My camera helps me remember better!
 

Every once in a while on this forum, a debate ensues concerning the pros and cons of taking a lot of photographs on a trip. With photography as my #1 hobby, I naturally have always been on the side of "more is better." I'm fortunate enough to be having a photo exhibit in my local library starting tomorrow. I was asked to write some comments explaining why I take photographs and what they mean to me. I thought a couple of my comments might help explain to non-photographers what makes us tick:
"I take pictures of things I want to remember. They can be sights/sites that impress me or I may just want to capture a moment that I saw, that was my personal, unique experience. Sure, postcards may contain better photographs, but they weren't my moments!"
"Do I spend too much time looking through my camera's eye when I travel? I think not. I know that I am capturing something that will live long after my memory doesn't serve me as well as today. In the movie Avalon, I remember the family patriarch's comment after realizing that part of this past environment no longer existed. His words were something like,'If I had known it wouldn't be here, I would have remembered better.' My camera helps me remember better."

I usually buy postcards of the "major sites" (I collect them) as well as take my own pictures. The pictures I take of the major sites are never "nicer" than the postcards, are always full of tourists, but also contain either myself or my friends. I also like taking pictures of stuff like my favorite café, how people park their cars, some stranger's funky shoes, my dinner plate, interesting graffiti or wall murals, etc.

I agree with Howard. There are a lot of places I've visited where the image in my mind has gone fuzzy. But the places where I have photos remain sharp and clear and I can share them with my friends! I also buy souvenir books (not guide books) of places I've been to give me more information. I'll buy post cards if I can't take a good photo.

Yes, I use my camera primarily as a way of helping me remember where I've been and what I saw.

However, one picture is usually enough of most things. I won't forget the first time I went to New York and ended up with about a dozen pictures of the Statue if Liberty, all pretty much the same.

I put my better pictures in an album when I get home. I only show my pictures to family/friends if they ask. Very often people will spend longer looking at the people in photos than the building or scene in background. If people haven't been to the place in the photos then they tend to get bored going through film after film of pictures, many of the same thing. Only the photographer can appreciate the differences!

Maybe, I think like this because photography isn't a major hobby of mine, just a way of capturing images to remind me what I've seen etc.

I also keep a travel journal...I take time each day in a cafe during my trip and write down experiences - the train ride, the restaurants and memorable sites. It is a great reference and then when someone asks for recommendations on that destination - I have my personal notes to refer to.

Yes, Howard, you said it so well!
That is just the way we feel. They just don't have postcards of the way the sun was coming out from behind those big dzrk clouds over the Luxembourg Palace, the day we sat and watched the children play, I could never find a postcard of my husband looking out over the Seine from the Pont Neuf, right before he kissed me!
Thank you for putting it so well.

I totally agree Howard. Not only does it help me to remember, but it heightens my senses at the time and allows me to perceive more. The quest for the next perfect shot keeps me alert

I take photos on every trip, whether local, or far, exotic or very ordinary. Some more than others, but average about 15 rolls of 24. I stay with a 35mm as I haven't been impressed with what I've seen from digital (maybe someday, but not yet).

Sure about 1/3 are just so-so, while balance are really pretty good (though I do buy postcards if there is something I was not able to photograph for any number of reasons).

Upon return, the best go into an album along with air tickets, entrance vouchers, restaurant menus, beer labels (I taste the local beer in every country), the name of place such as hotel, game lodge, airport sign, etc. The album really looks like a story book with pictures.

I do write a journal on return from notes takes along the way and some photos get interspersed thru these pages. Since the big album really can't be carried, I place the remaining photos in a small 6x4 photo only album that fits into a totebag. And if there are still some remaining, I use them as "postcards" - draw a line down the middle back - write message and address, stamp and into the mailbox. Sure surprises lots of people.

Rarely do I take photos of people unless, they are children. Street scenes are great and have often waited till no people are around, except maybe one person only - gives it some reality.

Distance scenes from between buildings, photos from above, rooftops, lots of animals while on safari. As for too many shots of one subject - well I've got the Sydney Opera House from every imaginable angle and each is amazing.
The most fun was taking photos in Turkey - trying to get these very tall columns into the frame and not being a mile away (regardless the 150 zoom), so I just plopped mysef on the ground and shot up - one of the best photos. Or four columns that came together on top from a weird angle while in Jordan and the bluest sky. Have stopped in the middle of the road in France to get a photo of the plain-trees that lined the road (not a car in sight).

Even got amazing pics inside the Pharoah's tombs in Egypt, or birds on tree limbs in the rain forest, or a pride of lions in the dark while they downed a "kill" from earlier in the day - none of the last three taken with flash (not allowed).

Some folks take photos, look at them once upon developing then stick them away somewhere, never to be seen again. Not for me, they go into an album immediately - those are my memories to look at and enjoy and remember whenever I like.

Keep clicking away!

Howard,

You hit it right on! Also, for me, as someone else I think mentioned, I feel I see even more when I take pictures, because as anyone photographer knows, you don't just point the camera and shoot. I think photographers as a whole will be more aware of the lighting, more aware of the little details that make a place interesting. I also love to take macro shots, so I really am aware of the texture of things, architecture, etc.....

I think that most people who think that taking a lot of pictures means you only see the place through the lens of your camera don't understand photography. In order to take good pictures, you have to actually see your surroundings much more vividly than a non-photographer.

I'm going to Italy for 2 weeks at the end of June, I've got 33 rolls of 36 each, and my only fear will be that I might run out. That's barely 3 rolls a day! And for the first time in Italy, I'm not sure if that will be enough.

Mr. Navigator, ;) I think, certainly hit the nail concisely on the head. For some of us, not only does the camera help them remember better - it helps them see better as well.

If I find a view striking on my trip, I hope to revive the memory in my home and extend that feeling. I truly enjoy surveying my surroundings for an interestingly unique angle, perspective, shadow or subject. I'm not always successful, but it adds to the enjoyment of the trip for me. However, I only wish that I were even half the photographer as other folks are, including many of those who have posted links to their travel photos here on this forum.

I could not possibly be convinced that Mina's or Jim Tardio's photos were the results of someone who wasn't paying attention to their surroundings. It's clear to me that kind of talent is acutely aware of place and interest.

Thank you all for your wonderful responses thus far. You've made my day knowing that you so many of you can indeed relate to what I'm trying to say.
I was looking at the 60 photos that comprise my exhibit, and in almost every case, I could recall an incident/memory (or two or three or more) that the photograph helped me recall.
Sandi and lyb, you're my kind of people. For 2 weeks in Paris, I came back with 37 rolls, and a week in Bologna, Tuscany and Umbria produced 27 rolls. (However, lyb, they're mostly 24s!)
lyb, another one of my quotes for the exhibit seems an appropriate followup to your comments:
"A few years ago on our first trip to Italy, I experienced one of the great moments of my life. While framing a scene in my viewfinder, I realized that I was creating a picture just as an artist does when he dips his brush onto the palette, takes a dab of paint and applies it to the canvas. It was a thrilling moment. I was creating my own painting."
That says it all.
And, thank you all again.

Post cards are for people who have no interest in taking the time to set up a great photo from the angle of view/friends which they choose.

If some tourists want to run around from site to site twisting those post card racks looking for someone else's photo on a post card, that's their choice, and they come home with someone else's photos.

I am one of those for whom photography is a major hobby (travel is probably #1).

It is also method of keeping a journal of the trip. I make a point of getting pictures of fellow travelers and our lodgings.

But also it a way of trying to be artistic. I will spend some time, if possible, framing and composing my pictures.

I have noticed that I see more when I am carrying my camera otherwise I tend to see only straight in front.

It seems like I can take a couple hundred pictures...but there are only a few that REALLY capture the whole trip for us. Yet they are worth having taken all those others, because they are such perfect souvenirs.

Howard,

That last quote of yours really hit home. Both of my sisters can paint and draw so well, and I've always been frustrated that even my "stick man" drawings are ugly. But I've realized in the past ten years or so, that my artistic talents lie with photography. I love to try different angles, different zoom lens, or macro and so on. Of course, that means that very often, if I am with people, they keep asking me why I take so long or so many pictures. This time I'm going to Italy alone and therefore, I'm looking forward to taking pictures without having people asking me, why?

lyb, I really, and I do mean really, relate to your comments. I, too, have the art ability of child. When I'm asked to draw something, people think I'm kidding when they see the results! Perhaps, that is why I was such a golden moment for me when I felt that I was able to relate to how an article feels.
And, I also know too well the "why are you taking so many pictures" question. Happily, my wife now understands why...especially when she sees the results!

I have never really considered this question before.

However I am certain the 'memory' reasons offer a strong enough rationale. Why? We now leave our camera on our coffee table, at hands reach at all times. We have two small children and now take a significant number of pics. of them.

I believe we do this not to serve our memory better in future years but because we having a gut-wrenching desire to hold them as they are, innocent, in-love with us and only us, and safe from the world.

I think the same rationale extends to many of us for travel pics. - "I'm on holidays and these are some of the best times of my life and I want to stay" or something like this.....

Anyway, that was all pretty heavy but I think it makes sense and am pretty sure its why I shoot 30 rools of ilm every year!!

packsoff_feetup

Oops, it must be too early in the morning. The last sentence in the first paragraph above should read, "Perhaps that it why it was such a golden moment for me when I felt I was able to relate to how an artist feels."
Sorry.
That feeling really surfaced when we were at Monet's home in Giverny last year. When I was framing potential photographs of the garden in my viewfinder, I really felt like I was creating paintings. (While I like the results, Monet's reputation has nothing to worry about!)

I enjoyed all of your posts on your love of photos on a trip, and strongly agree on keeping a journal to go with the photo memories. I am a very early riser even when travelling and use that alone time with my first coffee to write notes about the day before. Since I've been digital, I also keep a photo log with dates and use that time to peruse photos on the viewer and discard the duplicates or uninteresting ones as I go along....
I love architecture and interior design, so I will snap shots of interesting doors, clotheslines in Italy and flower boxes. I also always have shots of dogs I meet on my travels... having the camera makes me pay attention more to the beauty of the moment.

I am in no way an excellent photographer but I have developed some skills over time in order to have treasured photos. We spent 2 weeks in Tuscany last year, and I photographed every small town sign at the entrance, the signs were usually painted and quaint, it made my albums more interesting....

Most of my family does not travel far from home. My being able to share the photos of myself in other countries is a treat for them as well as myself.
They would hardly get the same pleasure if I were to just send the obligatory postcard!
Every time I try to go through my photo album, to add or re-arrange, I find myself, hours later, browsing through the memories of this trip or that, this occassion or that celebration.
Thanks, Howard!

Wonderful thread, Howard. As someone who makes a portion of his living through travel photography, all I can say is even the photos I take for someone else have special meanings for me.

Everytime I see them I instantly remember the moment I took them, who I was with, where we were going, the weather...everything. And I have to agree that serious photographers are acutely aware of their surroundings. I'll sometimes just park myself, and wait for all the elements to come together.

I also find myself looking into doorways, down dark streets, into windows above me, hoping to capture some bit local flavor.

About people in photos...I feel that I don't get enough people in my shots. The human element is what makes others relate to your photos. But, if you're patient, you can even capture "people-less" pictures at very crowded tourist sites.

I think photography really does help us remember our journeys better. I'm amazed at how many times I'll pull out some old slides, and my wife will say something like, "Oh, I forgot we stayed there."

Postcards are too impersonal. They're someone else's moment.

Jim Tardio,

>>I also find myself looking into doorways, down dark streets, into windows above me, hoping to capture some bit local flavor.<,

How so very true!! I find that I see things that non-photographers don't see.

Which brings up a question? Does anybody know of great tours tailored for photographers? Because I am a single female and often travel alone, I sometimes feel that tours are safer. However, that doesn't always allow for enough time to take the best pictures. If there were tours tailored for photographers, I would jump on it big time. Not necessarily workshops, but just tours for photographers. If anybody knows of any, please let me know.

Enjoyable thread...great to see the detailed reasons why photos are special to people.

My digital camera helped me come back and figure out what I did each day. I didn't keep a detailed journal, but upon my return, I relived the trip by making a quick calendar and highlights of the day for all 116 days which will go in my scrapbook. The date and timestamps really helped!

I also have kind of a funny rule. First day in a place, I bring along the camera, but don't take it out unless something strikes me. I never take a map and just amble along, soaking in as much as possible. I do this because I used to get excited at every famous/pseudo-famous thing and go nuts taking pictures, only to find I could get a better angle two steps down. So now I just "scope" out the place, enjoying views through my eyes, and then take pictures later (unless I find that special shot!)

That being said, now I actually don't take many pictures at all, which is kind of strange.

Lyb...National Geographic has some tours that place more emphasis on photography, but they are expensive.

Travel photographer, Bob Krist...http://www.bobkrist.com...also has some workshops in Tuscany.

There's also the Mentor Series...http://www.mentorseries.com/
They have trips to several locations.

In addition to helping me remember what is what, I take pictures of the signs for places -
* The sign from the road for the B&B,
* the signs for the entrace to places I am touring / seeing (ie. Middleton Distillery tour, or Nicholas Mosse Pottery, or Glendalough Vistre Center)
* Signs for restauraunts we really enjoyed.

This proves many uses - remembering what a place was called, what it looked like etc, but most of all, when I put my pictures in my scrapbook- one less thing to write - I can use the picture that labels it, as I saw it there.

From traveling in Ireland , I found that they see even simple signs as works of art - especially for pubs! so I like to include that aspect of the trip in my scrapbook too! :)

Beautiful thread!! Just reading this gets me in the photography mood. I was thinking exactly what Bob the Navigator, Jim Tardio and others said even before I read their posts. Photography definitely enriches my whole experience by making me look at things all around me. Without thinking about photography I am much more likely to overlook beautiful things like the way light plays off a scene or even more mundane things like interesting manhole covers. Like Jim, I do wish I could incorporate more locals in my photos, but there often is just not time when traveling with others. When traveling alone with a camera, I usually end up with better shots. I will usually set aside a couple of mornings to go out very early and alone on family vacations for good light and more concentration; then I go back and wake everyone else.

I have long used a camera to help me remember my trips as well. Until I had a child (about to have the second), I had time to label them all in good detail. I would use travel guides to indicate what was in each shot, and I can relive each trip by pouring through the albums. Now I put all the effort into putting them on the Web. Still, I often never get around to taking those photos of the train stations, airports, hotels, restaurants, and other non-sightseeing parts, without forcing myself. I am working on doing better with those parts of my trips because they will be some of the more meaningful photos later. When I do take photos, I explore different light and angles.

I am also a big postcard buyer. I just buy them as another reminder of my trip, not to replace the photos; they can never do that.

I have to agree that you can learn to look at places differently when you take photographs. My husband is the real camera artist in our family, but I encourage his hobby, which gives me even more material to work with when I put together the scrapbook of our trip.

Since we were in many different cities and towns this trip, we made a game of finding interesting doors to photograph, and it really caused us to look at things differently.

For most of us here, travel is not a stand-alone pleasure. As active participants in a travel board, we have chosen to plan, discuss, and relive our experiences. Our photography does that also--reminding us of the intimate and the spectacular moments and sights of our travels.

Barb, I too love to photograph doors. You might pass along this suggestion to your husband about an interesting way to frame them. I've done this twice with great visual success, once with "the doors and windows of Assisi" and the other time with the "little canals of Venice." Get a set of eight 4 x 6 photos (They must be all verticals or horizontals for this to work.) Have a 16 x 20 mat cut out with eight openings. Mount and frame. It's incredibly effective! (Incidentally, I make them 16 x 20 because that's a standard size and you don't have the expense of a custom frame.)
I want to again thank everyone who has contributed to this thread. Collectively, you have truly made my day (and week and year)!

Jim Tardio,

Thank you for the websites re: Travel photography tours. It sounds wonderful! I guess I have one more trip to add to my "to do" travel list. :)

What a joy to ready this thread, particularly since we picked up our 16 rolls of film last night (cost almost as much as the trip LOL). I will now spend the next couple of days putting them in albums along with all the bits and pieces I picked up along the way: a napkin from a cafe we liked, a gelato spoon, ticket stubs, business cards, pressed flowers, etc. When completed I can then return to that/those countries/cities and relive the trip. I too intersperse with post cards which balance out the albums.

I was delighted to see that others love to photograph doors and windows as I do. I think my best photos in that regard are from the California and Texas Missions we have visited, but I do have some terrific shots from Europe too. I'm certainly not a great photographer, but I do very much enjoy taking pictures when we travel. It's nice to be part of a group that share my interest.

I, too, love taking pictures of interesting architecture - like doorways that I would never see at home - even close ups of some really cool doorknobs and keyholes! When my husband and I wander, and that's the way we like to experience things, and he says "wow, look at that!" I usually take a picture of it - it was interesting enough at the time to comment on it, so it's worth remembering. We have pictures of some of the greatest parts of our journeys - which have nothing to do with the "big" scenery.

I do buy postcards of places where photography is not allowed, or in locations where I know that my camera is not going to do the subject justice (especially inside dark buildings).

Howard great thread! I agree with everyone. I just returned from two months in Italy. I took 24 rolls of film. I love to look over every photo and remember being there and exactly why I took that particular shot. I, too, compile an album with all my photos, ticket stubs, business cards, pamphlets, etc. I also buy many postcards (which I like to collect) and use them in my album also to supplement my photos, especially when cameras weren't allowed someplace or I couldn't get the whole site into the frame of the camera. I had my purse stolen on my recent vacation -- my camera included. And although having credit card, ATM card, and license stolen was a hardship nothing compared to the loss I felt over the camera and roll of film in the camera. I had to go out the next morning and buy new a camera, battery and film!! I could not be without a camera for the rest of my trip.

I hate to see this thread fade away. Any more comments?

I'm also a picture taker, wish I had a better eye so my photos would look professional but they are mine and I love them.

I take one photo from each trip and enlarge it to an 8x10 and frame it in a plain black frame (no mat). All my trip photos are frammed alike and are hung on 3 walls of my game room . . . everyone who comes to my house spends time looking at them and comments on how great they look.

Sandy

I have many albums of photos I have taken over the years, and when I show them to people I frequently hear, "But there are no pictures of you". To which I always answer, "I'm the one on the other side of the lens."

That's why I don't put post cards in my albums.

Believe it or not, the opinion that "looking at Europe through a camera lens" can only diminish your perspective has been stated in this forum more than once. Anyone that truly believes such nonsense must have a small and uninteresting mind.

Several posters in this thread have mentioned that they wish their pictures were better. The best advice I can offer is to study travel photographs taken by others and try to develop a sense of why some images seem more striking to you. I have gotten great ideas from studying pictures in calendars, postcards, guide books, and travel magazines. Occasionally, I even learn something new about a place. For example, while trying to determine where certain (and, in my opinion, very dramatic) pictures of Neuschwanstein Castle were taken from, I discovered that there is an extensive system of trails in the hills above the castle.

Howard-this thread is such an inspiration! I love to take lots photographs when traveling, and it is probably my favorite way to keep certain moments fresh in my mind. I love to take photograohs of people as well as intimate corners of the places I am visiting-like capturing the light as it falls across the texture of an ancient stone wall in a small italian village. Last year I had a wonderful time taking Black and white shots of all the Easter processions around Naples. For the ones that occured in the middle of the noght, I tried using some very high speed film, and got some beautiful, grainy images which I am using for a series of paintings. I also handcolored some of them and sent them back as postcards to the people I photographed as gifts. I like to photographs doorways too, with and withiut someone in the frame. When I make a photo album, I usually use the photos along with some written thoughts about the experience. But I also really love to collect unusual postcards, and have severzl albums filled with both vintage and present-day postcards. Your exhibit sounds wonderful! Compliments on creating such a great thread!

This is a great topic. On my first trips abroad, I could take 20 rolls in a week, easily. They weren't great shots, but covered everything from the scenery in Ireland to us filling our tank of gas for 36 Irish pounds! That was our way of remembering all the minute details.

15 trips later, I've really made use of a travel diary, but not just to chronicle the itinerary, but more to capture how I felt when I saw something or when I was somewhere special or with someone special. That helps immensely to relive a trip, not just "went to Notre Dame today, then got on the metro to Montmartre."

Like another poster, I also keep gelato spoons (and giggle like a school kid when I find it in my wallet when getting ready for the next trip), ticket stubs, metro passes, museum passes, etc. It's all part of the experience for me.

A lot of people don't like "non-people" pictures. I prefer my scenery without including me mugging for the camera, but will do the occasional obligatory "here we are" shots as evidence we were there.

But back to the pictures...I still take more than the average person (9 rolls in 6 days last week in Scotland, Ireland and N. Ireland). I will take multiple shots of one location or sight, mainly because I enlarge a select few and hang in my office. It's refreshing to remember while you're chained to your desk that somewhere something beautiful exists and that you're working toward getting back there!

smueller has made a good point about researching examples of good photos before a trip. I do mine on the internet. For example, before our trip to Italy last fall, I did google searches entitled "Photos of Tuscany" and "Photos of Umbria." I printed copies of interesting photos--not so much to take the exact same photograph, but to get ideas on a type of picture and/or subject or perhaps taking a photo of a site from a different or unique angle, etc. When I exhausted those searches, I refined to "Photos of Assisi" (or Pienza, Siena, etc., etc.). I put all of these photos into a notebook and would periodically review them. When I had the photos developed after my trip, there was no question that the research paid off. I think they were the best pictures I ever took.
I highly recommend the activity.

I agree Howard, I have looked at your photos and those of others like Mina who have taken lovely interesting photos from their trips..that inspire me to do as well.