Ben Wilhelmi

US roads, photography while driving

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

 

some vehicles, America

 

Route 66, a superb Chevrolet

 

 

our rental car dwarfed by a regular SUV…

Home made contraption in Santa Fe. Try to put that thing on a European road... The lousy administrations, in just about every department, will have orgasms just to trash your dreams or requests…

 

even the Range Rover looks small!

 

Chevrolet Bel Air 1956

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.

Roadside photography, between Arusha and Nairobi

 

The road used to be awful but has just been resurfaced last year. So the trip is now smooth, for now as cracks on the surface already appear. Thanks to Chinese quality… The scenery is pleasant but the real show happens nearby villages and towns. I always check the names on shops, bars, hotels etc. Originality and the no fear no shame concept are common. I’m sure diplomats would love this place.

Karine loves to drive herself, so I just keep my camera handy and snaps away.

 

The Kenyan cops could be nicknamed Starsky and Hutch...for the age of their cars. This is a picture from last week but that venerable Peugeot 504, station-wagon, has been on the roads for much longer. Kenya used to manufacture various Peugeot models under license after Peugeot stopped the by-then current model. So this one must be from 1980?

 

How many 20 liter containers on this cart? This man doesn’t need a gym membership.

 

A mentally challenged woman, she was behaving strange on that main road.

 

Elections in Kenya are planned for the 4th March. Let’s hope we will not witness the same violence as in 2007.

 

 

Masai man in white sneakers watching life goes by.

 

At the border post, Namanga, that’s where the show is. Seriously I could spend hours there just watching. Various business places, various people like Somalis, a lot of activity, bright colors hardly cover the poverty. I’ll make a special post on Namanga soon.

More names: why beehive for this highly 'hygienic' butchery? Another common scenery: those carcasses hanging on a hook. We also were so sad to miss a chance to sip a cup of tea in that lovely tea room.

 

We spotted 2 of these cyclist within a week, on the same road. I was a bit drooling, remembering my own bicycle trip from Arusha to Cape Town some 10 years ago. My bike looked like this one but I was not sporting the same funny outfit. The face was entirely covered too, maybe a Japanese biker, but we think it was a she. And alone on the road.

The second biker was cycling on a dirt track towards Amboseli park, very isolated so we stopped for a chat, gave him water, a newer map of East Africa, some fruit. We were heading to a nice lodge, he was planning to camp under the starry night. We could give away our reserve.

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

 

on the road, USA

 

Yes! Somebody walking in the US!!

 

Too funny these 2…

 

this guy doesn’t listen to his mother! I’m sure she has told him many times to wear a helmet or at least a hat for the sun. Seriously I can’t believe some US states don’t require the helmet for riders. In a country where one sues anybody for any moronic reason, so by now some wounded bikers would have sued some legislators because they were not told it was dangerous to ride without  helmet… worse in Florida, the law was reversed under Jeb Bush and it’s not compulsory anymore. Just like his bro’ he must have been rocked too close to the wall when he was an infant….

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

abstract art in rotting cars, US roads.

 

even if the weather is dead hot in Arizona, cars still rot. So sad for those vintage wrecks. But keep an eye peeled and colors and shapes jump at your camera.

Cool cars, USA

cool car, Cadillac 54 if I’m right, and cool dude. Supposedly the best Elvis impersonator. Las Vegas of course, where else?

 

Seligman, somewhere on route 66.

 

 

rent a RV but you got the ads included. Too bad if you were looking for low profile. Quite an un-American feat anyway, low profile…

 

homemade with leftovers of a 1932 Ford A and more… Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

Taos, New Mexico, not short of beauties either. Mexican-owned Chevrolet.

Chevrolet Bel Air 1956.

 

Page, Arizona, a typical monster truck to go in Antelope canyon. I’m dreaming of having the same modifications done on my Land Rover 110, so I could crush all the driving morons in Arusha notorious traffic jam.  And it could be useful too in many streets of Arusha “city” or in the Tanzanian bush.

on the US roads

the US roads…a thesis or 2 could be studied out there.

a nearly superb Chevy Bel Air 1956.

 

just out Zion nat’l park, a rental recreational vehicle. Nice deco.

 

legendary old truck. Well that’s how we consider them from Europe. The very scenic Highway 12 in Utah, near Bryce Canyon. Snow! I hadn’t seen snow for 15 years.

 

I remember these vans from television shows when I was a child, that is in the 70’s.

 

Capitol Reef, another beautiful area between Bryce Canyon and Arches nat’l park. Mom will be pleased to notice my hat. Perfect to protect my chrome dome.

 

curious accident on a long straight road…

 

Santa Fe, a curious home made car cruising around. Had a chat with the driver and he told me there was nothing easier to register any of your creations on wheels on the US roads. Try that in Europe with our glorious administrations… So this guy salvaged a very old and rusty Ford model A body, some V8 engine and various parts, glued and welded them together and pronto, the unfinished beast is on the road. Imagine the thing much higher on wheels and it would be cool on the Arusha dirt roads.

the owner must have too much time on his hands: when he wants to paint his masterpiece, he’ll have to dismantle everything again…

 

another Bel Air, pristine this one, in Santa Fe. Karine and I agreed that we could live out there. Artistic people gather there, many galleries are packed in town, incredible landscapes around, not too far from nat’l parks…

Paris, vintage cars in B/W

 
B/W film, Leica M6.

Steve Mc Queen's Ford Mustang in "Bullit". What a beast, huh? Paris got a few hills but nothing to match San Francisco.

 

more of the Ralph Lauren's collection. A Ferrari above and 2 Alfa Romeos below if I remember well. And I remember well that pictures were forbidden...a concept I just can't stand in exhibition places.

and a Jaguar below. What a profile...

 

a Citroen 2CV, a myth! The big competitor of the Beetle, well at least in Europe since the USA refused to let them in for some obscure safety reasons. On the other hand, and I love America for its numerous paradoxes, no problem for junk and OGM food or free guns for all (especially for the unspotted retarded...)

Starting in the 40's the last French 2 CV was built in 1989 but Chile kept on assembling them for a while under licence. Like the Beetle the general shape hardly changed, no need to change a winning team. I used to have a bright red one and loved it so much I wish I had one here. The conditions would be perfect as over the decades those cars were notorious for handling world trips without problems. I saw one the Kenyan roads.

 

a bit older, here are a bunch whose drivers stopped by for a take away at Fauchon restaurant, here is the Fauchon doorman.

 
 

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.

 

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….

Paris, street pictures, b/w film on Rolleiflex

 

near the Trocadéro.

 

suddenly these tuk tuks were all over the place in Paris. I don’t remember them the previous years….

 

Karine and I thought this detail of the Eiffel looked like a piece of sexy underpants dividing imaginary buttocks.

 

place de la Madeleine.

 

all shot on a 1961 Rolleiflex 3.5F and b/w films

on the US roads, cool vehicles

 

well cool to be used as a broad meaning. This kind of car is not for my taste but still funny to watch (and hear coming). We're in Sante Fe and its great adobe houses.

each town or county in the States seem to have its own color scheme for police cars.

One of the few vintage cars we saw that looked restored as the original.

 

 

long road across Utah near Arches nat’l park.

 

Austrian travellers on their long range modified VW Combi, Arches NP.

 

Telluride Colorado, a pretty sky resort but quite sleepy at this time of the year, April. Most shops were closed for the low season.

this Toyota Land Cruiser BJ is quite a rarity. Quite common on the Tanzanian roads though.

 

Quite a rarity in such a macho group: a purple truck… a snowy landscape in Colorado.

 

“my” Land Rover Defender. Equally rare, I hardly spotted any in the States…Silverton and its colorful houses, Utah.

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?

vintage cars on US roads

 

a funny home made contraption in Sante Fe.

nicely restored pick up in Page, Arizona. I had never seen a beetle with a trailer.

some wrecks on route 66, Arizona.