· · · ·

Win a fantastic £50 voucher from Blurb!

BlurbWe are delighted to announce a new competition. A Luxury Travel Blog has teamed up with Blurb to offer you a great chance to win one of five £50 vouchers to use on their website. An online creative book publishing platform, Blurb allows everyone and anyone to create their own coffee table book. Perfect for those treasured memories, or that once in a lifetime trip away.  Using Blurb’s free proprietary software BookSmart (available to download via the Blurb website)  you can start creating your photobook in no time, helping you re-live those fantastic memories. Photobooks based on people’s travels around the world are among the most popular books published on the Blurb platform, and we’re offering 5 lucky readers the chance to make their own book for free. All you have to do to win is comment on this blog entry, telling us why you deserve one of the vouchers the most, by 31st January 2010. The five comments picked out by the kind folk at Blurb will each receive one of these great vouchers. So… what are you waiting for?  Tell them why you deserve to win! To be notified of other great travel competitions, sign up at Travel Competitions.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.

Did you enjoy this article?

Receive similar content direct to your inbox.

64 Comments

  1. Anyone who travels will know that the photographs taken are more than a memory aid, they are an escape, a return to a time when everything was exciting and new; adventures in a totally different environment, all captured on camera and all representing the amazing, once in a lifetime events which took place. What better way to share these images than through this medium. I love the idea that you can display the images and tell a story at the same time. All too often we simply show photos on our computer screens or occasionally print a select few, this really is a poor substitute. I have 6 months worth of photographs from my American travels, just crying out to be printed and bound!

  2. Hmmm… I’m not sure you’re quite grasping how the competition works. You need to give a reason why you think you should be the winner.

    A possible example might be:

    “We had a wonderful honeymoon in New Zealand last year and have some fantastic shots from the trip. Problem is, they’re all just sitting on our computer. It’d be great to have something like this so that we can view our pictures properly. Traditionally, one year anniversary presents are made of paper so this would be an ideal anniversary gift for my wife.”

    (This is completely made up, just for the sake of an example.)

    You get the idea now?

    You need to give a REASON as to why you think you should be one of the lucky winners. And it’s going to need to be a reason that stands out from everyone else’s!

  3. wow this looks very cool. Taking the kids on a road trip from Toronto to Florida what better way to remember the 4 days in the car, the sites seen than a book like this (ok maybe a car wash too ) :)

  4. This is a great way to keep memories alive, I am taking my parents on a once in a lifetime trip to China & Japan at the beginning of 2010, a bit of a personal journey for them before they are not well enough to travel.

    This would extend the trip and keep their memories front and centre a very special gift for them both.

  5. I’ve been a bit of a nomad for more than 20 years. If I won the fantastic opportunity of such a prize I would have loads of exciting photos to put in the book.

    Where shall I start?

    A buskashi match in Peshawar, Pakistan (where spectators sometimes get killed in the melee). Somehow it seemed important at the time to stay behind the camera and keep clicking. Erk! I didn’t get killed – more by luck than judgement.

    Going through the Khyber Pass? Yeah.

    I had some strange times when I worked in Iraq, too. Like the guy with his home-made aircraft. That was a bit bizarre, especially since he’d never even seen an aircraft in real life. But good luck to him for his ambition and innovation.

    I’ve been to Petra in Jordan (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). It’s kinda hard to ride one of those horses to explore the place when you have a severe hangover – and you’re scared of horses. I managed somehow.

    I’ve got the Sanctuary of Truth next door. It’s a relatively unknown wonder of Thailand and is very close to my holiday home there.

    Cambodia? I could include photos of war museums and various other things of interest. Angkor Wat too, if you’re interested in a wonder of the world.

    I guess I could also add portraits of people (that’s what I like best – photographing people). I can do food and abstracts too. I got some good ones at the Delhi railway museum.

    Pick me, pick me, pick me!

    So why do all these interesting and exciting photos belong in a book? LOL! (I’m not very good at sales.) Just choose me and you won’t be disappointed.

  6. Getting a photo book would be a great way to put all my college adventures in and show all the people that where there the good times we had, like walking down the hill at 2am when we had finals the next day or like the time we just left on an epic chiptole run and drove an hour and a half for it. Getting a photo book would be more of a benefit to my friends then to me and I would like the opportunity to share with them the memories that we have made.

  7. I can vouch that Blurb books are great for documenting trips because I’ve created 3 of them already! The latest one was 116 pages all about a week spent in Rome with friends. It’s going to make the perfect Christmas gift for them.

    I would love to win because I need all the help I can get to create a book for my 2 week trip to Vietnam this past summer. Given how long the trip was, and how many photos I took (over 1700) it’s going to be a whopper of a book!

  8. Well let’s see…it had been 9 years since my husband and I went on a vacation! Too long, I know. But we finally decided to go for our daughter’s 4 year birthday. We went to Disney World on our first “family Vacation.” It was wonderful and it would be wonderful to capture it in a book for her to remember years from now. Maybe it’ll bring some of that Disney Magic back!

  9. I certainly don’t deserve it anymore than the other fine readers, but boy would I love it!

    Our twin girls are 5 this year and love taking pictures. I think a photo book filled with their low-angle, quirky and wonderful shots would make the best gift and a fabulous memory keep-sake for years to come.

    Cheers!

  10. I would love the opportunity to facilitate the production, between hard covers, of foodforfrienders shared love of cooking together with their comments and some of their mouth watering photos.

    foodforfriendsyeah ~ not just a blog!
    Open to anyone this web site invites you to share your recipes and share your life through the medium of food.
    Food photos are inspirational, they open up the world of the senses. Colour and texture are captured on the page or screen and readers are encouraged to actively share or seek out the experience for themselves. This is what it looks like, this is how it is achieved and you can do it.

    Food is also intrinsically wrapped up in our deepest memories: smells, sounds, places both home and abroad, childhood, friendships, holidays, celebrations and traditions.

    And food is best when it is shared.

    Encouragement from Blurb could promote that sharing!

  11. – I’ve finally found (after 3 years of fruitless searching) the hard disk with pictures I took of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. A couple of low-resolution email copies isn’t the same thing, I wish I’d done this 3 years ago – would have saved myself a lot of time and effort and anguish…..!

  12. My mother has stopped thinking travel feed our lives and our dreams.

    With one of the £50 vouchers, I would create a Blurb book that convinced her.

  13. Ok, here’s why I should get the vouchers – because I’d like to do something a little different.

    I’d like to turn all the foodie photos on foodforfriendsyeah into an inspiring coffee table book, where you flip through the pages until you find a photo which makes your mouth water – you then login to fffy and find the recipe!!

    It would be the perfect opportunity for me to test the waters with a recipe book concept.

  14. Something kooky has happened to me in the past 2 years. I’ve visited several continents, met loads of new arrivals, raised a glass to a lots of old acquaintances and most strangely, bought over a dozen memory cards!

    My cammer shutter has been going mad, not least because I have a lovely 2 year old daughter, but all the pictures are sitting on little inch sized plastic cards in a bag. It’s about time these pictures saw the light of day in a very stylish way!

  15. Last time, I had my laptop stolen, I lost all my pictures including those of trips to China, Finland, Germany and France, but few pics survived because they were printed. So, I would prefer this type of photo book to store the pics in a systematic and nice manner so as to see and share with friends and relatives.

    Now also, many many pics are lying on my PC including those to Hanoi, Singapore, Rishikesh and Puri, but just printing them is not motivating enough.

  16. Having already got a 3 year old and 20 week old twins my fiance and I knew that when we got married we couldnt afford a big lavish affair but knew that we wanted good memories of the day too.
    Stretching the budget we managed to afford a photographer but could only afford for him to take an hours worth of shots and then send us the raw images on a disk.
    We got married on 14th December 2009 and have just recieved the pictures back and we are spending alot of time photoshopping them to make them look their best and would love to be able to have an album to show them off in, winning a voucher for a photobook would mean that we could achieve that and be able to show friends and fanily pictures of our big day because at the moment they are stuck on our pc and as alot of our relatives are unable to access a pc they havent been able to see our memories.
    Winning a voucher would put the finishing touch to our marriage and allow us to have printed memories for our children to see in the future.

  17. I think I deserve to win one of the vouchers because having a big family and a digital camera don’t always mean you get to see and share your pictures, itms. My memory cards are full of wonderful pictures, most of which I’ve transferred to my pc but having no printer, I’ve never been able to print them out and pass them on to family and friends who don’t have a pc. My big sister Catherine is lovely but she hasn’t been able to see my kids (all 6 of them) for a while, having no pc, and if I was able to make a photobook I’d send it to her, I know she would really appreciate it.

  18. I think i should win, as I had a fantastic trip to new york this year, and got some great pictures of the empire state, liberty, all the usual site seeing stuff!
    Had a great time there, we also filmed most of the trip. so. I did kinda miss looking at the place as I was doing all the filming.
    But I wouldn’t change a thing, as i’ve got some great footage to look back on.
    What a lovely place to go, and one day would love to go back.

  19. My friend has just sent me a Photobook of her holiday to me in the UK …and it is the first time I have seen a Photobook. The whole thing was the most amazing way to keep memories….and memories can’t be replaced after time. It’s moments in time that can never be repeated.
    In October this year I spent a week in New York with my son..a trip we had planned for around fifteen years. It was a time that met and exceeded my expectations.
    What a wonderful gift from BLURB….a little time capsule of events that mean so much.
    I would love to win one of these prizes, as will so many others.
    Am I more deserving than others…of course not, however I do really really want to make this book…thank you for considering me.

  20. Memories are an amazing treasure as they have the power to move you & trigger emotions you might have forgotten with time. When captured & translated into images * Time becomes eternity * Images become poetry * Your heart glows truly * The ultimate goal ;-)
    I’m a photographer and for this reason images and memories have an great place within my heart. They are at the core of my life. Images are the way I express myself. Blurb’s book are a great way to compile your travels through time. It’s both a great present for yourself and for your dear ones. Like diamonds they will shine & reflect many sides of your personality.
    If you’re like me & like to inspire people with beautiful stories, blurb book is the way to see.

  21. My husband and I married a year ago in a small but beutiful ceremony with only the two of us there. We couldn’t afford a honeymoon and have been saving up for one ever since.

    Travel for us is difficult as I am physically disabled and my youth of travelling alone round Europe seems a lifetime away now!

    This might be our last trip, given my deteriorating condition, so it is doubly special as it will be our honeymoon and our “final foreign fling”

    Everyone deserves a lasting memory of wonderful times, whether they are on the other side of the world or exploring those missed treasures hidden in the countryside just outside your back yard!

  22. Susan Sontag once wrote, “The problem is not that people remember through photographs, but that they remember only the photographs.” I’ve spent the past five years traveling the world — six continents, nearly 50 countries, multiple visits to most of them — and I’ve only got three complete photo albums to show for it. The rest of the photos — and there are thousands of them — live on my computer. I’d love the opportunity to give those pictures a life in the world, and to allow my memories of those travels to stick.

  23. It has taken my husband and I six years to conceive our first child, and through the blessing of IVF we are expecting a son in early February.

    The IVF journey is a long one and a Photobook would be a perfect way to share our experience with those closest to us. We have had many scans throughout the pregnancy and would love to cherish them forever and show them to our son when he is old enough to understand.

    A photobook would be the perfect way to keep the memories of the pregnancy and our sons first few weeks in the world.

  24. I would love to compile a Blurb photo book to present to my parents who will be celebrating their Golden Wedding anniversary in June.

    They have rather considerately digitised their photo collection, which I have furtively copied!

  25. We had a wonderful motorhome touring holiday in France 2 years ago with some friends. One of whom has suffered from Parkinsons for a while and has now had to give up his motorhome as he is now unable to tour.
    A Photobook of the many places we visited would be a lovely present for him.

  26. I don’t deserve to win this – YET – but hold on one moment, my New Years resolution is to remedy that. I am going to pack my Rukky, and take my baldy head off to see the world. So I will need this photobook to document my global adventure. Is the world ready for me….Yep, I’m quite sedate really.

  27. I’m a fine art photography student currently studying in the first year of my degree. During the summer of 2009 I travelled to Nepal to volunteer within the local community. Living and working in one of the poorest districts of Kathmandu, I spent my time split between an orphanage at a Catholic nunnery and at a clinic for children with mental and physical health problems ranging from mild to severe – everything from autism to downs syndrome to childhood schizophrenia.

    The clinic is where my energy and focus lay – one of the few places of it’s kind in the country, it was desperately under-staffed and under-resourced however still manages to house over thirty children who would otherwise be left to their own devices. During my time there working with the children I documented our experiences together within the small classrooms and living areas – the ups and downs, tears, medication, the moments of joy and connection.

    For the last few months I’ve been editing what started out as thousands of photographs into a cohesive body of work, however as yet have not had the funds to progress any further. Being able to produce a photographic book of the project would be the first step to raising awareness of the both the clinic and the broader issue of mental health within the third world, and I would love to have the opportunity to start the ball rolling!

  28. I’m turning 50 this year, and it would be great to record the event with the photobook

  29. much better than saving all my pics on a disc i never look at, this would always be on the coffee table to look at x

  30. Every step you take, every move you make is creating a memory. Someone will remember what you’ve done in their minds but they’ll never have the proof unless they took a picture.

    I have so many pictures that are only on my computer. It costs a lot of money to produce digital photos onto paper, hence why I’ve not got too many.

    I recently went on the holiday of a life time to the Northern lights and I’ve only got the digital version of the photos. Reason being? I spent so much on the holiday I’m having to cut back to live now. I’ll soon be back to normal but this voucher would certainly help me print out some amazing memories!

  31. I love travelling have so many snaps just sitting away in my wardrobe, wud love this for the memories :)

  32. Because my Children are now growing up in their teenage years and just sulk in their room most of the time, So I’d love a memento of when they were younger and loved being photographed.

  33. Wow this would be such a fantastic prize for me. We took our son on his first holiday at 11 months old last year and putting the photos in a photo book would be such a fantastic keepsake for all of us!

  34. I’ve was fortunate enough to go on several holidays last year, spending a couple of weeks in Bulgaria, the South of France, and a trip to Rome just before Christmas. I have fabulous photographs, which I’m ashamed to say are living on my computer at the moment. These include all the photos that my 3 year old daughter took, as photography is one of her hobbies as well.

    Putting these together in a photobook would be great for us to do as a family, as we would be able to relive all of our great memories. The photobook would then provide us with a lifetime of enjoyment. We made one for my parents just over a year ago, and I know how much pleasure they get from it. It would be a wonderful addition to our house, so we could remember a great 2009.

  35. I have a keen interest in photography and would love to do a photobook so i can show family and friends my work.

  36. What a wonderful blog and website, thank you for sharing!

    I would LOVE to win a photobook as many of our photographs were destroyed when we were flooded and I’d like to house the remaining ones stylishly.

  37. because i want to take my lovely son on holiday…. last time we went away he spent the whole time withhis head down the toilet suffering from food poisoning!!! He has been worried about everything he eats since & really deserves a break

  38. These look great :) And I would love to have one to make a book of all the pictures we have taken of our 5 year old Daughter. First time Parents + Camera = Soooooo many photos. Unfortunatly they are mainly stored on CDroms (1000’s of them!! – Photos that is, not CDroms :) So I dont get to look at the pictures as often as I would like. At least with one of these books, I could look through easily anytime I want and be able to relive all those past wonderful Birthdays, Holidays and Christmases.
    xxx

  39. I would love to win the voucher because I would use it for my upcoming wedding. It would help us to save some money and also give us a lovely memento of the big day. Short and simple. Thank you :)

  40. I’ve been home from travelling Australia for almost 4 years and I still haven’t managed to print off all of my 2000+ photos – this would be such a great way to store the best of them without sacrificing a small rainforest & all the space under my bed!

  41. A voucher to make memories to treasure and see,
    a visual record of our family history;
    young and carefree moments captured fast,
    to be treasured for years recapturing the past;
    seeing how the babies have grown and thrive,
    reaffirming how good it is to be alive.

  42. I moved to England, from Canada, earlier this year with my boyfriend. On the “way” we went on a dream trip to Australia and New Zealand. I’ve posted some of our best pics online for my friends & family to see, but would love to create a photobook & send it to my Mom. I know she misses me & would love to “see” me more.

  43. A great chance for capturing all those wonderful memories in print. Oh and £50 is a lot of money when you’ve been unemployed for over a year!

  44. To keep the cherished moment with my children, we have some excellent photograph’s from our holiday in Bath and it would be perfect for this. My children are so young and I want to remember every single moment possible!!

  45. I think this could re-energise our marriage! Let me explain… My wife Jo and I got otgether ten yeas ago and had a wild time in the first few years visiting far flung destinations in places like Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Australia, Hong Kong, America, Canada, Europe. We were very lucky – she worked as cabin crew for an airline.

    Six years ago we were delighted at the birth of our first child, Finlay. He was quickly followed by Mia (5), Olivia (3) and then, last year, Archie (1). As you can imagine, our lives have changed immensley! We love our children to bits, but I really miss our travelling and a resource like this would help it stay real in our minds.

    Keeping fingers crossed!

  46. After returning home from my trip to Europe I had no idea what to do with my 19,000 photos…. (I know…. i am shutter happy). I tried uploading a bunch to my flickr site (which I put in the website box), but got bored with that fast…. it would be awesome to have a book that I could thumb through containing some of my more favorite shots, as right now they are all in digital purgatory :) Also it would be an awesome gift for my friend who I traveled with. Even if I do not win the contest can you send me some more info about this company?

  47. Because I am a photo obsessed person, who likes to look at them over and over again. Photos are as precious as my journals – a recording of life, capturing a moment, and knowing that no matter what else may happen in your future, there is your past, that one moment where you were happy.

  48. If I won this prize from Blurb
    I could kick my old albums to the curb
    My friends would be praising
    as all my pics look amazing
    because now they all look superb

  49. Because children grow up too quickly and I would love to perserve some reminders of them.

  50. I really don’t deserve to win this as my argument for my reason is that deep down I’m lazy. I take hundreds of photos on my travels and get home with the best of intentions to print off the photos and proudly display them…. but I never do. I buy the album and start putting photos in and get sidetracked, or I never get round to getting them printed. My husband in exasperation last year bought me a digital photo frame so all I had to do was plug it in and put in my card, but that is too much like hard work remembering to switch it on or not to reuse the card. So whenever friends come round now we all have to troop upstairs and sit in my cramped and cluttered study to peer at a slideshow on my pc. Imagine how cool it would be to show off a lovely photo book of my pictures. As I said not truly deserving but it would be really nice!!

  51. Why do I deserve the prize? Over the years I’ve amassed a large collection of photos from the Old Town of Georgetown in Penang – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It would be great to have the opportunity to use them to put together a photobook.

    Georgetown is a fascinating mix of cultures that reflects its history as a trading port frequented by the Chinese, the Malays, the Indians, the Arabs, the Portuguese and the British. This mix pervades everything about the town from the cuisine to the festivals, but above all it shapes the architecture. A photobook would be a great way of enabling the rest of the world to see the unique beauty of the “Pearl of the Orient” for themselves.

  52. I have a toddler and recently me and my husband have started traveling with her a lot. The coffee table book will be a good way for us to preserve our “travel memories.”

  53. I recently went to South Africa and took some amazing photos of moments such as elephants bathing, lion cubs close up and baboons making mischief and I would love to have them in a book!

  54. First of all thank you as I have won one of your £50 vouchers, I have received an email from Paul with the code to claim my prize, but I am not sure how I go about doing this. Please me know how I can claim my prize. Once again thank you.

  55. Would it be possible to say who won? I looked at the blurb web site and found their layouts very prescriptive. I would have enjoyed trying to make one work if I had won but I prefer a full do it yourself layout opportunity. It is a shame they do not have that option available, or if they do I did not locate it.

  56. I love to photograph those sides of an area that people tend not to see initially, areas that are often dismissed on first sight but which are filled with colour, texture and detail that even locals may not have noticed.

    My Blurb books so far have been for myself and those who know my work so I’ve kept them small, but I’ve always wished I could afford to do a larger format book that could include not just my photographs but illustrations and artwork inspired by those travels, something more mixed media for a wider audience so others can see these places in a new light. I’m also really keen to make the books interactive so that each person can customise their own to create a truly unique art book.

  57. congratulations to all who won i hope they enjoyed their prize, it is a great way to keep precious memories alive.

Comments are closed.