"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer" - Ansel Adams

When I travel, I travel lightly. I pack 1 carry on for clothes, my travel purse that carries my passport, credit cards and my most important piece of equipment...my camera. I am not a souvenir hunter. My souvenirs are my pictures.
I have had several versions of digital point and shoot cameras. Most of them have been Kodak, but I have now switched to Nikon. You can see a more in-depth gallery of my photos at my flickr site. (My flickr photostream.) All of the photos on my photostream are from my various Kodak cameras.
I have used my photos as postcards, greeting cards and framed prints. I use a fairly high megapixel because I blow my prints up as high as 20" x 30".
I am in the experiment phase of my recent purchase of the Nikon Coolpix P90. There are new buttons, bells and whistles to figure out. I upgraded to a 12 MP and a massive 24x Zoom.
You do not need large MP or a large Zoom for regular prints. I want as close to a DSLR as I can get, except I do not want to change lenses. I used to carry my old SLR in a camera back pack with several different lenses, filters etc. Although I think the film SLR took better pictures, the digitals have gotten so good that the difference to me is negligible. I would rather sacrifice a little quality for convenience. If I was shooting pictures for National Geographic, I would rethink the decision. (Of course if they called, I would definitely rethink it!)
I love looking through photography books of the country I plan to visit. I get inspiration and try to think of ways to capture the same over-photographed site in a new angle.
You do not need to spend a lot of money on books. Go to your local library and check them out. If you live in a larger city, go to your local bookstore and grab a few and sit down right there on the floor. My Barnes and Noble has big cushy chairs! Of course I always end up buying my favorites! Big stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders have a bargain section where you can get high quality coffee table books for half price.
If all you want is to snap 'memories'...well then you can probably ignore any photo tips or books. If you want high quality photos that you are proud to frame, pass on or on your own Flickr photostream....then take some time to develop your own style.
There is a reason people recognize the big photographers such as Ansel Adams, Annie Liebovitz, my old fave- Edward S. Curtis, because they are the unseen second person in the photo. You can not mistake their eye when you see it. Many have tried to imitate their style, but you can not imitate the truly great photographers. They have their own style, and so should you.





Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs

Edward S. Curtis: Visions of the First Americans