A few months ago Adobe reached out to me to see if I wanted to work with them in helping to promote a new way to share stories – Slate. I always love new technologies that help me with the storytelling process, so I gladly agreed and began the process of learning the ins and outs of Slate. I’ve been compensated for my involvement with them, but as usual all of my thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
Photography is a big part of what I do, and that’s what first drew me in to using Slate. I’m not always the best with new tech, but the learning curve was short and before long I was uploading photos and writing stories to go along with the series.
The process is easy really, just log on and you’re led through each step with plenty of options along the way. You can choose different themes, ways of showing off your photos, different methods to add your own words and even link to other websites. It’s like a digital version of scrapbooking, except that it looks a heck of a lot better.
After several drafts, I settled on two different stories to share: one highlighting travel tips and the other an important travel experience in Turkey. I was on a Viking Oceans cruise of the Eastern Mediterranean and was excited to once again visit one of my favorite cities, Istanbul. I had the Slate in mind throughout my time in Istanbul, looking for scenes and stories that would translate well to this fun and innovative storytelling tool.
I was on a food tour of the city, my favorite way to experience a new destination, and the imagery I was met with seemingly around every corner was all perfect for the story I knew I wanted to put together.
Accessible both on the iPad or the web, I eventually opted to upload everything via my laptop – it’s just how my mind is best able to put together stories.
As it turns out, it was the perfect vehicle through which to share the rich tastes and hearty aromas of Turkish cuisine. I learned a lot that day walking around the city, from starting my day in the traditional way with tea and simit (sesame bread) to laughing with new friends over a hearty lunch of mezza, or small dishes. Adobe Slate helped me share not just the photos of these moments, but through narrative storytelling relay more about the people and the city who love these delicious bites so very much.
After several months of playing around with Slate, I’m finally able to say that yes, I will be adding this technological arrow to my quiver of ways I share stories with the world. I like its ease and how well it showcases not only my photos, but the stories which accompany them. Will I use it for every trip? No, but I think it will be a great way to share more immersive and definitely more emotional experiences.
