Photography for the Budget Traveller

So you're going somewhere amazing, possibly somewhere you've dreamed of for a long time. You'll want to capture the moment. The stunning sunsets. The funny looking people. The people you meet, your new lifelong friends and those you'll try to shake off as soon as you can. The mountains, the scenery. You get the idea. If it's worth visiting, it's probably worth recording to show off to your mates when you get home or remind you when you're old all the amazing places you've been in your life.

Buy the best you can afford, and let's face it you can get a lot for your money in this fabulous new digital age, honey.

What kind of camera?

A full on SLR or a compact? Do you fancy yourself as (or are you already) the next big Travel Photography Thing? Or do you just want snapshots of everything you see. Something in between? Many compacts now have a lot of extra features making them a realistic option for more than just the casual snapshot photographer.

Backup or Bust

Whatever you choose, it makes sense to go digital. This gives you the option of backing up your photos regularly as you go. Save them on CD or save them online, or both. You might want to submit them to a mag online and try to get published and become famous. Then you wouldn't have to be a budget traveller any more. Nice.

Or you might want to upload them onto a blog page and let your family and friends see what you're doing, letting them avoid yawning embarrassingly when you no longer have to subject them to hours upon hours of slideshow on your return. Plus you then get a backup backup, incase you get your CD's nicked or leave them on a bus in the middle of Africa. Bummer.

Making it work for you

It's always possible to generate a little income from your photos. Even if you don't make it into the top ranks of the world's finest and end up with a comission from Michael Palin himself for his next jaunt, using them as part of a blog online or publishing them on a website will give others inspiration, or they might like your photo of somewhere they've been more than the one they took with that bald blokes head in it. They might even order a print from you. Money in the bank. Why not?