Once upon a time, sending postcards from national parks was a way to let friends and family back home know what a great time you were having in such gorgeous settings. But is that still a time-honored tradition?
While park gift shops still have racks and racks of postcards, sending text messages and emailing shots you took with your cellphone are more immediate. But have those methods replaced your search for the perfect postcard and the time spent jotting down thoughts to those you left behind?
Comments
I send postcards that I print myself. I take photos and make them into postcards of the NP. I've looked at many postcards and the pictures just don't look like what I've seen in the park so I make my own. You can't really tell the difference, at least thats what I'm told.
Since I work in the parks, I always send postcards from the park I'm currently working at. My family loves to see where I'm currently working and it's always a big thrill for my grandmother who doesn't do anything electronically.
Where do you get them printed? Do you bring some sort of color printer with you on trips? Or perhaps you're talking about sending them to a service to have printed either on the road or at home?
Personally I have a hard time getting the right conditions for a postcard perfect picture. A place like the Grand Canyon only has blue skies for a few days a year. All the photos I took had this purplish cast to the background. It can be difficult to get an ideal waterfall photo of Yosemite (the last few times I visited were in winter or late summer when the water flow was low). Some of the best postcards I've seen were aerial shots or of wildlife. I've never been in an aircraft over an NPS site that was close enough to take a decent postcard-style photo, and getting a great wildlife shot is often about persistence. Those pro photographers can spend weeks trying to get the ideal shot of a bear or elk.
yes, we love to send postcards. One Christmas my mother (who had saved up the cards from various places) gave them back to us in a lovely album. We had such fun re-reading them & remembering our trips.
That was quite thoughtful of your mother, Stormy. Sounds like a wonderful present of memories!
I used to send a lot-not so much anymore-mainly because I don't even know the mailing addresses of many of my friends or relatives anymore-contact is via email, social media or occasionall phone.
park gift shops still have racks and racks of postcards, sending text messages and emailing shots you took with your cellphone are more immediate. But have those methods replaced your search for the perfect postcard and the time spent jotting down thoughts to those you left.