Rejuvenate Your Photography With A Road Trip
Growing up, road trips meant a car full of family. Brothers and sisters jockeying for space in the back seat while playing I Spy for hours. Despite the tight ride, lack of restrooms and endless road, a sense of nostalgia surrounds those trips. Now, as adults and photographers, road trips hold new feelings of adventure and even more, rejuvenate one’s creative spirit. Driving away from the familiarity of everyday life into new landscapes and unknown towns not only provides photographic opportunities along the journey, but can also serve as inspiration when you return home.
Three days is a perfect amount of time to do some exploring with your camera. As a photographer, your road trip isn’t so much about the destination as the things you see along the way. When there are only a few days to travel around and shoot, it’s more likely that you’ll stop to take advantage of photographic opportunities rather then pass them by. Choosing your route is as important as scouting a location and a fair amount of research should be put into where you decide to go. What do you want the focus of your road trip to be? Is it about discovering small towns and photographing undiscovered America? Are landscapes and nature what you are looking for? Would you rather photograph cultural festivals? Whatever your goals are for the trip and wherever you decide to go, it is a good idea to do your homework. Information about towns and events along your route are usually easy to find by visiting any town’s chamber of commerce Web site, consulting a travel guide or by Googling the roads you will be traveling on.
One of the great aspects of a road trip is that you can take every piece of photography equipment that you own along for the ride. You don’t have to lighten your load as you might when you are carrying all your gear through an airport. Bring it all, the digital point and shoot, the film camera, the Holga! This type of trip is all about freedom. You have the ability to go anywhere and use any piece of equipment you want. The lack of restrictions can do wonders for creativity because you never know when the opportunity to use a camera or lens that you normally leave at home may present itself.
Make sure when you’re packing your car that there is plenty of room for other necessities you will need on the road. First of all, bring water, lots of water. You should also stock a cooler with plenty of food. If you are driving down back roads, you may not have the chance to grab something to eat or drink from a local convenience store or road side café. Also, be sure to put gas in your car when you have the opportunity. If you get wandering, you never know how far you are from the nearest gas station. Maps are a must. Even if you looked at Google maps one hundred times before you left, you’ll need a map. Another useful gadget is a battery charger for your digital camera batteries that plugs into your car’s lighter so you can re-charge as you drive. Some of these chargers will also work for computer batteries. It’s always a good idea, especially if you are by yourself, to have a “car trip kit” which includes items such as flashlights, flairs, a small tool kit, jumper cables and a first aid kit.
Summer is a time of freedom, exploration and endless subject matter for photographers. If you have a few days to take a vacation this summer, grab your carry-on bag out of the x-ray machine, put your shoes back on, and jump into your car. Enjoy the journey involved in car travel. Enjoy the landscape, the events and people that you experience along the way. Put your camera in the passenger seat and just drive.
At RMSP our instructors and staff frequently take photography road trips to jump start their creativity. Here are some of our staff’s favorite quick trips.
1. Arizona- Flagstaff to Phoenix via Sedona.
Traveling from Flagstaff down 89A South through the incredible Oak Creek Canyon, you begin at an elevation of more than one mile (even higher than Denver) and wind your way from alpine forests through groves of oaks and aspen to the juniper forests of Sedona. From there, you will find yourself amid the incredible red rock monuments and canyons of Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek. Get on Interstate 17 heading south. This road travels from the dry juniper deserts through rolling grasslands, literally to the edge of the fantastic Colorado Plateau. A vertical drop ensues through Black Canyon and into the unique towering saguaro cactus forest of the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix and all of its metropolitan beauty lies in your view. All told, this thee-hour excursion, takes you from 6,000 feet to sea level and through six different climate zones. Amazing!
Photo Ops:
• Oak Creek Canyon in autumn
• Sedona
• Red Rock Crossing National Park
• Black Canyon Overlook and Black Canyon area for sunsets
• Vistas of saguaro forests.
• All along the way are various side trips available to view Pueblo Indian ruins such as Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well near Sedona.
2. Central California Coast- Solvang to Monterey.
Photographically speaking, the central California coast is literally a postcard-per-minute. Start off in the European-style town of Solvang, amid rolling, oak-dotted farmlands. Travel north on Highway 1 along the winding, rugged coastline. Stop at Hearst Castle and stay at any quaint bed and breakfast in the coastal town of Cambria. Continuing north there are absolutely breathtaking vistas of towering cliffs and islands near Big Sur and Carmel. Monterey is nothing short of spectacular with its fishing village and cannery history, tide pools and abundant sea life. Sunset vistas abound along the whole trip.
3. Montana to Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah
There are so many different geologic changes in the landscape on this trip that the entire route holds endless opportunities for unique images. From Missoula, Montana you head east on I-90; before you get to Butte take I-15 south towards Idaho. As you drive through southwestern Montana and into Idaho you will notice that the mountains get smaller and the landscape turns from dramatic grandeur to rolling hills with far less vegetation. If you hit this portion of the drive after a storm, the dramatic light in combination with the simple yet beautiful landscape, is stunning. Continuing south, you enter Utah and the Salt Lake City area. While you are there don’t miss the Great Salt Lake and its many surrounding salt flats. They offer unique landscape opportunities especially at sunrise and sunset as the colors in the sky illuminate all that salt! Salt Lake City is a good place to stop for the night. With the back drop of the Wasatch Mountains and the city sky line they make for great sunset and night photography. There are tons of photo ops south of Salt Lake City all the way to Natural Bridges National Monument as the land turns from salty white to red sedimentary rock.
Other favorite routes to consider:
The Oregon coast
Northern California coast.
Back Roads of Eastern Montana