Yesterday’s tragic events in Paris serve as a reminder as to how fragile the places that we visit can be. Whether due to natural disasters or man-made events, many of the locations that we treasure can be damaged at some point in the future. The photographs that we, as travelers, capture can do more than just serve as a reminder of the time that we have spent in a place. Ultimately, some of these can serve to document the beauty of a place that perhaps may be lost in the future. Obviously, for extremely popular locations, there can be many photographs that exist to memorialize a location from many different perspectives. With that said, there are some places that are less frequented by travelers and tourists and the images that we capture and the experiences that we share serve not only to educate others about the location, but document them for future generations as well.

Although it certainly isn’t are intention to take photographs for historical purposes when we travel, we have definitely seen a variety of places and been able to take photographs that we will treasure forever and that we share via our site. We have seen places like Tiwanaku riddled with bullet holes because the army used the statues for target practice. Walking along the Great Pyramids of Giza, you will find graffiti on the stones that have stood there for thousands of years. Acts of vandalism occur with some frequency around the world. Some of these are easily remedied and others take an effort that is either costly or time consuming.

Hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, and other natural disasters have also changed places, both the buildings as well as the landscape, throughout the world. Having photographs before, during, and after such events allow us to truly understand the forces of nature and how the effect the world. Also, have you ever gone into a restaurant with photographs of a city from a hundred years ago up to the current day? We find those images fascinating and to be a visual timeline of a place. Whether intentional or not, all of us who travel and photograph the places that we visit are creating a visual documentation of those locations that can be shared for years to come.