Boarding Pass – Meredith Norwood
For the past month and a half, today’s Boarding Pass from Meredith Norwood has been itching to get out of my inbox. Luckily, my internet is working and I’m back in action. Meredith emailed me awhile back because she’s a graphic designer/illustrator/photographer who is interested in figuring out how to incorporate more travel into what she does professionally. While unfortunately I didn’t have the magic response to her question (if anyone else does, please leave your response in the comments below!), I thought it’d be fun to see how a fellow designer/traveler explores the world. {Thanks, Meredith!}
last trip taken:
I travel a lot for work so the most recent travels of mine have been short, but they include Detroit, Nashville, New Orleans, and Denver. My last trip that was actually vacation was to Seattle, WA. I fell in love with the place. There is a lot of culturethere, art and music, and a lot going on. I’m really jealous of urbanareas where you don’t have to have your own car. Oddly enough too, it didn’t rain one day I was there, so I missed out on the famous rains of Seattle!
next trip on deck:
I’ll be in Chicago for labor day weekend and a day after returning, I’ll be in Anaheim and LA for the disney expo. I’ll be in Chicago with a good friend just for the fun of it. It will be my second trip there, and I actually can’t wait to get back to the Bean! I also am excited about seeing what the night life is like in the area. I feel like you really get to know the locals by experiencing the night life. As for LA, I’ll be there for my Disney obsessed best friend! But I’m so excited to see LA, just the airport will be exciting I think.
one place you would go back to again and again:
Tokyo, Japan. It’s been so long since I’ve been, but I’ve grown up with an affinity for asian everything. I went in high school as a high school ambassador,so it was really neat looking back, we met some officials and had a little bit of special treatment. I loved it when I went, I just wish I had recovered from jet-lag sooner than I did! While in Japan I also visited 2 other small towns, and they were even more amazing than tokyo. I love delving into a totally different culture.
Tokyo, Japan. It’s been so long since I’ve been, but I’ve grown up with an affinity for asian everything. I went in high school as a high school ambassador,so it was really neat looking back, we met some officials and had a little bit of special treatment. I loved it when I went, I just wish I had recovered from jet-lag sooner than I did! While in Japan I also visited 2 other small towns, and they were even more amazing than tokyo. I love delving into a totally different culture.
place you’d most likely recommend a friend go visit:
Monterosso al Mare, Italy. I was living in Vicenza, Italy for a couple of months for an art class. My fellow students and I studied Italian and drawing during the week, and on the weekends we’d venture out and explore somewhere new. One weekend a few of us decided to go to the Cinque Terre. It was a terrible trip up, filled with rain, hectic transportation and near death experiences. But once we arrived it was like magic curtains opened before us, and there it was. The place smells wonderful and looks amazingly beautiful. While we were only there a couple of days, we did our share of exploring. I remember walking for miles to get to a beach, because there was a bus strike. Eventually me and 2 other girls made it. It was made of rocks and was fairly secluded. We were exhausted and just lay on the beach for the next several hours. Another day we walked through the houses and buildings, ending at farm land.
Monterosso al Mare, Italy. I was living in Vicenza, Italy for a couple of months for an art class. My fellow students and I studied Italian and drawing during the week, and on the weekends we’d venture out and explore somewhere new. One weekend a few of us decided to go to the Cinque Terre. It was a terrible trip up, filled with rain, hectic transportation and near death experiences. But once we arrived it was like magic curtains opened before us, and there it was. The place smells wonderful and looks amazingly beautiful. While we were only there a couple of days, we did our share of exploring. I remember walking for miles to get to a beach, because there was a bus strike. Eventually me and 2 other girls made it. It was made of rocks and was fairly secluded. We were exhausted and just lay on the beach for the next several hours. Another day we walked through the houses and buildings, ending at farm land.
preferred method of transportation:
I like to fly for a few reasons. If all goes as planned I’ll get to where I’m going faster. I get a lot of reading done in the downtime (the only time i can read is when I’m traveling). And, I love people watching. Airports also have a bit of glamour for me too. I wanted to be a flight attendant when I was little. But for domestic travel, I enjoy walking as much as I can.
I like to fly for a few reasons. If all goes as planned I’ll get to where I’m going faster. I get a lot of reading done in the downtime (the only time i can read is when I’m traveling). And, I love people watching. Airports also have a bit of glamour for me too. I wanted to be a flight attendant when I was little. But for domestic travel, I enjoy walking as much as I can.
place you’ve never been but dying to go:
Paris, because I’m a big fan of French music and movies. & Bali … you can blame that on Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Paris, because I’m a big fan of French music and movies. & Bali … you can blame that on Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
place you’d never go back:
I can’t think of a place I wouldn’t go back to honestly. I’d probably go anywhere!
most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
In high school I was in the marching band, and we marched in a parade in the Netherlands. I suppose it could be because everything is more fun when you’re a teenager, but it was also my first major trip.
In high school I was in the marching band, and we marched in a parade in the Netherlands. I suppose it could be because everything is more fun when you’re a teenager, but it was also my first major trip.
how do you prepare for a trip?
I wouldn’t say that I’m a disorganized person, but I am scatterbrained and always busy. So usually I pack at the last minute. I do though, make sure I’ve got extra batteries and have clean memory cards. I pack as lightly as possible, and don’t check bags if I can help it. They always lose the bags! And really,you don’t need that much if you pack the most functional pieces of clothing. More than one pair of shoes is essential! A lot of walking in one pair can make it hard to enjoy yourself.
how do you record your travels when you’re traveling?
I take a million pictures! I also write to friends through email. And more recently I use twitter. I update it pretty often with interesting things that have just happened, or where I am at the moment. I like how it’s shortand simple, and almost acts as a timeline when I go back and look at my twitter history. @merenor.
I wouldn’t say that I’m a disorganized person, but I am scatterbrained and always busy. So usually I pack at the last minute. I do though, make sure I’ve got extra batteries and have clean memory cards. I pack as lightly as possible, and don’t check bags if I can help it. They always lose the bags! And really,you don’t need that much if you pack the most functional pieces of clothing. More than one pair of shoes is essential! A lot of walking in one pair can make it hard to enjoy yourself.
how do you record your travels when you’re traveling?
I take a million pictures! I also write to friends through email. And more recently I use twitter. I update it pretty often with interesting things that have just happened, or where I am at the moment. I like how it’s shortand simple, and almost acts as a timeline when I go back and look at my twitter history. @merenor.
what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
Probably people. I like to catch natural reactions or sneak up to get the most natural body movements. I don’t usually take a photo of someone looking straight at the camera. (unless it’s a friend on the trip with me!) I take people within their natural environment, or seemingly outside of their natural environment. I like to create images that will make you think, or tell a story of some kind. Since I work in advertising, I tend to pay attention to ads that i’ll see, or packaging especially if i’m in a different country.
on an average, how many pictures to you take on a trip?
oh lord. Well I’d say my average for a day is around 600. But it really depends on the day and happenings. Some instances are just more photographically interesting than others. or if they daylight is beautiful one day.. I have gotta keep snapping!
oh lord. Well I’d say my average for a day is around 600. But it really depends on the day and happenings. Some instances are just more photographically interesting than others. or if they daylight is beautiful one day.. I have gotta keep snapping!
what’s in your “designer travel kit” ?
I take my Canon SX 100 everywhere I go. But I bring my Canon20D when I feel like it won’t be a burden. I like to be active when I’m exploring and I tend to feel dragged down by the large camera. I also keep a tiny notebook in my purse to write down ideas or small drawings.
I take my Canon SX 100 everywhere I go. But I bring my Canon20D when I feel like it won’t be a burden. I like to be active when I’m exploring and I tend to feel dragged down by the large camera. I also keep a tiny notebook in my purse to write down ideas or small drawings.
what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
I don’t do much to be honest. I want to hire an assistant for this! I do try to color correct images and put them on flickr. I used to have very bad habits of posting every single picture (sorry but not every single picture i take is great!!) so now I try to limit what I load on the internet. But I looove flickr. If i’ve got pictures of friends I’ll put the fun ones on facebook. I try to keep up with my blog and post on there whenever I get back from a trip as well using pictobrowser,which is great for slideshows and galleries.
kristine
October 6, 2009 at 1:33 am //
Nice post, some great photos!
meredith
October 6, 2009 at 3:32 am //
this is so exciting! thanks Anne
vintage simple
October 6, 2009 at 1:01 pm //
Some of these photographs are breathtakingly beautiful..! Thanks for sharing!
-maria
jamminjj
October 10, 2009 at 4:07 pm //
Tres excellent!