Ben Wilhelmi

vehicles on the road, USA

this loony was just driving and driving around, obviously on a mission… what a waste of fuel and energy.

 

US roads, photography while driving

 Route 66 but it could have been shot in many other stunning locations...

 

wrecks and old cars, Route 66

Route 66…great sceneries especially in the western part. Is it worth doing? Yes but the touristy touch is a bit too heavy to my liking. It’s so “authentic” you’d think… no mostly just cheap but still funny. And then as I said, the landscapes, and the people.

 

 

see the thing that was mostly cheap? The number “66” is everywhere, just everywhere. Sickening in the end, that spoils a lot. We fucking know we’re on the 66, there are road signs, notices, ads…every 50m. No need for extra double paintings on wreckages. I bet some owners have  their underwear and condoms labelled with something 66.

 

 

and 66 again! Or historic 66 just in case you’re really dumb…

see this lovely blue shop would be better off that bunch of yellow signs or the ‘66’ tyre.

 

finally you see more of authentic America where no one advertise for it. But I’d go again.

wrecks and cool cars, USA

 

Taos, New Mexico, one my favorite vintage cars: a Chevrolet Bel Air ‘56.

 

Some wrecks in Seligman, Arizona, on Route 66

There were dozens of them alongside that main street crossing Seligman.

 

A beautiful Corvette Sting Ray. Hackberry, Arizona, Route 66, another area littered with wrecks, except this Corvette, and in the middle lies an old derelict fuel station transformed in a shop selling  memorabilia about the Route 66.

 

Santa Fe, New Mexico, another dream place for vintage cars.

Even a German VW.

motorbikes, US roads

 

How does this guy manage to pick such a girl? AND how does he convince her to sit on that non-existent saddle 2 inches from those helmet spikes? In case of heavy breaking she gets a facelift for free....

 

A few pictures in Santa Fe.

 

 

 

between Oatman and Bullhead, Route 66

 

 

Monument Valley, Arizona

 

I know I’ve been living in Tanzania for 14 years but even to me this looks like a good road, no? Well the rental companies forbid to use non tarmacked roads. And the local Indian tour operators and guides try to rip visitors off, trying to convince them one needs a 4x4 jeep for this! Well f… them all. Here we were on the Monument valley dirt roads.

Route 66, cars, wrecks, colors

 

old cars, route 66

 

pictures on the US roads

 

Some pictures on the long I 95, between Bullhead (Arizona on the edge with California) going north to Las Vegas.

Karine and the rental Ford. With all our bags and photo gear and shopping goodies, this car size was a minimum to hide everything in the boot.

 

Harleys…the myth goes on. Nowadays, Harley trips can be organised from abroad. Rent your Harley and ride! I try to imagine a French biker meeting a group of hard core indigenous bikers haha. Over the years on US TV shows, I’ve spotted a dozen remarks towards France, usually negative. It seems the smart finger the French gave over Iraq invasion still doesn’t go down well with some people. I’m not French by the way so any attack on my opinion should keep this in sight 

 

No there is no river there, just a funny casino on the border between Arizona and Nevada.

I must say I’m not always keen on the road signs system, a bit messy sometimes. Maybe I would just need time to get used to…

I have to fish for the close up picture of that contraption because this model is the “Serengeti” version!! I’d like to see that monster on the narrow and winding dirt roads to reach the real Serengeti through the Ngorongoro area….

 

many signs like this one were spread alongside highways, usually on the same theme.

Kodachrome, US landscapes

 

Monument valley.

 

Bryce Canyon under snow. It was in May 2010, some storms had burst in the area, lucky us.

 

An impressive thick arch.

 

On the superb scenic highway 12 in Utah.

 

Grand Canyon.

 

Near Zion.

 

Kodachrome was the 1st color slide film, produced in the 30’s, was the best film ever made and was unceremoniously dumped by some bloody short-sighted marketing or economist punks at Kodak a few years ago. My camera was a Leica M6.

on the road, USA

I’ve seen much better marketing than that….

 

those cars had character, right? Look at the ugly shapeless donkey behind the blue Bel Air…

 

road side letter boxes, unseen in Europe.

 

pick a US map and pick all the European names, it will keep you busy for a while. Then the identical names will show by dozens. Like Sacramento. We’re here in Arizona, not near San Francisco.

 

this car wreck must be part of a road safety campaign. Such an old piece of junk must have been left there on purpose. Route 66 near Oatman, Arizona.

 

Ok I’d change the paint but I wouldn’t mind such a toy in Tanzania.

 

typical landscapes nearby towns. Billboards all over. The ad for gun is mind blowing for Europeans….

landscapes on Route 66, neat Oatman, Arizona

 

wildlife from the air, photography

 

It’s not always easy to get pictures of animals at lower altitudes while zooming quickly overhead and holding the airplane controls at the same time . But it’s highly rewarding when it works.

 

Easier when keeping a few hundred meters above.

Flamingoes nesting on lake Natron.

 

Wildebeests and zebras.

 

More flamingoes in Arusha NP.

 

Zebras on a lake Natron delta. And wildebeests a bit further.

 

A lone wildebeest, a bit lost.

 

2 days ago a giraffe enjoying a fast shrinking water pond in the Ngorongoro area.

 

Scared Cape elands on the run (my secret location in case bloody hunters read this blog), these are the biggest antelopes.

 

Zebras again on Natron.

shooting while driving on the US roads

 

either while driving myself or as a passenger when Karine was behind the wheel, I couldn’t help to shoot and shoot again.

funny contraption but I was quite jealous of this dude: I wish I could be on my bicycle for a long trip again and America would be a great location for that.

 

An older truck, much better looking than the modern ones. Another example of vintage design that keeps up.

 

A singer on the road. We spotted a few but they remained anonymous. Smart move if you want to avoid the fan hordes.

 

Moving a half-house. So fragile appearance, no wonder a small storm takes take away.

 

some Kodachrome pictures in the US parks

 

Kodak, killing the golden goose again, stopped that marvelous film some years ago, that is the Kodachrome 64 (after the 25 and the 200). It was still possible to develop it through 2010, so I used some of my last rolls on a road trip in May 2010, the rest in Tanzania. All with a Leica M6, a 28 and a 90mm lens.

Monument Valley, Arizona. Dust storm coming on the top picture.

 

 

Just leaving Zion, Utah.

 

 

Bryce Canyon, Utah. Karine and I were lucky: snow was still hanging around

 

 

Arches park, Utah

 

 

Near Telluride, Colorado.

Monument Valley, Arizona

 

I’ve visited this incredible location twice and I wouldn’t mind to go gain. There were no many visitors which is perfect so one can nearly feel the place is deserted. The absence of tarmacked road also helps a lot. It’s not difficult to imagine this desert was the shooting location of many wild west movies.

Claudia Cardinale was briefly here for “Once upon in the West”. That strikes a cord more than for John Wayne…

 

I can’t help being in awe and surprised when I come across a tree in this harsh environment. Monument Valley post cards don’t help either: seen from far away, it seems the desert aspect is always put forward. So scrubs and small leafed-trees are common in here.

the place is a reserve run by Navajos, so the style is different, more basic than in government-run parks elsewhere. Which is not always a bad thing: except a stall or 2 for souvenirs and a dirt track, the landscapes and vista are left untouched.

horse riding trips are available. That would be awesome, right? My bloody horse and donkey allergies…

at the end of our visit, a dust storm approached, pretty impressive soon.

Route 66, USA, car wrecks

 

I don’t do advertising on my blog, well if Leica or Nikon wanted to contact me I’d listen…, but I make an exception for this company, SmartSign, and their line on Route 66: www.RoadTrafficSigns.com. I had a pleasant chat with the marketing director, Daniel. So for the Route 66 fans, you might want to have a look at their cool products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

beautiful cars on US roads

superbly restored Corvette, Route 66.  (Leica M6 and Kodachrome film)

 

a decorative fire truck, Death Valley.

 

Karine shooting too a rare Chevrolet Bel Air 1956 I think, an unusual mix between coupé and station wagon, Taos, New Mexico. Still  bit of work to perform on the paint.

another Bel Air in Taos, fully restored.

Taos again, a Chevrolet Impala I’d say.

 

Santa Fe was an open museum too for vintage cars.

cruising on US roads, vast landscapes

 

one drives on the long stretches of US roads and never gets bored (well you shouldn’t in my opinion….), specially in the West.

Monument Valley, Arizona

 

a superb national park. Local Indian natives run the place. I was surprised to see so many US flags, even if customized, after what the Indians have been and still go through since white men set foot in and invaded their territories… Some form of resentment wouldn’t be unreasonable…

John Wayne, John Ford…mostly Claudia Cardinale came here for shooting wild west movies.

 

Harley Davidsons in Oatman, route 66, Arizona

 

there were Harleys all over the place and on miles and miles on the roads around. A big gathering was going on for bikers. It made the scenery quite interesting. Oatman, on route 66,  is not much but on a day like this, it gets very much alive. The western movie decoration was hilarious. Some people are really good at exploring their childhood dreams.

 

here was a rarity, a Russian side-car. An Ural maybe?

the main street, for a second I thought these dudes were waiting for us to start a duel.

 

in the past, this couple would have been at risk to come in such a gathering with a Japanese bike. The Hells Angels would have trashed what they considered sissies’ motorbikes. Besides Harleys, few brands were accepted, usually Italian or English. But nowadays real Hells Angels or other tough bikers are not not alone on Harleys.

 

leaving Oatman on route 66 towards California.

more Bikes kept on coming.

Monument Valley, Arizona, photography

one park, not that big but such a variety of colors and shapes. Not to mention the Hollywood historical past in those plains. Many wild west movies were shot here.

Route 66, vintage car wrecks

I heard the CIA had been testing LSD on unaware people for studies. I sometimes wonder if some designers were not on the project. I mean, look at this Cadillac with for example fins like a shark…to think of that is one thing, to dare to submit that to your colleagues is another thing…

colors, America

 

as much as I love B/W photography, it is sometimes hard to resist colors in America…

Monument valley. The rocks are called ‘3 sisters’. Many wild west movies were shot here.

 

billboards on route 66, shot while driving

 

being a keen amateur photographer while driving on any US roads requires some iron-discipline otherwise the temptation to stop every mile or so will hit big time. Still nothing prevents some shooting while the car is moving. Karine and I did that a lot, like below on route 66, Arizona section.

graphic pictures, it’s about time the same kind of warnings are set on cigarette packs… fucking lobbyists and greedy coward politicians!

 

then we left the route 66 at Bullhead on the Californian border towards Las Vegas.

Harley Davidson motorcycles, US roads

We had just left Bullhead City, Arizona, on route 66 going north towards Las Vegas. The road follows the California state line for a bit, overlooking on the Californian landscape, here Mojave nat’l reserve. Karine was driving, I was shooting. The American Way, the myth... still kept alive by many.

another woman really in love of her biker. Her saddle look like postal stamp size type, there is nothing to support her back, and she has to beware the guy’s helmet spikes!! I really wonder what are his secrets….

 

 

campers? I was quite disappointed to realise most of the riders had no luggage showing camping activities. Sleeping bags were extremely rare…. the myth of the wild riders is taking the flak? We had even spotted a group of European riders with a broom van!!

 

 

 

WW II Wehrmacht’s helmets are still fashionable.

 

this guy I had just met while we were refuelling was in fact really friendly, he absolutely wanted us to show up at a big Harley gathering (though we were driving a regular Sedan and my motorbike here in Arusha is Japanese make). The myth of the aggressive Hell’s Angels is dwindling….

 

that big gathering was happening in Oatman, a few miles away on route 66. For hours we saw Harleys on the road, 1000’s, every kind of them, and mostly every kind of riders.

on a road trip, Arizona

 

We had left Sante Fe, New Mexico early morning, driving west. I don’t know why these 2 bikers chose the exact state line limit to stop, under a no parking sign…whichever way cops would come, the bikers could cross the other side under a different jurisdiction?

Each US state have a nickname, here Grand Canyon state of course. Land of Enchantment applies to New Mexico.

 

the scenery changed quite drastically from flat desert to this mountainous landscape. No wonder people like to drive on this kind of roads for hours. Just after entering Arizona, we took a north road towards Monument Valley. Rocks are getting redder and more dramatic. Once in a while a homestead lied at the foot of a rock crop. Spectacular scenery but a closer look usually revealed some junk in the yard, and derelict houses or trailers.

 

this area is under Indian jurisdiction. Here people have been given some autonomy after years of claiming their land back. Poverty seems the rule as it is wildly known and things don’t seem to change much over the years, seen from a tourist point of view that is. Poverty and alcohol were the most striking feats I encountered in a previous trip in the area in 1997. I had just got my flying license in Missouri in a shorter time than planned so a lot of free time and spare cash were available, I had bought an old Dodge to cruise around with no specific plans for a while so I had given a few rides to hitch hikers. Curious to meet people and hear stories.

Monument Valley showing on the horizon! Many films have been shot here. The fabulous Claudia Cardinale was here for Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon in the West”, one example out of many…

I had my stories…quite sad in this area. One hiker, quite drunk at 8am explained a legend about the origin of the beautiful turquoise stones. Some Indian women had preferred to die with their children instead of facing awful treatment under the white man’s rules. So they cried a lot while taking the decision, the tears fell down a river and transformed into turquoise. He was surprised that Custer, Wounded Knee, Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull…were not totally unknown names in Europe.

The man also complained heavily that the government had plundered the country, kicked the native people out, prevented them from living their ancestral way of life, even nowadays that Indians in theory could do it again it became an impossible mission…always 2 sides to a story but sure alcohol doesn’t help.

cool America…road trip pictures

 

this one was the most ridiculous contraption we saw on our trip.

 

isn’t that love ? That too tall girl is clinging on her dude like a backpack. But check the seat! There is hardly any seat, it looks she s sitting on the mudguard. Karine had looked at me with that kind of ‘not even in your dream’ look.

 

a pink helmet on a Harley….?

 

 

Look at the jacket…

route 66, Arizona, scenes

a healthy vintage Corvette.

 

old Ford Model A, I guess.

 

a motel with interesting murals.

 

Chevrolet Impala…

 

back of a Chevrolet Bel Air, station wagon.

 

huh, this one brand will stay a mystery, not enough parts left over to recognise….

dust storm, Monument Valley, Arizona

 

Monument Valley, always admired under a bright blue sky, showing off bright ochre colours…

…like this. The clouds seem never to burst into rain.

 

then the sky got obscured, the visibility dropped quite suddenly.

luckily we had finished our visit by the end of the afternoon.

outside the valley, dust kept on spreading for miles.

isn’t the same very old model, without modifications, of the Fall Guy?

a small Indian homestead.

 

nothing compared with the serious dust storms Arizona experienced a few weeks ago but for a European couple, even though living in Tanzania, this was a bit of a novelty.

colors and shapes, route 66

 

Karine and I loved to cruise on route 66, here in Arizona, without specific plans. We would stop whenever shapes and colors and unusual subjects would call. Well, unusual, that is for a European point of view.

a bit of a Corvette, just before sunset.

 

bit of a Mercury.

 

a GMC pick up.

 

Chevrolet…

 

Chevrolet Bel Air, station wagon. Numerous souvenirs shops dot the route 66, not always painted and decorated with the best taste…

 

Ford.

 

Dodge.

 

open 24/7, only in the US?

Harley Davidson gathering, Oatman, route 66

 

April 2010, Karine and I were cruising along route 66 and arrived in Oatman, Arizona. The little village was invaded by Harleys and some few other brands. A lot of bike equipment and beer were on sale.

Let’s imagine some dedicated music here, like “the Good the Bad and the Ugly”….

Some bikers seemed interesting characters….

seriously there were 1000’s of bikes that day, here in Bullhead on the Californian state line. Too bad we had booked a hotel in Las Vegas that night. One of the very few bookings we had made…