I’m Kirstie McConnell,
Creator of Classico Portraits
I know the intense magic of family travel photos because I’ve felt it
This is the legend of the McConnell family travel album
how one family trip became an album, and then a tradition…
When I was 14, my grandparents told me over lunch that they’d just booked a trip to Europe. I was smitten with the idea and by the time I’d finished my second helping of dessert, I had somehow weaseled my way into their plans! I couldn’t believe my luck.
So I saved up all year. I started working after school – at a pizzeria of all places – and proudly put away every cent I earned into my “Europe fund.”
Six months later we were on the plane, escaping the Australian winter. We were on our way to eat way too much food, see the sites, and explore forgotten villages.
My grandfather was a photographer, and he documented everything we did that trip. For my birthday that year, he surprised me with an album, keeping a duplicate for him and my grandma.
That was the accidental beginning of a long family tradition.
My teenage Euro trip, that legendary album and all the memories it evokes are the inspiration behind Classico Portraits
At some point every visit, time and time again, we’d all huddle around that travel album. It became a ritual to sit and relive those memories together, at the same time making new ones. We’d pass the afternoons telling stories and remembering moments forgotten.
As much as I cherish the memories of that trip, I cherish the memories of sitting down and thumbing through that album together.
That album became a place to gather, catch up and reminisce. My grandfather was so proud of those images and the experiences they provided me, and my grandma still retells the trip with starry eyes to this day.
I lost my grandfather last year and the album and those photos are maybe the most important things I own.
The memories from that trip together are some of my most formative. It’s what inspired me to travel and pursue photography on my own. I am so grateful that I’m able to keep him with me through the photographs he created.
My hope is that your family trip to Italy can be a place to create your own legendary family travel album.
What do you say? Should we put together a family adventure you’ll relive for years to come?
Just like you, wanderlust has charmed me around the globe
Let’s swap stories about the following places:
Fiji
Japan
Denmark
France
Spain
Morocco
Portugal
Italy
Germany
Czech Republic
India
Bhutan
Australia
United States
Mexico
Cuba
New Zealand
Indonesia
Singapore
Greece
Georgia
Azerbaijan
Kyrgyzstan
Uzbekistan
Thailand
England
Austria
If you’re on a desktop- hover over the dark countries on the map to see photographs from my travels!
Years of stories, and now,
years of experience
All that globetrotting has rewarded me some pretty cool opportunities.
I’m still most proud of my charitable work, back home in Australia. I’ve raised thousands for dog rescues and volunteered my photography skills with the non-profit program “Dogs for Kids with Disabilities.”
A short history of my photography journey:
2022: Launched Classico Portraits
2020: Moved to Italy
2020: Published "The Glass Half Full" Clare Valley through Covid-19
2018: Launched "The Pet Photographers Club" podcast & community
2017: Published "Tails of Gippsland”
2016: Published "Tails of Adelaide"
2014: Emerging Photographer of the Year runner up - South Australia
Two Award Winning Travel Images with SAIPP (South Australian Institute of Professional Photography)
2013: Volunteer Photographer for RSPCA Bhutan
2013: Specialized in pet photography - the first in South Australia
2012: Opened my photography business
2011: Graduated with a Diploma of Photoimaging
2006: My Euro trip with the grandparents
