I spent the day yesterday finishing my on-line printed photo book of my 2019 trip to France. I told myself that I couldn’t take new photos of Italy (coming up in June) until I finished this project! Actually, it was a lot of fun once I got started.
In 2020, when I had to cancel trip plans, I had several canvas photos made at Costco to make a nice arrangement on my office wall. It still makes me smile when I see them.
I am curious what you do with your photos. Anything creative?
Jean, I also make a scrapbook of our trips. I also make scrapbooks of our everyday life. I can usually fit 2 years worth in each book. I just devote a page, maybe two, to birthdays, weddings, births, deaths, the holidays, a fun day at the zoo or beach, by month. I asked my two daughters when we go to please keep at least the family scrapbooks as a record of our lives. At least these books have dates, places, and names of relatives unlike most paper pictures we have.
My trip scrapbooks helped me during the beginning of the pandemic when we were locked down. My husband and I relived our trips, looking at the books and reading my journals.
Jean , On each trip , always a long one in the Autumn , I take about eight to ten thousand shots . Not all of them are good , but I can choose with a great deal of flexibility. A lot of them are architecture , holdings in museums , and historic locations . At home , I load them into my computer , which is connected to a fifty inch high resolution flat screen TV. We spend a fair amount of enjoyable time seeing them this way , they come alive with the kind of luminosity , that I used to see in 35mm transparencies projected on a screen .
I have been making photo books. I finished a number of them in the last two years. My husband and I have fun reliving the memories as I work on them. My husband organizes our photos for each day of our trip which makes it easier for me to pick and choose a few favorites to include in the book. But if I couldn’t travel again until I finished the books for all of our trips my travel days would be over.
I try to buy a photo album during the trip that hopefully reflects the destination. For example when in Italy I have been able to purchase ones made with Italian paper. This forces me to choose a sampling of the best photos (harder now with digital as we take more photos) which go in the album with a brief description. The rest are saved on google photos.
They are screensavers on my TV, which displays a slideshow of whichever trip I've chosen to revisit.
I limit myself to ten images from each journey.
The limit forces me to focus solely on selecting images capturing wonderful memories.
The limit also forces me to select images of the highest visual quality.
Why ten?
When you present images to others for their consumption, what do you think is their visual limit? And when I post images a constant comment is appreciation for the quality of images in composing a "story" and being few in quantity.
I literally will shoot a 1,000 images during a 14 day journey so editing out the "noise" of so many images is a task requiring great discipline. I usually do not edit the images until I am returning form the journey and typically start while on the plane ride home. I also make a point of having completed the selection within two weeks after the end of the trip.
I use to do photo scrapbooks of my kids, sports, events , etc. but they are grown and to much time. I probably should do grandchildren (3), but haven’t thought much more.
Vacation trip ….I scrapbook all of our European trips, since hubs and I go to Europe now. Done them since 2006. I have also started making a Shutterfly Christmas ornament for each trip. I have done about 6 canvas prints from Walgreens. Now I heard about fracture glass prints. So I have done about 8 so far. Only ones that I have done trips with him. My woman travel cave walls are full now. I have to find an empty wall to incorporate my fracture pictures along with some counted cross stitch art work that I did for five different countries.
I make a calendar for the upcoming year with the pics from the current year. I've done this since a trip to Disney 15+ years ago. The calendar hangs on the fridge so we are reminded of the previous year's trip every day.
We are taking two trips this year - I guess I will have to have calendars on the fridge and freezer!
I do absolutely nothing - they just sit there on the computer/phone. I don’t take many photos. My husband takes several thousand each trip, particularly if on a safari or bird watching holiday. He edits a few of the best and posts them on various photography websites - 500px etc.
I post my favorites on Instagram for myself and others to enjoy.
My house is decorated with some travel pictures - I have three different collages framed - in different rooms so it’s not like all you see is my travel photos! Also several 5x7s on a bookshelf along with books and other decor. I don’t add new photos to it much so my latest trips aren’t represented.
Otherwise…not much. My iPhoto is organized into albums by year so I can click on the 2022 album then the Portugal trip sub-album. And I do look at the pictures.
I’m thinking I should start making photo books. Might do one today…
I post a selection to my website that is nothing but photos of most of our trips. We can access them from anyplace.
We used to make a CD and run a slide show on the big screen TV in the background during parties. Dont have a set-up to do that now. We usually find one good image of us that we use as for Christmas cards (yes we still mail cards the old-fashioned way). Wife makes a highly edited scrapbook of each trip in case someone wants to see them (rarely). But honestly, we have hundreds of photos on the computer from trips up to 5 years ago that we've never looked at. Now we greatly reduce the photos we take and enjoy looking at everything in person more.
I share some on Pinterest & Tripadvisor. I have two electronic picture frames - I rotate in/out picture files on a theme: Family, Scandinavia, Dogs, etc. I've scanned all my old physical photos & postcards & thrown most of the paper originals away in my drive to de-clutter. And I have selected a very few photos I really liked printed on glass with Fracture Me.
I make music videos! We love to rewatch them about once every year or so. Makes it more special.
I do a combination of a photo album for myself and one for my mother if she is with me on the trip and YouTube video on my site for family to see.
My wife and I went on our "bucket list" European trip in the summer of 2019 - Oslo, Berlin, Freiburg and a Viking Danube River cruise. We created a calendar for 2020 as well as a book that we gave for Christmas gifts to our parents and relatives. Images are also laptop, desktop and phone screensavers. One photo in front of the Triberg Waterfall mirrors a photo of my parents taken in the 1990s and my great grandparents in the 1930s. We also had "mixtiles" made - they are inexpensive 8" x 8" photos posted on 1" deep frames that self-stick to the walls. The uniform size made it simple to layout a grid of photos on our living room wall. We chose about two dozen of our favorite photos for the display. What I love about them is that my wife is smiling in each and every photo - not something that can be said of either of us all the time. Each of us has caught the other "getting lost" in one mixtile or the other more than once. Just one problem though - we have no more wall space for our (we hope) 2024 trip to the Rhine Valley and Amsterdam.
I use them to illustrate my blog, which is mostly when we travel, and I use them as screen savers on various devices. We have had 5 or 6 mounted on canvas or metal for display which not only delights us with memories but are great conversation starters with guests. Two of those we have mounted were made into covers for our 2022 books.
I have found that you have to enjoy your pictures all by yourself. I have made photo books, but they are for myself. Even such a book is hard to present and be appreciated by someone else. Most people’s attention lags substantially.
Travel photos and stories are a lot of in one ear and out the other. To tell/show them to people who do not or can not travel can be seen negatively. After all, how do you like it if someone tells you about a fabulous thing they have done that is totally out of your reach. And if speaking to another traveler, it often becomes some sort of oneupsmanship, boasting exchange of experiences and stories.
Last couple trips I have taken many less pictures than in the past. I have thousands on my computer and seldom look at them. Plus, my attention is not on getting that photo (everything) and I can actually enjoy the moment.
I think the reality is that no one cares, and they will care even less when you are dead. With that thought I have saved hundreds of hours selecting, pasting, looking, searching, and creating anything in regards to pictures.
In the past people had physical photos. Perhaps someone gleaned through them. A big maybe. Nowadays on the computer they are even less accessible to your family and relatives. So best not to look at them as any kind of legacy or memory. In effect they are clutter and garbage.
Of course to get to this point I indulged in my fantasy of great photos that were worthwhile to me and to anyone I showed them.
We used to make photo books, but in reality did not spend time looking at the books once they were made. ALL of my photos are in iPhoto...and I like it when iPhoto notifies me that a video has been made of a memorable event or person...which I have shared with the family.
Every year we make a Shutterfly calendar, matching photos of each month of the previous year for each of the 12 months. During the pandemic when not many photos were taken, I began adding photos from the previous years to each corresponding month. That way my favorite photos/memories can be viewed again. Of course, many photos are of the grandchildren because they have changed so much in 15 years.
For the past two years, I have made a second calendar, using just photos of our trip to Europe. It takes me awhile to narrow down each month to just 9 photos; each carefully chosen for the memory it evokes.
I think treemoss2 is on the right track, but perhaps a bit too maudlin. Don't regret your pictures, put them in albums for yourself but don't expect anyone else to care. Which is just fine, if you are taking pictures just to show to others, then why are you taking them?
We now live in a world where anyone can pull up a fistful of pictures from anywhere in 15 seconds. If there was ever any novelty, it's long gone.
Totally disagree with Phred and treemoss2. How I wish that my granparents had done something with their photos other than toss them in a box, only to be lost years later. Now, there is only one or 2 photos. I keep my photobooks for my kids, who love to look at how they have changed through the years. My photos are my memory. If I have a picture, I remember it!
I am mostly with treemoss2. I have quit taking pictures. I used to drag along $2000 worth of photography equipment and shot dozen of rolls of film. On my last trip using film the processing bill was nearly $300. I bought my first digit camera shortly after that. I now carry a small, compact, high quality pocket camera and, maybe, shoot a hundred pictures for the whole trip. I probably have several thousand slides, negatives, etc. sitting in boxes since we first hit Europe in 72. Now it has to be very special for me to pull out the camera.
Culp3, I just looked up the mixtiles that you mentioned. My husband is going to be SO excited to hang those - LOL! Thanks for the idea. I will take some photos of unique features in Italy during this next trip to create some fun on my piano room wall or hallway.
Lulu348, music travel photo videos would be wonderful! That’s actually part of the reason why I hadn’t made my 2019 photo book earlier. I used the feature on my iPhone to have it create a short music video on one day span of my trip. I enjoyed those so much that I procrastinated on making this last book.
Treemoss2, I think there’s a lot of truth in your comment:
“I have found that you have to enjoy your pictures all by yourself. I have made photo books, but they are for myself.”
I have made the printed on-line books for each trip, and we enjoy looking through them, especially during the Covid years when we didn’t travel. But, the photo books of the trips I did solo are really only special to me. Yes, people like to scan the books on our display shelf, but “the why” of each photo selected can’t be adequately conveyed beyond that it’s a beautiful photo.
I know that when I die, the books will probably be tossed, and I am okay with it. (We have family vacation photos, casual photos, etc. to choose.). My travel books were made to bring back wonderful memories to my husband & me and that they have done and more. Our adult kids have their own travel memories to treasure.
Aimee, I love looking at people’s photo display “stories” in their homes, too!
I make zillions of CD copies of all our photos. Then send those off to all our friends. Then for many months afterwards, I ask "what did you think of the CD we Sent You? " LOL :)
I'd like to start creating wall galleries of travel photos but I'm a bit intimidated by that kind of project. We moved to a new house right before covid hit and the wall I have in mind is still empty and crying out for attention!
Roubrat, I really like the idea of the mixtiles that were mentioned above.
For my home office wall, I had 7 photos enlarged on canvas through Costco. I made two rows, five columns - 10 total spots. Some of the canvas are vertical & some horizontal. Every column has the same top line & bottom line. Pictures are: 4 16x20”, 1 16x12”, 2 12x16”. The other three empty spots in the total of ten spots are filled with a small framed Venice painting, a black wood carved decorative “tile”, and one of my cooking class framed diplomas from Italy.
It was a very interesting outcome. Of all of the places we have visited in Europe over the 10+ trips, none of the top tourist destinations other than the Venice painting & Loire Valley made the final cut. It reaffirmed how much I enjoy the places found from on-line researching during the winter months.
Jean, that sounds really nice. I'm definitely going to stop procrastinating and start creating these walls.
Generally I post in albums on social media, as much for myself as anyone else. I also occasionally do reviews (on cruise critic for the most part) which include lots of pics. I do enjoy going back and rereading my reviews or social media albums - it’s a great way to relive the fun. I get some printed and hang on the wall, but not as many as I would like. Have actually been contemplating the Mixtiles for our upcoming trip. But I know we will be downsizing in the not too distance future, so may wait until that actually happens to order actual prints.
I also decided to do a travel blog for this trip, vs using social media.
The related issue, and it's at least a whole thread on its own, is what level of tech do you need to take pictures that are "good enough" for your intended usage.
FWIW, the travel mags like T&L and CNTraveler print reader pix and include tech info. More and more of them are being taken with cellphones, because cellphones now are better than digital cameras were just a few years ago. So keep in mind that once you loosen up on the obsession with pixels and prime lenses, you can take a bunch more pictures to enjoy however you wish.
I take photos and my husband takes videos. He has Sony Vegas Pro editing software that he combines the two together to make a movie production quality film. The purpose is for family and to preserve our memories. Funny Story, he leant our London Video to a friend who went on vacation and when he came back the person who house sat for him had watched our video and said it was one of the best travel videos he had seen and wanted to know where he could get a copy!
I have photos of our travels at work on my desk (that I have not been to in 2 years) and three photos above my work station at home that are just city, beach scenes There are various framed photos of my husband and I in London, Paris, Rome, Dublin, Cinque Terre and they are the things in my home that make me smile the most.
We currently have two trips that we need to document...my husband has to be in a creative mood to do the projects.
We have 6-5x7 photos in 8x10 frames hanging in our kitchen and another 6 in our living room. After every trip we replace one or two with updated photos. I take around 1000 photos on a trip, delete about 900 and usually find one or two that we call "wall-worthy." Before each trip I usually have a few photo locations in mind, but it's rare that these locations make the wall. It usually ends up being something spontaneous that reflects the spirit of the trip or the site that ends up being wall-worthy.
“ It usually ends up being something spontaneous that reflects the spirit of the trip or the site that ends up being wall-worthy.” Allan, this made me smile because it’s the essence of travel!
Some on my wall are places I found during research, dreamed of exploring them, so the anticipation was already very positive before arriving. Two that come to mind are Frigiliana, Spain and Menton, France. Others were that “spirit of the trip” feeling.
I take my I-phone travel photos for me- it's my hobby. I do make a Costco 12"x12" photo book right after the trip, when my extended jet lag makes me pretty useless. Uncombed hair, baggy yoga pants, a diet cherry coke, and working on my photo book. [Now THAT is NOT photogenic!]
My photo books did help me during the covid lockdown. I cherished the memories the photos unlocked.
On a trip, to keep the number of photos from becoming unmanageable, I do edit and delete every evening. Usually my sleep habits while traveling are irregular, so I work on the photos instead of being frustrated with waking up at odd hours. And I use train time when traversing thru non-scenic routes to edit.
I do like the Costco canvas prints. [I'm not so happy with the acrylic prints because of the heavy glare factors.] I have a "collage wall" to hang prints, and I can rotate and/or eliminate photos as my mood changes.
Fun reading everyone else's habit.
Safe travels!
I put my travel photos online (in a blog) but also just store them in the cloud. Once after I traveled to Prague and Austria with a friend, I made a photo book of our trip. She really liked it, and keeps it on her desk at work.
There are some great ideas here, though - thank you all for some inspiration!
I just uploaded my photobook for production last night for our October 2021 trip to France. I do these mainly for me, and I look at them a lot. DH doesn't look at them very much, but once in awhile. I spend a lot of time designing each page, and somehow that helps solidify the memory. There are a few people in my life who are genuinely keen on looking at my photobooks, but as previous posters have said, not many. I've also had a couple of my photos done as canvas prints.
I guess I'm unusual in that I love looking at other people's photos. Most at my work who take a trip show me their photos. I can spend ages pouring over them, asking all kinds of questions, especially when I know the person well and have interest in their destination.
