How to Photograph a Family RoadtripKristi Bonney photographs Sky Country, ghost towns, and hotel downtime with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and 18-270mm VC PZD lenses. |
Article by Jenn Gidman Images by Kristi Bonney |
Two cars, four kids (ages 3 to 17), one dog, and two Tamron lenses proved to be the perfect recipe for a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country roadtrip for Kristi Bonney and her family late last year. "We moved from Missouri to Washington State and drove a total of six days and nearly 2,200 miles," Bonney says. "We started in Missouri and drove through Iowa, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming before arriving in Washington." |
Kristi and her clan winged most of their journey, with only one planned stop at Mount Rushmore. "That was the only major point of interest we knew we were going to hit ahead of time," she says. "Everything else was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of thing. That's how we found some of the quirkier, cheesier attractions (like the Corn Palace in South Dakota) that added to the fun of the trip." |
Kristi brought her Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD and SP 24-70mm VC lenses to document their on-the-road adventures. "Both lenses are super-versatile," she says. "The 24-70 is so fast: That F/2.8 maximum aperture is great for low-light conditions. And the 18-270 offers such a wide range, letting me do landscapes, portraits, and whatever else I wanted to focus on. I especially couldn't wait to use it at Mount Rushmore." |
Read on to see how Kristi approached photographing her family's adventure. |
Soak up the scenery and use the landscape as the ultimate backdrop. |
We drove through Sky Country, which is just amazing, with its big blue skies and dramatic clouds. It's simply breathtaking. I'd often focus on the sky and use that negative space to create powerful images. |
Many of the images I took were inspired by what I saw out the window of my car. I wanted to capture what it felt like to be on the road. In the more desolate areas, I'd just get out of my car, stand in the road, and shoot (though I don't necessarily recommend people do that - use your best judgment). |
I also tried to find photo ops in unlikely places. We needed to use the bathroom, so we pulled in to this abandoned ghost town. It turned out there were no bathrooms, but we spent at least 20 minutes there so I could photograph everything - I couldn't tear myself away from the photo op. |
Don't just go for the "big picture" - seek out details and textures. |
The Tamron lenses let me get creative with not only my composition, but also with my focusing. We drove by a silo at one point, and we stopped so I could get some images. I took a few shots of it in focus. Those came out OK, but I really wanted to capture more of the mood and feel of everything around the silo. It was windy that day, the wild grass was blowing in the wind, there was a crisp bite in the air. By selectively blurring out the silo and focusing on its surroundings, it triggers all of those other details in my mind when I look at the photos now. |
Add your own personal touch to landmark images.
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I also have a personal photo project I've been doing that I got a chance to work into my Mount Rushmore images. I had an emotional cancer scare last year, and after it was all over, I decided I wanted to find a neat way to photograph my life's journey. What I've been doing is photographing my red Converse sneakers everywhere I go. On this trip, I photographed my shoes in every state, and at Mount Rushmore. A few weeks ago, Instagram even shared that picture on its site. |
Capture details that you wouldn't normally think to capture. |
Take a picture of your spouse coming out of the gas station with snacks in his arms, or photos of the kids goofing around in the car. It's all those little things you'll want to remember from the trip, not just the scenery. For some of the shots, I would hold the camera against my chest with one hand and my kids would press the shutter button for me. It was truly a team effort. |
We were glad to finally arrive in Washington, and there were a couple of times when things were a bit of a challenge. But looking back on everything now, the trip was so much fun. I'm glad we had that experience as a family and that I was able to get so many wonderful images. |
To see more of Kristi Bonney's images, go to http://liveandloveoutloud.com. |