Who, What, When, Where & Why
© Jerry Whaley

The need to decide where you are going, how to get there, how to get around and locate photo opporturnities once you arrive, and then describe your images from the trip once you are back home makes trip documentation an important concern. Normally, I gather as much information as possible before leaving on a trip in order to plan how to get there and what to do once I arrive. National or state travel/tourrism bureaus can provide good overview materials. Travel guides, found in bookstores, give more specific, un-biased information.

After arrival, the local tourism or visitors bureau will be an excellent source of local information.
Other good local sources are bookstores, welcome centers on interstate highways, hotels, the chamber of commerce. and banks. Banks often have local mabs for new business customers, and the employees are usually locals who can point you in the right direction. You sometimes have to take the advice of locals with a grain of salt because their interests and yours might not be one-and-the-same.

I carry a pouch for all the local information I pick up. I make notes on specific subjects when the information is available to me. This information becomes extremely valuable when I start labeling slides or want to write about a trip. One often overlooked method of documentation for you to consider is to photograph signs when they contain information you may want to use later. The cost of one slide is quite low, and the information might turn out to be quite valuable.

Who did you meet on the trip? Were there interesting people that enhanced the experience? What happened on the trip? Were there experences that will make you rember it forever? When did you go? The hair styles and clothes don't pin the trip down to a year and some photo users demand to know what year a photo was taken. Where did you go? If I don't document the names of small towns and local areas while I am there, it is unlikely I will remember their names later. Why did you go? The reason for a trip is sometimes a story in and of itself.

When traveling with your children, keeping a trip log and trip statistics gives them something to do and helps keep them occupied. I started keeping trip statistics years ago. It is interesting to look back at the difference in trip costs over the years. I also started numbering my slides with a code that allows me to know what year it was taken. When I started submitting my images for publication, the year code really paid off. Some pro photographers say not to make the year an image was taken known, but I feel a strong image will stand on its own and be used if it fits a need or catches an editor's eye.

Don't get too caught up in documenting everything to the n'th degree, but do try to have the information you need on-hand. Even if you only plan to use your images for your personal files, it is nice to look back on the many soon-forgotten details of a trip, years later. Whatever your reasons for actually going on the trip, knowing who , what , when , where & why will enhance the experience, sooner or later.