&gt; * it is hard to imagine this not costing 10s of thousands of dollars and being out of the reach of most high school and college students.*<p>I would be surprised if Gage and his parents have spent more than $10,000 of their personal money on this hobby.  Again, cost near that range is certainly significant, but not monetarily immense for a middle class kid with a consuming hobby and supportive parents over the course of 7+ years.<p>Gage has been frugal in his choice of college, and gets funding from GoFundMe campaigns.  He also seems to have had side jobs.  Simply choosing to attend a community college and then an in-state public university as Gage has done -- rather than a private university for 4 years -- is probably enough to defray a huge portion of his hobby&#x27;s cost.<p>I suspect Gage is also frugal in his means of travel and lodging.  A sibling comment mentions the possibility of photographing candidates that come within a day or two trip of home.  I imagine that accounts for most of Gage&#x27;s photography.<p>Consider this note from [2]: &quot;Skidmore is a 19-year-old student at Glendale Community College in Phoenix and a freelance graphic designer. A Ron Paul supporter, he began photographing politicians when he was living in Terre Haute, Indiana, attending events held by Rand Paul during his successful 2010 Senate run in Kentucky.&quot;  The drive from Terre Haute, IN to Lexington, KY is about 4 hours.  That&#x27;s completely doable in a day trip.  I&#x27;ve driven 4 hours each way in day trips for similar free culture pursuits.  It costs about $80 for gas and food.<p>&gt; <i>&quot;between states to more than 40 speaking engagements.&quot;</i><p>Travel among multiple US states to attend 40 speaking engagements over the course of 7 years is not necessarily a major financial burden, even for someone Gage&#x27;s age.<p>&gt; <i>&quot;I traveled to nearly every part of the country to cover his political events&quot;</i><p>&quot;Part&quot; can be pretty general.  One could have covered events in Arizona, Iowa, New Hampshire and, say, Virginia and say one has traveled to nearly every part of the country -- the American West, Midwest, Northeast and South.<p>&gt; <i>&quot;Skidmore is hot on the campaign trail again, toggling his time between New Hampshire, Iowa, and Arizona&quot;</i><p>I think it&#x27;s much more likely that Gage has been to New Hampshire and Iowa each once or twice in the 2016 campaign season, rather than flying out every weekend or so like a high-level political operative or corporate executive from his Arizona State University dorm room.<p>---<p>[1]  <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;priceonomics.com&#x2F;how-a-college-student-used-creative-commons-to&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;priceonomics.com&#x2F;how-a-college-student-used-creative-...</a><p>[2]  <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.niemanlab.org&#x2F;2012&#x2F;09&#x2F;how-a-19-year-old-student-became-one-of-the-hottest-political-photographers-in-the-country" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.niemanlab.org&#x2F;2012&#x2F;09&#x2F;how-a-19-year-old-student-b...</a>