How Travel Makes You More Creative
When we visit a new place, even for a few hours, we start paying attention in different ways. We notice colors, sounds, architecture, landscapes, food, and other details that we take for granted when we are home. We start seeing the world with fresh eyes. That shift in perspective is one of the reasons travel and creativity are so closely connected.
Travel Encourages Curiosity
One of my favorite parts of traveling, is that you find yourself wondering what's down a side street, what's inside a little shop, where a trail might lead, or what story is behind an old building. Those little moments of curiosity often become the most memorable parts of a trip. I've found that some of my favorite photos and stories happened when I followed a side quest instead of sticking to the plan. Creativity works the same way. It grows when we're willing to explore, ask questions, and stay open to unexpected discoveries.
A canal in Venice, Italy
If I had to choose one photo that perfectly represents curiosity, it might be this one. Venice is a city that seems designed to make you wonder what's around the next corner. Every narrow street, bridge, and canal invites exploration. I took this photo while wandering through the city with no particular destination in mind, simply following whatever looked interesting.
That's one of the reasons I think travel and creativity are so closely connected. Travel encourages us to ask questions and stay open to discovery. What is down that street? Where does that bridge lead? What's hidden around the next corner? Some of the most memorable moments of a trip happen when we step away from the plan and allow ourselves to explore.
Travel Gives You New Perspectives
Exploring the world shows us that there is more than one way to live, create, eat, and experience life. We notice the ways that color, space, food, or routines compare. This can influence the photos we take, the stories we want to tell, and the details we notice when we come back home. Every adventure adds another layer to what we draw from when we create.
Alexander Hamilton’s home in New York
One of my favorite things about travel is the opportunity to connect with history in a more personal way. This photo is Alexander Hamilton's home, and standing in front of it made me think about how much different it feels to experience a place in person rather than just reading about it. Travel has a way of bringing stories to life. It helps us connect the dots between people, places, and events in a way that feels more real and memorable.
Travel Creates Stories Worth Telling
One of the reasons I think travel and creativity go so well together is that travel gives us so many stories to tell. As memory keepers, we're constantly looking for moments worth documenting, and travel naturally creates them. Of course there are the big moments we expect to remember, but often it's the smaller ones that stay with us. The view from a hotel window on the first morning of a trip. The funny conversation during a long drive. The unexpected detour that ended up being the highlight of the day. Finding those stories and deciding how to tell them is a creative act. Whether you're making a scrapbook page, writing in a journal, creating a photo book, or putting together a monthly roundup, you're taking experiences and turning them into something meaningful. Travel simply gives us a lot of material to work with.
Bottle of Coca-Cola delivered by room service in Perugia, Italy
My husband was itching for a Coke Zero, so he called room service and asked if they had one. They brought it to him in a silver bucket. What a presentation! This was one of those small travel moments that probably wouldn't make anyone's must-see list, yet it's exactly the kind of thing that helps tell the story of a trip.
Travel Helps You Notice More
One of the easiest ways to become more creative is to become more observant. Travel naturally encourages this because we're surrounded by things that feel new. We notice different colors, textures, architecture, signs, landscapes, simply because we are in a different location. The more we practice paying attention, the more material we have to work with when we create. I love the small details that helped me remember what a place actually felt like.
One of my favorite parts of traveling is seeing how light changes a place. The same pool and lawn looked completely different at sunrise and sunset. Spending time surrounded by new scenery gave me the opportunity to pay attention to details like light and sky. As a photographer and memory keeper, those small observations often become the stories and images I remember long after the trip is over.
Travel Inspires New Ideas
Sometimes creativity needs a change of scenery. Being somewhere different exposes us to new adventures, designs, foods, traditions, and ways of thinking. You might see a scene you want to use on a scrapbook page, a photography idea you'd like to try, or a story you feel inspired to document. Having a collection of small ideas gathered along the way can continue influencing our projects long after we return home.
David Byrne concert at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada
David Byrne and his crew are wildly creative, and watching this concert definitely inspired me. I found myself wanting to be more bold with color and creative projects. One of my favorite parts of the show was when he shared photos, videos, and images that went with the music. I loved seeing the pictures that he took of the neon graveyard in Las Vegas. So cool!
By stepping outside your normal routine and paying attention to what you discover, you encourage curiosity. Those experiences become part of the creative well we draw from every time we pick up a camera, open a journal, or sit down to document our lives. That's one of the reasons I think travel and creativity are so closely connected. The more we explore, the more stories, memories, and ideas we have to bring into our creative work.
