Why I took my pup on a photo tour road trip (and why you should too)

– December 1, 2020 –

I recently had the opportunity to take a long road trip, for which I didn’t hesitate to take it up. I’m a big fan of road trips when it involves new places (or familiar places I love), so it was a no-brainer to do this instead of the alternative – flying. Sure it was more expensive, but it was the journey that made the trip worth it.

My wife and I are big fans of this place called Cafe Yumm in Portland, OR. We ate there all the time when we lived there and became raving fans of their Yumm Sauce. Ever since we moved to Colorado, we’ve missed the food and the sauce. You can buy the sauce in larger bottles – but in-store (only the smaller containers can be shipped, which isn’t worth it considering how much we consume!). We didn’t have any friends from Portland scheduled to visit (because we always made them bring a few bottles for us), and we ran out of our own stock, so a trip had to be made.

The first option was a quick flight, but I thought if I was going all the way out there already, why not make a trip out of it? I considered staying there for a few days to see friends and do some landscape photography, but then I’d have to go through the hassle of renting a car and finding places to stay. With COVID, I wasn’t too keen on any of those things. As a result, the idea of a car-camping road trip seemed all the more appealing to me.

Since I was going to be on the road, I wanted to give it a purpose. My family always travels as a pack when we go places, but it’s not too often I get to go places with just my baby boy Kylo. Since I was going on this trip on my own, I wanted to make it an opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Kylo. He’s getting a bit older and slowing down just a bit, and me being the “documentarian” I am, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to celebrate the great pup he is and create a photo album of our journey.

husky with half of its head sticking out of the back window of a car

The diversity of places we visited and the settings for the photos we took was outstanding. Colorado is a beautiful state and all, but it doesn’t offer great waterfalls akin to Palouse Falls in Washington or Multnomah Falls in Oregon. Colorado doesn’t have an ocean coast like Oregon. And Colorado also doesn’t offer towering forests as Oregon and California have. I do love taking photos in Colorado, but I also love branching out to new places and capturing Kylo in scenes that I wouldn’t normally be able to here at home.

As intended, the trip was a great time to connect with Kylo individually. He can be a bit of a jealous pup (he always tries to butt in when I’m showering Keke with love), so this trip gave him an opportunity to be the sole subject of my attention. He’s also a super-affectionate dog, so he loved all the extended cuddles and belly scratches he received on the trip. I know the trip helped us bond even more, which seems impossible because we’re already so close. But I love the fact that he received a full week of my undivided attention and he loved every bit of it.

Being able to celebrate the bond between Kylo and I with a road trip is a blessing that not everybody is able to do, so I feel fortunate that we were able to do so. I loved our uninterrupted time to bond, our opportunity to capture photos in new places, and the feeling of knowing that I will now have something that will always showcase our bond and adventures in the form of an album. I know Kylo won’t be around forever, so it’s important that I capture the story of our time together and just how much he means to me.

dog sitting on a rocky beach with a lake and foggy mountains in the background; Adventure Pup Photography

If you ever find yourself in a position where you need to go on a trip and have the option of driving, I really recommend doing what I did and making an adventure out of it. There’s really nothing better than having this dedicated time with your pup.

I see instances all too often where people lose their pups without having truly documented their bond because they think there is always more time to do so. I also often see people who rely on quick cell phone pictures as their way of documenting their pup, but those pictures don’t clearly articulate what it is or why they love their pup so much. I’d hate for you to be among those groups.

When you deliberately make an effort to carve out time for an adventure with your pup and clearly articulate its purpose, you are doing yourself a favor to capture the real story of your pup and your relationship with them. Documenting your adventures with the purpose in mind will help you forever have a story and a memory that transcends time. When your pup eventually crosses the rainbow bridge, that doesn’t have to be the end of the story between you two – because you will have already captured memories and can relive them at any moment.

I can only hope my story helps inspire some of you to create some forever-memories with your pup. Whether that is in the form of going on a road trip photo tour, having a professional photoshoot done, or making a conscious effort to spend more quality time with your pup, there’s no “wrong” way to go about it besides simply not doing it. If your pup is your fur child like Kylo is to me, I’m confident you’ll find the time to do so!

If you’re ever curious about what you can do to help celebrate your pup – please reach out and let’s talk! That doesn’t mean we have to do a photoshoot – I’m more than happy to provide ideas and tips to help you make even the smallest of efforts into something that resonates.

Take care, everyone!