| Creating a Travel Journal |
Most of us take pictures, buy postcards and souvenirs while we are on vacation, enjoying places we haven’t been before. And what do we do with it. They end up in shoeboxes in a closet somewhere?
Share your trip with relatives and friends, or even with everyone in the world.
- Decide in advance how detailed you want your travel journal to be.
- Research your trip so that you optimize any photo or film opportunities (a trip to Vegas isn't complete without a side trip to the Hoover Dam or even the Grand Canyon).
- If your camera is able to record the date, use it on the first picture or film of the day. It will make the end result easier to organize.
- Carry a small amount of file folder labels with you in your camera bag. As you load another roll or film, write a brief summary on the label and place on the film container, or the memory-stick (-card) holder, if you use a digital camera. If you have to download the pictures from your digital camera to a PC, store them in a directory with clear and recognizable names.
- Once home, take the label off the film container and place it on the outside of the processing envelope. When your pictures come back, you're still organized.
- Find a theme and keep up with it throughout your trip. Ideas could be humorous signs, sunsets, people, etc. Insert "Kodak" type moments into your theme.
- A small notebook in your camera case, or the “notepad” on your PC (laptop, notebook) is great for keeping up with the dates and brief notes of the day. It's also a great memory-jogger for the journal later.
- Collect little things along the way that add personality to your journal (a flower you picked, stamps from different countries, coins, ticket stubs, postcards, etc.).
- Once you're arrived back home, make it a stop along the way back from the airport to get your film dropped off for developing. When you have your film developed and printed, consider to have your pictures digitized on Photo-CD as well, because the quality will be much better than scanning the pictures yourself, in case you want to set-up a picture album on your PC.
- Place all the small personal tidbits you've collected in one central place. Gather the items you'll need for your travel journal in the next few days on your travels. Be prepared with everything else, for your photos to come back.
- If your intention is to create a “paper” journal, consider visiting a craft store, as they now have all kinds of interesting and creative papers to use for any kind of travel journal. A three-ring binder with a protective sheet covering makes a great travel journal. Have your favorite photo of your trip blown up and put in the front sleeve.
- If your intention is to create an “electronic” journal, don’t just organize the pictures for easy viewing, use editing tools to give some of your pictures a personal touch. You can also create a journal which you can share with everybody in the world over the WEB.
- Once the photos (or Photo-CD’s) have arrived, take your first free morning and arrange all the ingredients of your journal on a convenient desk or table.
- Now create!
Note that the hardest thing about a travel journal is staying organized - make a promise to yourself to tend do it before you forget all those great things you saw and experienced.
Remember, out of sight is out of mind.
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