Photography is an expensive hobby/profession. This blatantly obvious statement is especially true for students who already have to contend with rent, tuition, living expenses, etc, and may or may not have a full-time or part-time job.

As a photojournalism student, there are certain tools that I know I will need. A sturdy DSLR (20D, D70, 1D Mark II, D2X, etc.), a nice wide angle (16-35mm f/2.8), and a telephoto zoom (70-200mm f/2.8). That does not even take into account batteries, equipment to carry your gear, other primes and zooms you may be considering, and so on.

How then, is one supposed to afford to experiment with the other aspects of photography? After completing my pj set-up, I simply don’t have the money for macro-photography, studio lighting, and panoramic equipment. Instead, you can check out Haje Jan Kamps’ photocritic.org which he calls the “Home of DIY budget photography projects.” I hope to get started on the macro photo pringles can and will post resulting pictures as soon as it is complete.

On a related note, Slashdot has a link to Michael Golembewski’s Scanner Photography Project, in which he combines flatbed scanners with anything from cardboard tubes, large format cameras, box cameras, and projectors to produce very interesting images.