About a year ago, I received one of the greatest gifts ever, a travelers notebook. Up until that point, I had an array of notebooks in different sizes and formats. Never uniform, tidy or consistent. They were a pain to carry and rarely used consecutively. I would journal a day or two then skip a week or month and continue on. Never a habit, but an afterthought.

The travelers became a part of my daily routine and has completely changed the way I journal, document, and even travel. My setup is simple, I use 3 notebooks in my shell along with a canvas zipper case. 

Notebook 1= daily bullet journey, tracker and diary. For over a year, I have not missed a day entering into this. These are all the same size, so I number the notebook and keep them all together once they are full. I have never felt so organized and in order before with my notebooks. 

Notebook 2 = stamps, sketches, junk journal. Let your creativity soar! 

Notebook 3 = Thoughts / ideas that are not daily life diary entries, film / photography journal. I am a dreamer. This is my dreamer notebook for ideas or random thoughts and ideas. This is also where I put all of my topics for my website journal or articles. 

Canvas zip pouch = carrying odds and ends I find= receipts, tickets, paper. Anything I want to save or junk journal later. This is also a great place to keep items you don’t want bent. 

The whole travelers economy system of notebooks is incredible. You can customize the setup to match your lifestyle. You can do lined pages, dot journal, planners, sticker relief, watercolor paper, you name it. I have even seen some with up to 5 notebooks added. That gets a bit bloated, but whatever floats your boat!

The leather will age over time becoming unique and yours.

I will not get into what a daily tracker / bullet journal is or mine specifically, but I highly recommend looking up how to bullet journal or create a habit tracker. This daily tool mixed with a diary has been an important part of my daily routine. Before I can even touch a screen each day, I wake up, make coffee, read, then complete my journal for the previous day. This has been such an Important part of my routine and something i look forward to.

The act of a daily journal is something I cannot recommend enough. Remember, a journal is for you, not for others. If you are writing a journal with it being intended for others to see, you are missing the point and should start a blog instead.

Now, something I will share :

How I organize my film with my journal 

Notebook 3 is where I keep my film rolls in order.

For instance, I just got back from nearly 3 weeks away from home living out of a suitcase or backpack most days. During that span, I photographed each day through multiple sites or locations. If I simply threw those rolls of film in my bag with no notes, I may be able to piece together place, but the rest of the context would be lost. When it came time to develop those rolls, it would be an absolute organization mess. 

That is where my journal comes In.

I label each roll with a numeral and make a corresponding entry into my journal about those rolls.

I include any notes regarding place, exposure, stories, etc. I want to be able to document each roll visually, but just as Important, I want to journal any notes about what happened that may not be explainable in the images. 

Photojournalist must keep pristine notes, otherwise images or stories may not be credible and go to print. I try to treat my daily documenting the same way. Years from now, I will be able to reference the journal and the exact rolls / frames for any details I may need. Think of it as analog meta data for film. 

If you are just starting out with film photography, this is also a great way to document exposure, lighting, developing times, etc. to help you keep learning and growing in your process.

Labeling my rolls also helps me develop and keep them in order. I also mark each roll with tape along with the number matching the journal entry. If you are doing multiple rolls in a short time, this can help you keep track of them all before they get spliced and out into your binder for storage and safe keeping. Each canister is assigned a number, each roll is assigned the same number, that goes into a binder with reference to the journal. Perfect harmony. 

I would never have done this if I didn’t have my travelers journal. Since it is always with me, I never miss out of recording valuable data or entries.

Just like a good camera, you are going to use the tools that inspire you. For me, the travelers journal helps me achieve that. For you, a $.99 composition notebook may do the trick or a field notebook. Whatever the tool, as long as it helps you achieve your goals, that is the right tool. 

I wanted to share what works for me and hopefully it will open ideas to help you out in the future as well.

Happy shooting and journaling!