Look Closer: A Different Kind of Travel Journal

We just returned from a phenomenal 2 week family trip to Scandinavia. I want to share it through my eyes. I love to travel and capture the things that attract my attention. These close-ups, four from each of seven places, are what I brought home. Not the postcard version of Scandinavia. The version you find when you stop, get quiet, and let a place show you what it's made of.

I believe that the details of a place tell its truest story. The texture of a wall says more about a city's history than any caption could. The intense green pattern of moss on a stone reveals the climate, the patience of nature, the particular greenness that belongs only to that part of the world.

So this is Scandinavia through my eyes. It is zoomed in, slowed down, and full of wonder.

I hope you'll look closely, too.

See

Oslo

Train and Ferry to Balestrand

Balestrand

Bergen

Sweden

Helsingør/Hornbæk/Louisiana

Copenhagen

Say

Every cobblestone above was placed by hand. Someone decided exactly where it would go. What does that kind of care and intention look like in your work?
How might focusing on colors, textures and patterns as you move through the world be like meditation? Try it! How does it feel?
Study the images from each place. Which place would you like to visit solely based on the images.

Do

Look through your camera roll. Can you isolate parts of an images that encompass the place the photo was taken?
Walk around your neighborhood photographing things you typically overlook. How does this exercise help you to focus or 'see' your world anew?
Study your own camera roll. Are there trends in what you you have photographed... (colors, textures, themes?) What do those trends say about you? Collage like images together to create a portrait of place.