A Road Trip Photo to Remember
This addition to our “How I Got the Shot” series is extra special because the photo in question is the cover photo of our latest issue: The Road Trip Issue. While we spent hours daydreaming about hitting the open road while working on this issue, our cover photographer, Pierce Gainey, actually took to the streets to capture our beauty of a cover image.
When the Road Trip Issue was still a fledging concept, we knew we wanted to recreate the vibe of a van cruising winding mountain roads — a pretty common motif — but, of course, it needed a South Florida twist to fit what a road trip would look like through our neighborhood. The road we chose, just north of the Boynton inlet, hit that sweet spot perfectly.
Of course, we also needed the perfect vehicle. Thankfully, our friend Ben Hicks — whose name you may also recognize from photography bylines — has an envy-inspiring truck that we could take for a spin. His custom-built Toyota Tundra TRD Pro is powered by lithium installed with Built Right panels in an effort to extend ocean conservation from his work to his truck. And, let’s be real, it looks sick.
With a location and a vehicle, we hit the pavement. Pierce rode in the truck while carefully maneuvering the drone to maintain the car’s speed and avoid obstacles like trees and power lines, all while keeping his shutter finger ready. “This was a team effort that allowed us to safely operate the drone, safely fly above the vehicle and avoid any issues with obstacles within the flight path as well. What’s great about using the drone, I was able to fly ahead and scope out the road, clearance and any other technical aspects that I knew I needed to solidify before capturing this photo,” said Pierce.
Of course, this Kodak moment took a few tries. “I would say we roughly did at least 10-15 passes along this stretch of road in order to capture the correct photo. This specific photo was one that we knew was going to take multiple attempts to achieve what we captured,” said Pierce.
Count us grateful for those 10-15 mini road trips that bore the iconic photo now on our cover of our Road Trip Issue. We think it perfectly encapsulates a coastal journey straight out of South Florida’s playbook.
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