The Unseen Me – Travel Tattoos

As part of my second creative brief for my collaboration with Canon on their “Come And See” campaign (you can check out my first post here) they ask me to show something lesser known about myself. Again it’s a under estimated challenge for someone who tends to share many details of their life via a blog and social media!

Having already blogged about travelling as a vegetarian (something I hadn’t previously touched upon) last month I couldn’t tread over old ground so I’ve spent the last few weeks racking my brains and trying to find an interesting subject to share.

Self portraiture and analysis is a tough artistic assignment!

Something which is of interest to a lot of people I meet on the road, but something I’ve rarely blogged about though is my growing number of travel inspired tattoos which I’ve been slowly adding since I first started getting inked at age 19. It’s a weird addiction (ask anyone who has a tattoo!) but also an extension of my creative and artistic side – art that you carry with you forever, wherever.

For me all my pieces symbolise my adventures, something that wasn’t entirely pre tempted, more a happy coincidence – and each piece has a story about an important point or location on my journey.

The flip around screen, touch focus, timer and easy to use macro modes of the new Powershot G7X I’m testing out for them also made shooting my ink much easier than expected – there’s a lot of hidden creativity in a small package with this camera!

So here’s a run through off all my current travel tattoos and the short stories behind them…

 

Hibiscus Flower (Left Hand Shoulder)

This was actually my first tattoo at the age of 18 and like all my ink it represents a journey. It was actually done whilst I was studying Photography at University – my first proper solo adventure away from home and a degree and journey that would ultimately lead to my travellying lifestyle. Why a hibiscus flower and what that design? To be honest it was just something that took my fancy art wise and the aptly named hawaiian flower goes hand in hand with my surfer lifestyle!

 

Surfer (Right Hand Hip)

Probably my least favourite tattoo! This was done on a trip to Spain with a  good childhood friend of mine. There’s no real intriguing travel story behind this one though, more of a spontaneous decision!

 

Sak Yant (Right Ribs)

This tattoo serves to remind me of my time in Thailand, a country I’ve spent months in and I’m always keen to return to. The design I got was a traditional Sak Yant one – which promotes good luck in life, love, business and friendship it was inked by hand with bamboo – the traditional style. Despite what you might think this is actually less painful than a modern tattoo and also heals heaps quicker, perfect if you want to jump in the ocean the next day!

 

Compass (Left Forearm)

My most recent piece of ink is actually my favourite too! Again it was done in Thailand with bamboo but is a design the tattoo artist put together for me – an old school style compass. For me the symbolism of the compass is tied closely to my travelling lifestyle and I guess its prominent position is a constant reminder to myself of my need to explore and travel the world.

 

Australian Wave (Left Leg)

This tattoo is certainly laden with travel memories! I got it tattooed at the end of my stay in Byron Bay, Australia at the end of my year long adventure out there. Byron is easily my favourite place on the planet and I have some epic memories of the waves, company and surroundings that always make me smile.

The tattoo itself has a rather unfortunate but amusing reason – it’s an interpretation of “The Wreck” an iconic sight in Byron and also a really fun surf spot.  Not only did I surf there heaps but it’s also the location where I broke my cheek bone and nose when my surfboard hit me in the face! Not fun at the time but a good travel story none the less!

 

Backpacker Banter Logo (Left Ankle)

Yup you read that correctly, I have the BPB logo tattooed on me! I was in Cusco, Peru at the end of my first adventure through South America and wanted to get another travel inspired piece done. South America was also the time where my blog really took off and started funding my travels so I thought (maybe after a few Pisco Sours admittedly!) that my logo was the perfect personal icon for my travels! My little brother designed it too so it also has some sentimental value…at least that’s how I help justify it!

 

This is a collaborative post in conjunction with Canon Europe as part of their “Come and See Campaign” which you can follow using the #comeandsee

All images taken using the Canon G7X -many using the flip around screen in what I can only describe as “selfie mode”!