8 Countries, 8 Newspapers: Tips for Documenting your Travels

When Hidde Hornman and Julie Vanderbeck told friends they were putting work on hold to travel for 6 months, the first response was: "Wow! That's so cool!" Quickly followed by: "Are you going to keep a blog?"

In 2015, the creative couple – he's a graphic designer, she's an art director – visited 8 countries: China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Bali, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Borneo. They explored the oldest rainforest in the world (Taman Negara in Malaysia) and caught a rare glimpse of New Zealand's yellow-eyed penguins.

Yes, they did keep a blog – but they didn't stop there.

Hidde Hornman and Julie Vanderbeck camping in Malaysia.

"When we got back, we wanted to turn our blog into something physical and add more photographs," says Hidde. "We decided to create a newspaper instead of a regular photo album. A newspaper on a table screams 'Read me!' – it's a fantastic medium."

Together they designed a vibrant batch of digital tabloids – one for each country, with a different colour palette for every cover.

We love this fun take on the travel journal and asked Hidde and Julie how they managed to keep all their photos and stories organised as they crossed the globe.

Here, they share 5 things they learned about documenting a big trip – from using bus rides productively to knowing when to put away the camera.

1. Find a new perspective

Don’t just take 20 pictures of the front of the Taj Mahal. Go and have a look around the back! Maybe the dirty back of a perfect building is more interesting.

And don’t just stick to the guidebooks – seek out places where real people live. Try to get shots you can’t find on the internet.

2. Keep an analogue attitude

Imagine that you’re not using a digital camera. In your head, you’re shooting on valuable film. This will leave you with a few thousand pictures rather than tens of thousands of pictures.

(Even with this in mind, you’ll likely still end up with a lot of pictures. So make sure you have online storage to back up your memory cards!)

3. Don’t be afraid of other people

At first we didn’t dare to take pictures of locals. But after landscape picture number 10,948 we decided to just be friendly and ask. Pictures of people can tell so much – just don’t leave your manners at home.

4. Use your downtime time wisely

Documenting your trip takes time. You’ll have thousands of pictures and it can be daunting to sort through them all. Instead of waiting until the end of the trip, use hourlong bus rides to write your story and choose the best photos to illustrate it.

5. You don’t have to document everything

Remember: the best memories are made by the eyes and the brain, not by a camera. So, from time to time, let the battery of your camera drop dead or leave it in your hostel and just go out and play!

Learn more about digital tabloid newspapers. Print runs start at just 1 copy, so it's easy to try them out. And you can print up to 64 pages (like Hidde and Julie did) so there's plenty of room for all your photos!