$config[\'upload_path\'] = site_path().\'photos/\'; $config[\'allowed_types\'] = \'gif|jpg|png|jpeg\'; $config[\'max_size\'] = \'2048\'; $this->load->library(\
If you are on windows try writing to "c:\" and see if that works.
Also what is the output of site_path() eg echo site_path(); ?
On xammp I've found I need to write c:\xammp\htdocs\myproject\photos\ instead of just using '\photos\';