32 10-4 Magazine / June 2025 As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by trucks. Unlike many of my friends like “The Boston Trucker” Mike Gaffin and 10-4’s “Poetry in Motion” author Trevor Hardwick, I was not one to grow up in a trucking family. I had to find my way into the industry. When I was younger, photographing trucks allowed me to connect and be a part of what I loved. Whether attending truck shows, visiting a local dealership, parked in a truck stop or parking lot, or even just rollin’ down the highway, I was always photographing trucks. Some of my favorite memories of shooting trucks when I was growing up were with my dad. We had a Pontiac Sunbird convertible back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and my dad and I would regularly make a trip to Peoria, Illinois from Indianapolis on I-74 to visit my grandparents. When the weather was nice, the top went down, and I’d burn through a roll or two of film (remember those) shooting trucks as we passed them while rollin’ down the interstate. I recently met a young man from Montesano, Washington, named Ryan Rosetta who reminds me of me when I was his age. Ryan has a passion for trucks and, like me, has not grown up in a trucking family. I initially met Ryan as his grandmother Liz Barraud purchased one of my 2025 “Cool Photos of Cool Trucks” wall calendars in late 2024 as a gift for Ryan. After she received the calendar, I got a nice email from her telling me how beautiful the calendar was and how much her 14-year-old grandson was going to love it – along with how much he loved trucks. Responding to Liz, I said thank you and told her I write for 10-4 Magazine and suggested he might enjoy reading some of my articles, as well as other authors, here at 10-4. As our online chat was winding down, she then mentioned that Ryan was into photography, and he enjoyed photographing trucks. Curious, I told her that I’d love to see some of his trucking photography sometime. Not long after that, I received another email from Ryan’s mother Danielle Rosetta containing several truck photos, taken by Ryan, or as he likes to call them, his “Truck Spotting” pictures. Impressed by what I saw, I began corresponding with Danielle and asking some questions about her son Ryan. She told me, “Ryan’s been fascinated by trucks and in love with them since he was little,” continuing with, “Anything he could get his hands on about trucks, be it books, brochures, models and other collectibles and toys, it’s always been about trucks.” Later, while talking with Danielle and Ryan on the phone one day, I shared a few photos of some of my trucks that I had operated in the past, including a photo of my old cabover Truckapedia: By Mark Harter Kenworth when I was at Horseless Carriage, and right away, Ryan knew exactly what kind of truck it was. “That’s a Kenworth K100E,” said Ryan, which impressed me right away, the fact that he knew it was an “E” model, and didn’t just say “K100” like many people. While most kids Ryan’s age are consumed by social media and playing popular video games like Minecraft and Fortnite, not Ryan, his video game of choice is American Truck Simulator, telling me, “I have a steering wheel here at my desk so I can drive the truck and even shift the truck I’m driving in the game.” When I asked Ryan what his favorite truck is, he was quick to answer, “The Peterbilt model 379! I love the classic styling and the long hood.” Even though Ryan dreams of one day owning a 379 and being an owner operator, his current love that keeps his passion for trucks going every day is photographing them. “I have a few spots I enjoy shooting at,” said Ryan, referring to the Devonshire Road overpass along US Route 12 in Montesano, WA. “This is my favorite spot to go truck spotting,” added Ryan enthusiastically. TRUCK SPOTTING WITH RYAN
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