Although it may be a bit unconventional, digital camera photos will always be my favorite souvenir from any trip.
Typical vacation souvenir selections include: sweatshirts with the name of the city it’s in, keychains, fridge magnets, shot glasses, stickers, postcards and a partridge in a pear tree. There might be a few destinations with specific things to buy, like an “I love NYC” T-shirt or a Shakespeare and Company tote bag in Paris — which I may have gotten — but overall, souvenirs are just a repeat of the same useless, overpriced items.
As most of us know, there is a resurgence in physical media now. We all long for the nostalgic feeling of digital photos from an era we were never a part of. I fell for this trend and got the Kodak Pixpro FZ45 as a graduation gift, and the photos I have taken with this camera have been my favorite. Whether I’m on a hike with my friends, at Mizzou Homecoming or visiting Versailles, I always know I can count on my digital camera for a fire photo.
Social media is a lot of people’s key way to communicate with their peers. I know for me, creating the perfect Instagram story is one of my favorite pastimes. I have a main, spam and digital camera account because I just love posting photos so much. My camera has given me even more reason to post.
When I went to Europe, I took hundreds of photos on my iPhone. My friends would spam the photo button dozens of times to help me capture the perfect profile picture, and I would take pictures of every corner in Paris that I walked past. I also spent way too much money buying Eiffel Tower keychains and sweatshirts that have “Monaco” embroidered across them. Despite this, the digital photo I took of the Eiffel Tower while sailing along the Seine on a night cruise is my favorite thing I brought home from this trip. Every time I see it, I am instantly back in that moment.
Digital photos feel so much more intimate than those taken from a phone. You can’t spam the button, and you can’t immediately upload them to your socials. These photos are 100% you and your trip. The photos are of moments that you wanted to specifically capture. My digital camera currently has over 500 pictures sitting on the SD card, and each one is special to me.
One of my best friends has a cabin about an hour outside of our hometown, and for the past couple of summers, she has taken me with her and her family to enjoy nature. We went on hikes, cooked good food and roamed around the creek. Because we were so enthralled with our excursions, I have barely any pictures from the weekend. One of the only ones I have is a digital photo one of my friends took of the rest of us, and it is one of my favorite pictures.
Trips that require an eight-hour flight across the ocean or a one-hour drive to a cabin both have one thing in common for me: a digital picture that perfectly captures the feelings and emotions I had. I truly don’t think any souvenir could emulate that.
Digital cameras aren’t just a trendy, cool new way to take pictures. They can also be an intimate and authentic personal experience. You might be able to buy a Pura Vida bracelet at every beach in America, but only you and your digital camera can bring home a photo of the memories you made.