avatarValerie Delzer

Summary

The website content discusses the challenges and nuances of narrating travel experiences through writing, particularly when photos are of poor quality or non-existent, emphasizing the importance of descriptive language and memory.

Abstract

The article delves into the art of travel storytelling, emphasizing that capturing the essence of a journey is not solely dependent on photographs. The author reflects on past travels, such as visits to Mexico City, and the evolution of photography from disposable cameras to modern smartphones. Despite the poor quality of old photos, the author advocates for the power of memory and descriptive writing to convey the emotions and experiences of travel. The narrative includes anecdotes about a young bullfighter named Flavio, illustrating how some moments are etched in memory without photographic evidence. The author suggests that while photos can enhance a story, the true essence of travel storytelling lies in the writer's ability to evoke feelings and transport readers through vivid descriptions and personal essays.

Opinions

  • The author believes that travel stories are best told through a combination of memory and descriptive writing, rather than relying solely on photographs.
  • There is a sentiment of nostalgia for the anticipation and excitement associated with developing vacation photos in the past, which is now lost with instant digital photography.
  • The author expresses that even with subpar photos, the moments captured in writing can be just as powerful and evocative.
  • The article suggests that the skill of writing can be improved over time and that there are various approaches to effectively telling a travel story.
  • The author implies a critique of commercialization in historically significant locations, such as the addition of a Wal-Mart next to the pyramids of Teotihuacán.

Travel, Photography

How Do You Tell a Travel Story Without Photos?

Hello, I was there and here and there, let me tell you about it!

Photo by bady abbas on Unsplash

Does your writing or your photos do justice to your travel experience?

All of us who write travel stories are writing from memory. We have already experienced some exciting, wonderful, new and unique place for us, making us want to tell the story to others.

We tell those stories and add the accompanying photos we took (or someone else on the trip took) to demonstrate what we experienced no matter how crappy the photos. We are proud to share those photos with the story to justify our travel experience.

Crappy Cameras to Hi-Res Digital Images

In the days before cell phones and social media, people used good old fashioned cameras. Some still do, only much more modern versions.

I have used both 35mm interchangeable lens cameras and digital cameras. In the really *old* days I’ve even used disposable cameras — throwaways that relied on 110 film in a cardboard box. The film had to be processed externally at a camera store or film processing outlet like Fotomat. (now defunct)

Back in the day, it took forever to get an envelope back with vacation photos. The anticipation was a lesson in patience, especially if you had already excitedly started telling friends and family about your trip. “As soon as I get my pictures back, I’ll share them with you!”

It makes me sad to look back on some of the photos I took from places I only dream about now.

Mexico City and the Bullfighter

For example, I used to go down to Mexico City once-a-month with a friend of mine. She was divorced and left her pre-teen kids in the care of her ex-husband. She said the school system was much better than in the US so that’s why they remained.

One time I went with her to Mexico City and an older boy was hanging out with her two boys. His name was Flavio. He was a young bullfighter. He was about seven years younger than me.

He didn’t really speak much English, and I didn’t speak much Spanish.

So my friend and her kids were the de facto translators as we walked around the city and saw the sights.

I remember we visited a University in Mexico City. It was a grand structure of smooth, grayish concrete buildings with a modern artsy edge to it.

At one point, we were walking on an athletic field at sunset, and Flavio suddenly picked me up and whirled me around. I was taken aback, surprised at this sudden outpouring of impulsive affection.

The boys and my friend laughed out loud. Before LOLing was a thing, mind you.

Apparently, Flavio had developed a crush on me. He eagerly wanted to talk with me and was really exhausting the boys (ages 12 & 13) with translations. Plus, the kids would giggle and not tell me what was being said as their cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

I have no photos of those rare moments. The moments that leave you smiling privately.

However, I did have a 110 disposable camera I used to take some generic photos of places we saw in Mexico City. It got used up fast. No photos of Flavio and me. Sigh.

As you can see, 110 disposable cameras didn’t take good photos. That’s me on the left and my friend Shelley and her 2 boys and their friends. Credit of the photo goes to Flavio ;)

Inspiration from memory

Nowadays, when I go to write a travel story, I look back at the thousands of photos I took on my iPhone to reignite the feeling I had when I was there (wherever “there” may be).

I feel it puts me in the right frame of mind. Usually, it does and the words start unfolding. The same way as if a person was right next to me and I was retelling my experiences out loud.

But if you are reaching way back into your past and don’t have a good set of photos to accompany the travel story, you have to rely on using descriptive words and turns of phrases to invoke in your reader the same feelings you had when you were there.

That can be a bit tricky if you aren’t as descriptive of a writer as you want to be.

So how do you tell a travel story without photos?

Or with photos of lesser desirable quality, shall we say.

I always think I can improve my writing. After all, it’s an acquired skill that can be honed over time. I don’t think there is one magical formula for writing. I think there are several ways a person can approach travel story writing.

Like the personal essay

You tell it like it was. “The sky was a heavy gray, rumbling with strong intentions of dropping rain any minute. We ducked into an alcove and found ourselves stuck for 15 minutes while the thunderous noise seemed it would shatter the roof.”

Or do you say, “it rained really hard. I was bummed.” Like totally. Haha.

No, of course not.

Similarly, do you take 20 selfies of yourself and then share all those to demonstrate you got caught in a downpour and got your hair wet? I suppose that would be good advertising for an influencer who is sponsored by a hair care company.

In any event, the idea is to convey a feeling of emotion that others can hopefully relate to or find inspiration.

Prompting for this article

I started out to write a story about my visits to Mexico City back in the late 1980s. I opened an old scrapbook of photos. I shook my head at the degraded quality of the images. But I still retained the original story in my memories. The photos brought smiles remembering how it felt so long ago to visit Mexico City.

Here’s the brochure Flavio sent me from one of his bullfighting events. Credit of the scan goes to me.

In conclusion, I do have another story to tell about my visits to Mexico City. But first I have to scan some old photos and try to recapture in writing the feelings I had when I first went to Mexico City.

I hear now it’s been commercialized in a lot of places. They added a Wal-Mart next to the pyramids of Teotihuacán. Gah!

Travel
Travel Writing
Photography
Memories Of Times Gone By
Mexico City
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