After our trip to China in May, we had just three weeks before we left for the Canyons National Park road trip. That gave us very little time to work on our China photo album. We took about 4,500 photos in China since Art and I both carry our own cameras and take a LOT of photos.
Our first task which falls to me is to select all the photos that I think should go into the album. Then Art goes through it and marks the ones he thinks should be removed or added. We debate the choices. I format the photos and add in notes from my journal. Art adds his information. I fine tune the formatting, add research on the different places, edit, and check for errors. Then Art checks for errors. Then I check for errors and print the album to a PDF and JPG files. We bring the PDF file to Office Max and have it printed and we put the pages into sheet protectors. Finally, the pages go into a binder and the cover and spine label are added.
We did the photo selections and some formatting on China before we had to leave for the canyon trip. When we got home, we finished the canyon photo album first because mom couldn't wait to see the photos. We had her add her own notes so that her relatives in Japan would be able to understand the trip better.
Yesterday we finally finished the China album! There were 164 pages with excruciating details of every step of our 16 day China Tour. It holds our thoughts, some of our speech, every day's schedule, things we learned and saw, what we ate... everything.
Until the trip album is finished, nothing else really gets done. I haven't cleaned the bathroom in..... hmmmm.... I don't think I'll write that. We work on the pages almost every day and night, sometimes stepping on each other's feelings as we work through the wording. It's a good thing our marriage is strong enough to withstand this joint project. Once it's done, there's this feeling of euphoria and satisfaction which we're now feeling.
We were really complimented when our neighbor asked to be the last one to see the albums so that she could leisurely read everything that's written and see each photo closely without worrying about someone else's turn. We're sending digital copies to mom's siblings in Japan and her sisters here in Hawaii will get to see the actual albums along with her notes about the canyons.
Oh my! What a feeling! It's done!
Now I'd better go clean that bathroom.
POSTSCRIPT: My friend, Hank Chapin has recommended for the longest time that I look into those bound books that look so much more professional and take up less space. I thought it was cost prohibitive and wouldn't allow us to write all the text we always add.
We happened to be at Costco today and I asked about Hank's advice in his comment. What a HUGE surprise! The prices had come down from when I first looked into this option years ago and the format would allow us to do all the things we like to do in our albums.
We will definitely publish our next album this way. Thank you, Hank! I'm so grateful to you for not giving up on me.
Our first task which falls to me is to select all the photos that I think should go into the album. Then Art goes through it and marks the ones he thinks should be removed or added. We debate the choices. I format the photos and add in notes from my journal. Art adds his information. I fine tune the formatting, add research on the different places, edit, and check for errors. Then Art checks for errors. Then I check for errors and print the album to a PDF and JPG files. We bring the PDF file to Office Max and have it printed and we put the pages into sheet protectors. Finally, the pages go into a binder and the cover and spine label are added.
We did the photo selections and some formatting on China before we had to leave for the canyon trip. When we got home, we finished the canyon photo album first because mom couldn't wait to see the photos. We had her add her own notes so that her relatives in Japan would be able to understand the trip better.
Yesterday we finally finished the China album! There were 164 pages with excruciating details of every step of our 16 day China Tour. It holds our thoughts, some of our speech, every day's schedule, things we learned and saw, what we ate... everything.
Until the trip album is finished, nothing else really gets done. I haven't cleaned the bathroom in..... hmmmm.... I don't think I'll write that. We work on the pages almost every day and night, sometimes stepping on each other's feelings as we work through the wording. It's a good thing our marriage is strong enough to withstand this joint project. Once it's done, there's this feeling of euphoria and satisfaction which we're now feeling.
We were really complimented when our neighbor asked to be the last one to see the albums so that she could leisurely read everything that's written and see each photo closely without worrying about someone else's turn. We're sending digital copies to mom's siblings in Japan and her sisters here in Hawaii will get to see the actual albums along with her notes about the canyons.
Oh my! What a feeling! It's done!
Now I'd better go clean that bathroom.
POSTSCRIPT: My friend, Hank Chapin has recommended for the longest time that I look into those bound books that look so much more professional and take up less space. I thought it was cost prohibitive and wouldn't allow us to write all the text we always add.
We happened to be at Costco today and I asked about Hank's advice in his comment. What a HUGE surprise! The prices had come down from when I first looked into this option years ago and the format would allow us to do all the things we like to do in our albums.
We will definitely publish our next album this way. Thank you, Hank! I'm so grateful to you for not giving up on me.
bathrooms have a way of waiting...mine is...lol! What an accomplishment, you are both persistent!
ReplyDeletewhat absolute treasures, don't worry about the bathroom, its not going anywhere,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!!!what an achievement....
ReplyDeleteYour trips will last forever now. I am so impressed with the job you do in making these albums, Kay. I've got so many trips I've taken that are only a memory, and cannot be shared any longer. 4,500 photos? I can hardly imagine going through so many. I recognized the Terracotta soldier on the pages you showed, though! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful labor of love. You have created a family treasure.
ReplyDeleteit's cool you finished it.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that you both contribute, despite the disagreements. You will have a true and valuable record of you trip to share with your family an friends.
ReplyDeleteStunning! Wish I'd kept up with my loose collection. You could work at a publishing house! DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteA publishing house? Oh my gosh! I'd go nuts from the stress.
DeleteThat is beautiful and thorough work! I have not put together a trip album for a long time now. I usually keep a journal and then have photos but never have I put the two together. The latest trips have been blogged, and then there are the photos stored on the cloud.
ReplyDeleteWe have a trip coming up starting next Monday. It will include lots of genealogy. I think I'd better take a journal or notebook for this one.
I'll be looking forward to reading about your trip!
DeleteYou are a tyro!
ReplyDeleteAloha
Impressive!! I wish I could say I will do this too....but I don't take a single picture from any of our trips and only have my memory to go by. This is why you must blog...your efforts must be recorded for all to see. You set such a high bar for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteL...w
This is the problem. Both mom and I forget things so quickly that we need something like this to remember our trips.
DeleteIt sounds like a masterpiece, what great memories!
ReplyDeleteLast Christmas, my daughter Julia gave me a gift of a photo book of pictures of my late wife, Helen. Julia had made a slide show for the Memorial Service and, by some contemporary technical magic was able to take that slide show and have it printed in a book. Naturally I was touched and moved. That is one reason I have mentionend several times that your blog photo-essays would make good books and even Christmas cards. Evidently, you and Art were already way ahead of me with that suggestion. In my case, I have made cards of my own paintings, as I usually don't want to part with the actual original. These cards were made at Tom Terrific's in Manoa, Honolulu and are another example of the exciting humanistic things that can be done with today's digital technology.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for mentioning those photo books. I've seen them everywhere and they look fabulous. Unfortunately, what we do requires a TON of verbage and about 170 pages. It sounds like it would be ridiculously expensive. I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if somebody will print pdf pages for cheaper. That would be nice.
DeleteThank you AGAIN for continuing to encourage me to look into these books, Hank! We were at Costco this afternoon and I asked at the counter about them. I was surprised to see they had the page size we would need. ALSO, we could just give them the ready made pages with all our text already in the photo. I wasn't thinking outside the box in this and assumed it couldn't be done. The prices had also come down... a lot! I couldn't believe it! Wow! I'm so grateful to you! Now I can't wait for our next trip. LOL
DeleteThanks for the plug! Julia Chapin Bozzo did her book at Costco in Bellingham, Washington. From what she told me, I gather that she even did most of the work at home and just sent it in to the store electronically.
DeleteRegarding Christmas and even birthday cards (for your grandaughter and special people like that), I had in mind a really neat Christmas Card I got once. It was a small booklet, not just a single card, but it fit into the same size envelope anyway, about 6-10 pages, consisting of the poem "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Moore. It was illustrated with Christmas-type pictures, trees, and presents and Victorian food, and Saint Nick (Santa Claus). It was really cool. Perhaps I remember this card because my mother could recite that entire poem. (Incidentally, that's why I know Santa Claus is a miniature elf and all the reindeer are miniature in that poem.) I leave the rest to your imagination and Art's of which you both have plenty!
What a wonderful job by both of you. Phew, it must feel great that it is done, recorded and permanent. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I recognize the Terracotta Warriors.
ReplyDeleteI wish I were as dedicated as you are. I can't imagine the two of us here cooperating to the extent you and Art do, to accomplish these travel albums to share with everyone. I usually make do with posting photos on my blog for about a week, then forgetting about it.
Bravo!
K
This is an impressive accomplishment Kay, very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteWell done! Now, you have a great experience of the China travel. thanks for sharing with us. absolutely, you are a travel lover.
ReplyDeleteYour magnum opus. Congrats on a (another) job well done.
ReplyDelete