1. Hitchhike in Europe Only When Needed
Transportation in Europe may not always be clean, useful, or comfortable, nevertheless hitchhiking is becoming increasingly more hazardous worldwide. If you find you should hitchhike in Europe, use extremist caution and don?t overlook your instincts if something does not seem right.

2. Choose Your Hitchhiking Location Wisely
Steer clear of trying to hitch a ride on a highway or remarkably curved road that might put you or drivers at risk. Cars having to stop on roads anywhere high speeds are required is not safe for you or the drivers. As an alternative, try to hitchhike from rest stops or gas stations where you can preserve your safety and where cars are stopped. It?s also possible that someone may call the police if you try to hitch a ride on a dangerous roadway or freeway where hitchhiking may be against the law.

3. Ride in the Front Seat When Hitchhiking in Europe
The backseat of a car places you in a more vulnerable sit. Some cars have child safety locks in the back. You need to be able to bolt at the first sign of danger, so if you have to ride in the back, test that there is no child safety lock impeding you from opening the door from the interior.

4. Keep Your Bags with You
At any suggestion to put your luggage in the trunk, politely decline. Keep your luggage close to you?at your feet or on your lap. At a moment when you may possibly need to get out of the car quickly, you want to be able to grab your things as you go.

5. Keep Documents, Money, Valuables on You
As through every other time you travel in Europe, you must keep your records on you in a separate wallet beneath your cloths. That way, if a thief takes your main bag, you will still have identification and money in case of this, or another, emergency. Keep all cell phones and other pricey devices well out of eyesight as well.

6. Hitchhike in Europe with a Friend
Regardless if you are male or female, it?s always smart to hitchhike with a friend. A potential criminal will less likely be able to pull anything funny if you and a friend are watching each others backs.

7. Know Your Destination But Be Vague
Always have available a map so that you know where you are going. When hitchhiking in Europe, it?s best to give a general location for a location a short distance away that way, if you suspect the driver has less-than-good intentions, your ride will be short and the driver wont know your final destination.

8. Note the Vehicle Type When You Hitchhike in Europe
When hitchhiking in Europe, note details of the car (make, model, color and/or license plate number) before you get into the vehicle. If something goes wrong, you can give details of the driver to the police.

9. Dress for Weather and Safety
Make sure you pack items of clothing that are weather friendly and water-repellent in case you find yourself hitchhiking in windy weather. Also wear cheap older clothing that give the impression you may be carrying valuables on you.

10. Dont Hesitate to Turn Down a Ride
Negotiate for a ride prior to you get into the vehicle when hitchhiking in Europe. If anything makes you suspicious, dont be scared to politely turn down the ride. Foreigners are seen as particularly vulnerable and anyone giving you a ride may try to get money or other things from you. In addition, dont ride with someone you cant exchange a few words with. You do not want any unspoken expectations from the driver for giving you a ride.

2: Use your camera’s P mode.
Shooting in AV, TV or Manual modes gives you the greatest deal of control and any decent photographer will rarely use anything else, however if wandering around a city, use P mode. This sets the camera to Auto for ISO, shutter speed and aperture whilst allowing you to change any settings if necessary and giving control over the flash, and when a shot comes along and you have no time to think, all you need to do is compose the shot and shoot. Better to give control to the camera than to miss the shot completely, and if you find you have longer than you thought you can flick back to one of the other modes for more shots.

3. Use a long zoom for candid shots.
I love shots of people living their lives, but as soon you whip out your camera, any naturalness goes straight out of the window. Using a long zoom can allow you to observe from a distance and capture natural shots without disrupting or being disrupted.

4. Choose your lens and stick to it.
Dust is the bain of the photographers life so when out in the field, you don’t want to be changing lens and letting dust in. Pick a suitable lens for your shoot and stick with it.

5. Find a new perspective.
You can guarantee that famous landmarks and places have been photographed from every position possible. Try to look at your subject from a new perspective – climb a tree, stick out the rain – you’ll find yourself with something that 99% of people wouldn’t have.

6. Check your batteries before leaving home.
This sounds obvious but not checking battery life and having your camera die on you at the crucial point is a common problem. Charge your batteries, take a spare and avoid kicking yourself for such a simple mistake.

7. Be polite.
No one likes people shoving a camera in their face. If you are taking a picture of someone you don’t know or of something that they might be protective over, common courtesy can go a long way. Just ask and most of the time they will say yes and you might even get an interesting conversation out of it.

8. Use a filter.
If you’ve spent hundreds of pounds on a lens, you want to make sure you keep it protected. For a fraction of what your lens cost you can get a filter that will save you alot of grief.

9. Get insurance.
Most travel insurance policies only cover a small amount of personal possessions so it is worth making sure you have camera insurance that covers you in the country you are in.

10. Back up your images.
The longer you travel, the greater the risk of damage or theft to your memory cards. Losing the photos you have taken is often more painful than losing the equipment itself, so make sure you back up your photos either online or on CD. Or both. You can then keep these with you or send them back to someone to keep hold of until you get back.