From someone who moved out….
Thoughts on preparing travel reports
Writing travel reports is very easy. You - or women - go somewhere, meet nice people, after all, motorcycling also creates contacts, and then you start taking photos and philosophizing. Think.
If it were that easy. Let's start taking photos. The problems start with the choice of motif. The famous motif bell does not exist. Nothing rings when something is beautiful. What rings the bell is at best the exhaust or the engine. That would be bad though.
Should the motorcycle be in the picture or not and, above all, where in the picture? This is not supposed to be a promotional photo for the XYZ brand! If you already make one choice, it is usually the wrong one. You only notice that when you are back home and realize that suitable images are missing. After all, the image should also match the text. In the report on the circumnavigation of the Alps, a rescue cruiser at sea is impressive, but inappropriate.
What did Zeus do? Going back to the land of dreams would be an idea. You just saddle up the machine and drive 3000 kilometers through the picturesque area for a picture, including the motorway, ship transfer and toll. What kind of picture do you not do.
Stop. If you get the idea that you can recreate scenes somewhere and somehow, you are wrong. That stands out. And then you're through below. As deep down as the shaft of the Ewald colliery in Herten.
Well, you can blame yourself for the missing material, everything is fine. Usually you don't get upset about yourself as long and artfully as about others. And you find excuses. Munchausen is a shit against it.
It is even better when higher powers are involved. Who can do something for rain, storm, hail, the impending tsunami in the Alps or the danger of avalanches in midsummer. The impending Brexit is, at least for now, always a great excuse. For nothing...
In short, there are many reasons why you shouldn't take pictures when you should have. In England, of all things, the rain god caught me in the summer of 2018, which makes taking photos a lot more difficult, especially when you're on a motorcycle. I admit it didn't always rain. This is also proven by a lot of pictures that I haven't hidden. But I was further away and had a different goal. Driven by one's own unrest. Time is of the essence. Good pictures take time.
But again it's your own fault. Why did I let myself be so overwhelmed by the backdrop that I forgot to compose the picture? Why haven't I always thought of the target group I want to reach? After all, the site is called “MopedTravel” and not “Hiking made fun” or something similar.
My trip to England was an attempt. Don't worry, it wasn't about my self-discovery or esoteric worlds in left-hand traffic. No, it was an attempt at a solo tour with all the difficulties of filming and photography that then get in the way. Erik Peters knows this and solves it with a professional dedication that is second to none.
I have found that, although I am not a bit devoted, I am still a bit away from the corresponding implementation. Thinking ahead of time, reading a landscape photographically, taking time for a picture, letting scenes speak. Think about what you could write about the picture. These are slogans that need to be filled with life. I promise I'll work on it.
Well, I don't have a moped in every picture, not yet. At the latest when I travel to the moon, I can do it, with a full moon, in the dark night. The GS stands out slightly from the distant shadow of the moon-like mountains. You just have to look carefully.
Your
Günter Heumann-Storp