Photography tips?

It is tempting for a novice to snap pics of everything that catches their attention, especially with the digital cameras that hold thousands of pictures!

There is a lot of gorgeous scenery along the routes but how do you remember where you were at the time?

(We have cheapie cameras with no bells and whistles.)

What are some of your most memorable pictures? What tips do you have about photographing for first time travelers?

I'm going to have the kids write about their trip daily and we'll add pics to their narratives. Their classes have asked for a report as well.

I hope you will write a travelogue/trip report for us as you go along. I find the ones I write jog my memory later if I forget some details of my trip. Plus, many of us love reading them!

I don't know how to attach photos or links to photos here (I am not at all tech-savvy), but many others will (look at some of the current trip reports for ideas on the photos people take--pretty much split evenly between the trains, the scenery, and the food!)....The recent "3 day adventure" one by bobnjulie is an excellent example.

If you take pictures of scenery and are not sure later where some of them are, someone on here may recognize the area and be able to tell you.

I've done several things on different trips to keep track of location.

Low-tech: Write it down on paper (the time table on a train trip, or a map on a road trip). This is really easy if you set the clock on the camera accurately and keep track of when you are at stops. Add a lesson about time zones and decide how you are going to handle them (on camera and in notes).

Semi-tech: Take photo of gps screen or gps app on phone right after taking scenery shots. Take photos of signs that tell location such as depot signs or businesses that have location as part of their name.

Hi-tech: Run a phone app that makes a track of location every few seconds, then run that file and photos through a program that matches the times and adds longitude and latitude to photo metadata.

Alternative viewpoint: Don't worry about where the photo was taken. When I look at photos from when I was a kid, I'm more interested in when (what year) than where. "Our first train trip" is probably good enough.

You might get better buy-in from your kids if you discuss all this in advance and see what they want to do.

This also ties in with your other questions about entertaining them. I think cameras are a great way to keep them interested and occupied but they should understand when and where photos are not polite (although legal). I also think they'd learn and see more if photos are rationed somehow. I've traveled with a couple of adults who look at the world through a lens for lengthy periods and they really do miss out on a lot.

It is tempting for a novice to snap pics of everything that catches their attention, especially with the digital cameras that hold thousands of pictures!

There is a lot of gorgeous scenery along the routes but how do you remember where you were at the time?

(We have cheapie cameras with no bells and whistles.)

What are some of your most memorable pictures? What tips do you have about photographing for first time travelers?

I'm going to have the kids write about their trip daily and we'll add pics to their narratives. Their classes have asked for a report as well.

What I'm going to say is probably more than you want to take on but perhaps may be useful to other readers....I use a hand-held (NOT an automotive type) GPS...it runs continuously when I'm on the train. It records what is called a "track-log" which records position at intervals in time (the clock in the camera must be set correctly). The "tracklog" can be used to "geo-tag" the images, embedding the location in the image metadata. When I upload the images to Flickr, they are automatically placed on a map. There are other means to use this location data but, I use Flickr. The tracklog may also be used to display your route on Google Earth and other mapping programs. The attached image (screen shot) was produced in a program called Expert GPS. Although the map is coast to coast, you can zoom in (within the mapping software) and see in detail depending on the map of your route. This example show our trip to Washington DC last summer...Texas Eagle, Capitol Limited, SW Chief. and previous trips on the Coast Starlight and the Grand Canyon Railway. The route lines are the tracklog, not route lines drawn on the map by hand.

A more basic technique, probably better suited to the less techie, and I use this even with a GPS, take photos of signs and other known landmarks along the way and even at your destinations. Comparing the timestamp of images with the actual time of your station stops may be helpful as well. By the way, you can obtain your train's timekeeping from Amtrak Status Maps ( l With that, you can at least locate an image based on what was shot before and after.

Good luck with your trips, your photos and your kid's reports.