I was reading this post, Can you travel without a camera, and a follow up post, Hey, Me Get Out of My Travel Photos (Not!). While I cannot possibly imagine going on a trip without my camera, and I tend to take tons of photos of everywhere I visit, I do not do so to prove I have been somewhere.
I think it is a combination of wanting to preserve a memory, enjoying photography and making sure that I have a tangible (if I ever actually print out my photos) souvenir of my travels. Most of the photos I take do not have myself or traveling companions, so I guess we're not really proving we've been anywhere.
Additionally, I like to share where I go with people. I travel to odd and interesting places and I want to make sure other people know about them, too. In fact, my boyfriend and I even write a travel zine. We write the zine because we like to share inexpensive and fun trips with people....not because we are proving we have been anywhere.
Even though I take a lot of photos, I am still in the moment while I am traveling. I think it's great that I can come home, look at the photos and relive the moment again, too. It is not more important to me to take a photo or get a souvenir than to enjoy where I am and what I am doing. However, I am sort of afraid I will forget where I have been or what I have done without documenting it in some way, and I think that memories are important, too.
So while I don't think that I will be traveling without my camera any time soon, I don't travel just for the photograph of where I've been either.
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