My travel photo album

The backstory : There are many reasons why I decided to create these photo albums from all the trips I've been on. The first is that, I'm an old-soul. I like having all my photos on hard drives and online folders, but I LOVE flipping through tangible photo albums. And if it weren't for all the paper waste, I would be shooting on film or would have already printed many of the photos I have taken. The second reason is that I miss traveling. I know we're currently living through important historical moments, I know that some people never had the chance to travel, I know most means of travel are non-ecological, but I still have the right to really enjoy traveling, okay?! And yes, I'm nostalgic of all the years that I traveled a lot and gotten to experience aspects of the world and myself. Such a drama queen. Of course, we approach change with flexibility, patience and respect. The time will come when our fellow human beings will not be in danger, it will be safe to travel again, and we will do it with the biggest smile. And then, I will take my right hand, Katerina, who is also a drama queen when it comes to traveling, and I will take her to Timbuktu. I created a photo album for every place I have visited. I divided the summer related albums into dates because...well it's the summer! You might visit more than one place. It took me several days to create the albums and I still have some additional work to do on some of them. It's a lengthly process, but a rather enjoyable one!

How did I make my travel photo albums, you ask?

I used :

1. Scrapbooking albums

2. Gouache paints

3. Paintbrushes

4. Acrylic markers

5. A printer

6. Glossy photo paper

7. Paper tapes in different colors

8. Markers, pens or pencils

9. Of course, you can use stickers, stamps or whatever decoration you want

The process :

1. I went over my hard drives and sorted through the pictures.

2. I chose the ones that seemed most sentimental or funny to me to print and moved them to separate folders sorted by trip.

3. I used my printer to print the pictures on photo paper. I did most of the selection and printing during Christmas break, and continued recently. When I got back to my regular schedule, I continued the assembling the albums for an hour or two in the mornings before I started working. Why am I saying this? Because if you want to do this too, you have two options. 1. To do it during a period where you have enough free time or 2. to include it in your daily schedule, even if you engage with it for 30 minutes every day. There's no deadline forcing us to finish the albums within 5 days!

4. I painted them with gouache paints (acrylic paints)
   

1. Using acrylic markers, I drew the names of each album
   

1. Since the albums are ready and the photos have been printed, it's time for the very fun and relaxing part of this process which is the...assembly of the trip!

2. I used kraft eco paper tape to stick each photo on the album pages. Of course, one can use glue, but I was a bit scared that I might make a mistake and stick a photo in the wrong place.

3. On each page I glued photos, I noted exactly where the trip was from or the various funny details I remembered. I haven't yet completed the albums for all the travels, and it's definitely a hobby that I will still have in the following months. But that makes me very happy!
   

What if I don't own a printer? If you don't own a printer, here's a solution :

1. Select the photos you want to print

2. Transfer them to a USB or hard drive

3. Buy photo paper

4. Go to a printing center/print shop and ask them to print your photos on the photo paper you bought Where there's will there's a way!
   

Why photo paper? For the colors to keep their pigment over the years. If you print your photos on plain photocopy paper, it's certain that after a few years, the colors will fade. In addition, I noticed that different paper variations gave different results. For example, I wasn't happy at all with this photo paper. It never absorbed the colors of the print so all I got what fingermarks everywhere. On the contrary, this paper worked fine and I am very satisfied with the absorbency of the paper and the quality of the colors.

And how do I print small pictures for the album? There are 2 ways to print small photos. One is to get special sized photo paper like this one. The second way is when printing, to choose to print 9 photos on an A4 sheet. I did both!

What did this slow pastime do for me?

1. I refreshed my memory and reminisced about all these wonderful memories

2. I relaxed. Dealing with a slow and non-demanding activity helps you relax. It's a known fact.

3. I organized my travels and excursions so they are no longer in scattered folders on hard drives So what do you think? Did I motivate you to make your own photo albums from your travels? It could be from traveling abroad, or your favorite summer vacation or even a birthday you want to remember forever!
   

Alexandra's suggestion : A photo album can be a very nice gift that we can give to someone! Valentine's Day is coming, think about it... See you soon,