in four years, mostly alone, shooting from dawn to dusk. I wore out that van, so I bought another one and photographed for another three years, ending my travels along Steinbeck’s route in 1999.

The first printing of my Steinbeck’s America book is a very limited edition, which is numbered and autographed. The book is 7”x7” softcover with deluxe gloss cover and 156 heavyweight pearl pages with 121 full color photographs.

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

Here are my notes from the third part of my trip.

-Randy Wells

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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 “”