When I was a kid my Dad would bring out his projector and we'd have slide shows in the dining room. Without a screen the white painted wall surface worked fine. There were always scenic shots of some vista from a family hike or outing, and I remember wondering why he had taken that picture. There were no people in it. Why would someone want a photo of just their surroundings?
Of course it's obvious to me now that beyond being a beautiful way to remember time and place, when interspursed with photos of people and events, those landscapes are more than just a pretty addition. They provide a reference to the emotions of the day.
Incorporating those atmospheric shots into my albums is my way of paying homage to the those slide shows. They're an important part of this particular series from our camping trip in October.
These two-page spreads have 8.5" x 11" pages, minus embellishment but for a self-designed circular date element, a fine-point frame, use of the sketch block font, and some digital compasses by Anna Aspenes for Designer Digitals. I didn't intentionally make the layouts spare just for the sake of minimalism; it's how I was feeling at the time. Anything more seemed forced, so a simple linear format got the job done, and the events recorded.
I also slipped a trail map and a double page spread of the lake into sleeve protectors. If we make the camping trip an annual thing (which I was inspired to do) these layouts will get their own album. Otherwise they'll just go in an album with other family vacations.
