A few weeks after getting my Creative Zen V Plus mp3 player, I've filled it with over 7 gigs of the best music I own, plus a few hundred more songs I downloaded from from Napster during a free 30-day trial. When I started to run out of A-list music, I turned to photos.
The player's screen is only 1.5 inches, so the quality leaves much to be desired, however I quickly set up and filled the following folders:
- Friends and Family
- Food – photos of tasty restaurant meals and home cooking
- Just for Fun (aka Random) – satellite photo of my office building, totaled Jetta from '05, kickflip (above), etc
- Sports – a few shots from DC United and NY Yankees games
- Travel – some of my favorite photos from Washington, DC (home), Europe and Central America
As I transferred the photos, I realized the importance they may play for me on the road. In the olden days, I'm quite sure backpackers would carry a few photos of home and family to keep them company while away for long periods of time. Given we've entered the digital age, it makes sense to use the photo viewer feature of mp3 players (and digital cameras if you prefer). Also, I realized it will make it easier to share a little more about me with others (should someone feign interest of course).
Setting a bunch of photos to slide show mode, while a sappy song plays along, will surely be a comfort when I'm feeling lonely.
PS – When I bought the player, I thought I'd be able to store photos from my camera on it, as well as add music during my travels. While there is a drag and drop feature, the music, photos, and video I store in this manner will not be accessible from the player. Basically, it functions as extra storage capacity unless I have access to the Creative software.
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.
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- Hostelworld for booking hostels.
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Cassie
Monday 20th of August 2007
Dave- I love that you're going RTW first and get to test all the gadgets I've been thining I need. One is to replace my mp3 player that died a slow death last year.
I might take a few prints just in case I wanted to share my life back home but didn't want to reveal I had an expensive gadget with me.
Trying to figure out what do with all the photos is a huge concern for me....
Cassie
Dave
Monday 20th of August 2007
Good point about taking some prints for the random person you might meet on a train or something. The mp3 player thing is probably better for my viewing only - the faces aren't really clear, and they act mostly as a trigger for those memories.
If you mean trying to figure out what to do with the photos you take, I've learned most backpackers burn CD's at internet cafe's these days. If you make 2 copies, you can mail one home, and keep one just in case it doesn't arrive.
I'm planning to take 2 memory cards, totaling 4 gigs of space, which should be plenty. I was thinking that I could take any opportunities with couchsurfers who have broadband internet to upload photos to Flickr. I sprung for the $25 Pro, unlimited storage, account. :smile:
Cassie
Monday 20th of August 2007
Dave- I love that you're going RTW first and get to test all the gadgets I've been thining I need. One is to replace my mp3 player that died a slow death last year.
I might take a few prints just in case I wanted to share my life back home but didn't want to reveal I had an expensive gadget with me.
Trying to figure out what do with all the photos is a huge concern for me....
Cassie
Dave
Tuesday 21st of August 2007
Good point about taking some prints for the random person you might meet on a train or something. The mp3 player thing is probably better for my viewing only - the faces aren't really clear, and they act mostly as a trigger for those memories.
If you mean trying to figure out what to do with the photos you take, I've learned most backpackers burn CD's at internet cafe's these days. If you make 2 copies, you can mail one home, and keep one just in case it doesn't arrive.
I'm planning to take 2 memory cards, totaling 4 gigs of space, which should be plenty. I was thinking that I could take any opportunities with couchsurfers who have broadband internet to upload photos to Flickr. I sprung for the $25 Pro, unlimited storage, account. :smile: