Clément Belli: America through his lens.

Behind the wheel of his Kenworth W900, he now criss-crosses North America, with a camera never far away. Under the signature Clems Pictures, he brings back images that make you want to hit the road. We handed him the controls of this report on the photo side.

The Ken in front of the reliefs of Monument Valley: Clément had this image in mind for a while. During a first visit with his daughter, he had scouted the location and imagined how to position his rig. All that remained was to return with the truck, find the right window and obtain permission to access the site. When a delivery run gave him the opportunity, he knew what he had come for.

This photo is today his favourite. You understand why. The long bonnet of the W900, the colours of the landscape, the western film scenery: everything that attracted him from the other side of the Atlantic fits within the frame. Except that Clément did not come for a few weeks of holiday. He lives in Quebec and crosses these landscapes while working.

We first exchanged on social media, between truck and photography enthusiasts. Equipment, light, framing: there was no shortage of subjects. A trip to North America then allowed us to meet and continue the discussions. From there were born a TruckStop video and the desire to tell his story in these pages.

For once, we reversed the roles: all the photos in this article are his. His work deserved better than to remain a subject of conversation.

The first miles in Switzerland

Clément is 45 years old. Born in Belfort, he spent thirty-five years in the Territoire de Belfort, then a few years in Annecy, before settling in Lévis, on the south bank of Quebec.

His father drove in public works. As a child, he accompanied him on construction sites, in quarries and during machinery moves. The truck is learned from the passenger seat, with its sounds, its smells and its days whose end time is not always precisely known.

He passes his C and EC licences in 2004 and starts working the following year. The border is nearby, his father already works in Switzerland: Clément makes his debut there directly.

He starts in multi-skip, transports sand and gravel, then moves to tanker. From 2010, he delivers fuel oil and diesel to private individuals, farmers and service stations. He then moves to semi-trailer tanker to supply different sectors of French-speaking Switzerland.

Geneva, Lausanne, the Valais: after thirteen years, he knows his territory. He still enjoys the trade, but wants to see elsewhere. Canada has already held a place in his plans since adolescence. A personal separation finally decides him to try the adventure.

Welcome to Quebec… in the snow

The forests, the wide open spaces, the winter and the North American culture have attracted him for a long time. Quebec also presents a practical advantage: you can start a new life there in French without having to wait to perfectly master English.

Before leaving everything behind, Clément makes the trip. He wants to see the region and meet an employer. He contacts only one: Transport Jacques Auger, whose trucks he has been following for several years on social media.

The meeting goes well. The immigration procedures are launched and, on 14 February 2019, he arrives in Quebec in the middle of a snowstorm. To discover the Canadian winter, it would be hard to be more direct.

The company lends him a vehicle while he gets settled. He sorts out his administrative formalities and begins his training. His tanker experience constitutes a good base, but he has to learn the local equipment, the delivery procedures and the workings of the refineries.

Accompanied by a lead driver, he therefore resumes field operations. His first truck is a Mack. He quickly moves to a new Freightliner Cascadia, with a bunk, table, small armchairs and large refrigerator. The cab already announces a different way of living the trade.

From the North Shore to Texas

During his two and a half years at Jacques Auger, Clément seriously expands his range of action. Fuels, chemicals, carbon dioxide: the loads vary, as do the destinations.

He travels through Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. On the North Shore, the succession of climbs and descents demands keeping a cool head with rigs that can reach 57 tonnes. The distances and terrain quickly impose their habits.

In the United States, he discovers notably Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, New York State and New Jersey. Then comes a first great run down to Texas: departing Quebec empty to go and load engine oil, before heading back up to Montreal. The kind of run that gives a very concrete idea of the size of the continent.

Other assignments take him to the mines of north-west Quebec. On certain tracks, several hundred kilometres must be covered without mobile phone coverage and with few infrastructures. In winter, nights in the truck can be spent at −30°C, or even lower.

The America he dreamed of includes this too: isolation, cold and journeys that require preparation. The scenery is superb, but it never exempts you from paying attention.

W900: he has found his place

Mercedes, MAN, Renault, Scania, Iveco: Clément drove a good part of the European brands before discovering Mack, Freightliner and Kenworth in Canada. It is at the latter that he finds the truck he prefers.

After a first Mid-Roof W900, he moves to the Studio Sleeper. Two bunks, numerous storage spaces and a large cab: for someone who is sometimes away for more than two weeks, space matters.

His current truck dates from March 2022. Under the bonnet, the 15-litre Cummins X15 develops 500 horsepower, paired with an 18-speed manual gearbox. Clément picks it up in October of the same year, with around 120,000 kilometres. It is then only six months old.

Today, the odometer has passed one million. The engine, gearbox and clutch are still original.

The Kenworth belongs to his employer, but it has been assigned to him for several years. Clément has added a few personal touches: lights, some interior fittings and a wooden floor, easier to clean. He did not seek to multiply accessories.

What matters to him is to keep the truck clean and well maintained despite the work. In Canada, that demands consistency. Several months of salt, sand and bad weather attack the rims, the chrome and the underside. Preserving a W900 that travels so much demands more than a wipe with a cloth before the photo.

The kitchen is on board

On long runs, Clément mainly uses the lower bunk. The large refrigerator allows him to bring enough to last several days, while a converter powers the computer, the television and other equipment.

No microwave: he cooks almost every day in his cab. A habit that comes into its own when spending complete weekends away from the terminal and not wanting to depend on roadside restaurants at every stop.

He works today mainly on flatbed, with 48 or 53-foot aluminium trailers. Timber, metal structures, snowmobiles manufactured in Canada and destined for the United States: the loads regularly take him across the border.

A run to California or Oregon represents between 11,000 and 12,000 kilometres return. A classic week is around 4,500 kilometres; some exceed 5,500. Journeys can last sixteen or seventeen days, with several border crossings.

At this scale, the cab becomes a living space whose every storage space is known. And the comfort of the Studio Sleeper finds a very real purpose.

Heading west

When talking about his favourite destinations, Clément looks towards the American West. Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona: there he finds the spaces he wanted to discover when leaving Europe.

He appreciates the landscapes, of course, but also the possibility of stopping more easily and enjoying them. Not all runs leave time to play tourist. When the opportunity arises, however, he knows how to seize it.

One day, at −5 or −6°C, he spots steam near the road. He discovers natural baths fed by a hot spring, accessible from a river. He stops and spends nearly an hour in the water, in the middle of the landscape.

The stop was on no programme. Yet it remains among his good road memories. After days of following schedules and preparing the next stages, being able to grant oneself a break of this kind also counts in the pleasure of long journeys.

Monument Valley, finally in the frame

For his Monument Valley photo, on the other hand, Clément had prepared his shot. His first visit with his daughter had allowed him to look at the location without having a rig to manoeuvre and a delivery to ensure.

When he can return with the Kenworth, it is not simply a matter of finding a lay-by. Access to the site's tracks is regulated. He therefore requests permission to enter with his rig, then can position the W900 in the setting he had chosen.

The result brings together his two passions, with an additional satisfaction: having produced the image imagined during the scouting.

It is a less visible part of his work. A photo of a truck in a beautiful landscape sometimes seems to come down to luck. Yet you have to have noticed the location, know how to access it and be able to return at the right moment. Not forgetting to place several tens of tonnes exactly where you wish to see them in the viewfinder.

Delivery first, photography after

Clément did not wait for Canada to get out the camera. In Switzerland, he was already photographing his truck in front of a service station, at a delivery location or when a landscape caught his eye.

With time, he learned to choose his angle and to pay more attention to the setting. The arrival in North America gave him new possibilities, with modern vehicles, varied environments and certain stagings carried out with the agreement of his employers. Clems Pictures gradually took shape.

The trigger can come from a light, a truck or a road. But a beautiful image glimpsed from the seat does not justify an improvised stop. You have to be able to park safely and take schedules as well as deliveries into account.

So he scouts and keeps the idea in mind. It sometimes happens that he waits for another run in the same region to take a photo. Sometimes the light or the conditions are no longer the same. That is part of the game.

During his rest days, he also photographs trucks encountered at truck stops, gets out the drone or rents a car. The latter choice allows him to explore places where he could not take his rig. The road provides the opportunities; it is up to him to find the time to exploit them.

A different view of the trade

This work also interests us for what it shows about transport. Clément has already received testimonials from people who, thanks to his images, look at trucks differently.

A careful framing allows you to notice a cab line, the maintenance work or the place of a rig in a landscape. The vehicle that some see only as an obstacle on their journey becomes a subject to which they pay attention.

It is a point on which we find common ground. At TruckStop, we like to show the machines, but also to know those who drive them and to understand their daily life. Clément's photos make you want to know more about what happens between two shots: the loading, the kilometres, the stops and the constraints of the journey.

His taste for American equipment has moreover not erased his interest in European trucks. A fine DAF, a MAN or a Scania still catches his eye. He appreciates both cultures and feels no need to rank them.

For his own wheel, however, his choice is made. He had the opportunity to move to a more recent truck of another brand and preferred to keep his W900. If he could own one tomorrow, he would choose a new W900.

More kilometres and more images

Clément occasionally attends truck shows, generally with his camera rather than with his truck. He wants to continue developing Clems Pictures around transport and also envisages exploring other subjects, notably agriculture.

Our meeting also gave him the desire to think about video. Telling the story of a run, showing the landscapes crossed and explaining life on board could find their place in vlogs. The idea appeals to him; it remains to free up time and find a format that works with his activity.

For the Kenworth, no major project planned. The objective is to continue maintaining and preserving it despite the kilometres. On a personal level, Clément wishes to remain in Canada and obtain, in due course, Canadian citizenship.

He left a sector of French-speaking Switzerland that he knew by heart for runs that can take him as far as the Pacific. His camera already brings back beautiful pieces of it. And when a next delivery brings him back in front of a setting scouted months earlier, he will no doubt know exactly where to position the W900.

Text: AP Trade Vision Photographs: Clément Belli — Clems Pictures