Traveling with the Trumps

Got a camera you love ... but that you've been negelecting? Want to fill an afternoon with an intriguing visual exercises that will help you see your familiar world in a whole new way? Want to take vacation photos people will actually clamor to see?

This simple photographic application, inspired by the twenty-two trumps of the Tarot, will have you thinking of picture-taking and picture-making in a whole new way!

Once you become familiar with the twenty-two trumps of the Tarot, you'll discover these cards are the key to virtually unlimited creativity. (Need a primer on the trumps and their meaning? Click here.)

Some time ago, I hit on the idea of Traveling with the Trumps: when on vacation, I try to snap twenty-two images I could use to illustrate a "Tarot deck" of my trip:

- A snapshot of a young child leaping from a trampoline becomes my Fool.

- A gold-clad Buddha image in Thailand becomes my Heirophant.

- A sinsiter hallway leading downward into darkness becomes my Devil.

And so on -- you get the idea. If the local environment and artwork don't inspire you, you can always ask friends and family to assume archetypal poses and purposefully infuse your images with the energy of the trumps!

When you start trying to capture the Trumps of your Trip, you'll see your picture-taking exercise in a whole new light! Arranging these photos in trump sequence gives otherwise random images the feeling of a coherent story ... and you may also notice, as I have, that this photographic record of your "archetypal journey" is the perfect length to share with others. (Share twenty-two pictures, and friends want more; share two hundred photos, though ... and you may have to find new friends!)

But you don't have wait for an exotic trip to exercise your trump-finding skills! How about a Tarot of Your Neighborhood? Or a Tarot of Your House? Even a Tarot of The Mall can make for a fascinating exercise in people watching ... and a remarkably pleasant afternoon.

So ... snatch up your digital camera or camera-phone and start snapping! Once you start Traveling with the Trumps, there's no telling where the road of discovery will take you.