Travel book: Lonely Planet's Guide to Travel Photography

Photo / Greg Bowker

Lonely Planet's Guide to Travel Photography
by Richard L'Anson

In his 30 years or so as a travel photographer, Richard L'Anson has been everywhere, seen it all and got the shot to prove it.

The award-winning photographer has been sharing his pictures with Lonely Planet readers for nearly 20 years and his knowledge and expertise since the first edition of this book in 2000.

Now in its fourth imprint, it is full of really useful tips and advice on how to get the most out of your camera, whether it's the latest digital SLR, fully HD video, medium-format film camera or even your cheapie point and shoot in easy to understand language, thoughtfully broken down into clearly defined sections and beautifully illustrated with examples of L'Anson's work.

He covers the full spectrum of considerations from choosing your gear to storing your images, preparation prior to travelling and thinking on your feet, how to handle your images once at home and even how to sell them.

Aimed at the serious amateur with designs on calling themselves a travel photographer, there is plenty of great information for everyone - even for those limited to a camera phone. And he has as much to say on what not to do and how to avoid mistakes.

I particularly like the chapter on subjects that can be used as much as a source of ideas for your travel snap wish list as for the technical advice.

Each photograph, from L'Anson's collection taken over a period of more than 30 years, is sumptuously reproduced with technical data on how the shot was achieved in the caption, so you can try it out at home.

Now you have all the information in a handy little book, the rest is up to you: as L'Anson says, there is no alternative to going out and taking pictures.