A famous anectode floating in photographer's circles goes somewhat like this. Once a photographer was invited to a friend's place for dinner. During the regular chit-chat, the photographer set out to display his prized images to his hosts. The Hostess was quite impressed and quipped: "You take some really good pictures. You must have really good cameras and lenses." The photographer was astounded by the comment, but didn't utter a word. After dinner was served, he grabbed his opportunity, and remarked: "You cook really good food. You must have some really great utensils."

The moral of the story could be extended a little further. You might have the best equipment in the world and could have the best technique, but if you don't see photographically, you don't get good pictures. Seeing photographically involves having artistic taste, and being able to compose aesthetically. For someone like Ansel Adams, this probably came naturally. For most of us, we have to train ourselves and cultivate a photographic eye. The best way to do it is to take lots of pictures. With patience. With a lot of thought behind each composition. And then, learn from your mistakes, technically and compositionally. Study the work of some of the greatest photographers to get a feel of how they composed. First imitate, and then innovate.

Taking a lot of pictures is not a cheap process. Especially, since at the beginning stages you are not composing well, so you end up taking more photographs of the same subject than you should. Irrespective of what people may say on the Net, film and development costs are not puny. It takes on average about $20 to get a single set of 4" prints and a PictureCD for a roll of 36 exposures. Coupled with the fact that most photography books ask you to shoot an entire roll of 36 exposures for exploring a subject matter thoroughly, you better have had made a lot of money during the dotcom bubble, since you just presented yourself with $20 worth of photographs of moss on a redwood tree.

One way to improve compositionally (which by far is the most important aspect of photography) is to buy yourself a decent digital point and shoot camera with a good optical zoom. If you are struggling to maintain your sanity through the terabytes of digital photo data on your hard disk, you could visit my Organization Tips and Techniques page. If you must stick to film SLRs, dive into shooting slides. They are relatively cheap to buy ($2.90 for a 36-roll of Sensia), cheap to develop ($5 for the roll), and, if you invest in a decent slide scanner ($250 for the Pacific Image 1800AFL), free to scan and digitize. That sets you back approximately $8 for 36 images, which isn't so bad.

After reading through countless books on the basic (and the so-called advanced) techniques in photography from the incredibly well stocked San Jose public library, I figured that most books were platforms for photographers to publish their work and display it to a larger photography market. Most books have the same information about tips and techniques, repeated ad nauseum. There will be your standard images describing the rule of thirds, a set of images in white snow for pointing out how inadequate your automatic TTL metering is, another set discussing the virtues of slide film versus print, slow films versus fast, a fourth set showcasing the photographer's/author's eye for patterns in Nature, and so on and so forth.

That is not to say that photography books are worthless. Pick works by good photographers and get impressed and influenced. Pick any book from the list provided below, and you will emerge a better photographer. If there is only one book on Phototography that you could possess, get hold of IMAGE: Designing Effective Pictures, by Michael Freeman. Here you won't find a history of photography, nor would you find a multitude of chapters on cameras, lenses, darkroom development, film science, and other assorted Popular-Science-like articles. This book starts and ends with graphic design and how one perceives images. Whether you possess a digital point-and-shoot or a film-based medium format, or a pinhole camera, this book is a must. Unfortunately, the publishers of this book have decided that people are more interested in gizmos than art, and have made this book out of print. Check your local library.

Eventually, I thought of compiling the most basic set of schema that we should follow in photographing Nature. This list would help me maintain my sanity and keep me from reading the same drudgery over and over again. Instead, it would allow me to concentrate on something far more important - taking pictures. It would also serve as a quick check-list of the most important guidelines, especially for situations when we get bowled over by Nature herself, and lose even the basic instincts of photography.

The Most Important Rule in Photography: Frame your image tightly, keep out the extraneous garbage. Ask yourself: What are you really photographing? Are you photographing the flower or the flower plus the soil below it, plus the dried up leaves around it, etc. Never let extraneous elements distract the viewer from what you want to portray. Crop your image post-exposure even if you couldn't frame it properly while taking the shot. Like writing good literature, photographs should be concise, and to the point. This rule also applies to situations where you should selectively focus on only the most important parts of the image, while blurring out the extraneous elements. This is usually not possible with the very small apertures of a Point and Shoot. Rules on Technique Remember to meter tonally gray areas, use exposure lock, recompose, and shoot. The camera always tries to make the scene neutral (18%) gray. For SLRs only: Always check DOF/Aperture setting. The lens is always at its largest aperture for the viewfinder, and only stops down to the selected aperture when the shutter releases. As a rule of thumb: A shutter speed slower than (1/FocalLengthOfLens) leads to camera shake showing up in your image. For example, with a 100mm lens, you should use a tripod for shutter speeds of 1/125 or slower. For a large range in contrast (some regions of your image in deep shadow, while the others in bright sunlight), use a neutral graduated density filter. This problem is more severe in digital images using JPEG compression where the brighter areas can wash out any detail if these filters are not used. To cut down on glare, deepend the color of vegetation or skies, or to cut out haze, use circular polarizers. Use the slowest possible films for landscapes since they are not going anywhere. Slow films have very less grain (enlarge very well) and have better color (more saturated color) reproduction. Most professionals use Fuji Velvia slide film (ISO 50). For most of my film images, I use Fuji Sensia 100 Rules of Composition Rule of Thirds: Try to keep the main subject off center (except in closeups). Try to divide the image into three sections horizontally and three vertically, and place your main elements within one of the thirds. A vertical format enhances height, hence use it to shoot canyons, cliffs. A horizontal enhances width, so shoot large expanse of water, prairies, deserts, with it. Look for patterns in nature and emphasize it. For example, look for patterns made by flora, edges of mountains, sand on beaches, etc. Frame your image wisely. Noon is the worst time for photography. Light is harsh, and there are no shadows to emphasize relief. Take a nap. Sunrise and sunset have the best photographic light. Sunrise is softer and provides more pastel tones. Sunset is harder, and provides harsher tones. An overcast day is best for colors, so don't get disappointed. Closeups in Nature, greenery, flowers image very well. Try not to take images with a lot of sky. A fully overcast and an absolutely clear sky are boring. Some clouds are the most photogenic, giving a sense of scale to your images. Portraits are best in soft indirect light from a window, through a diffuser, or with indirect flash bounced off a ceiling, wall.

Books for a better photographer in you

Image: Designing Effective Pictures - Michael Freeman THE book to possess, even before you take a single picture. THE book to possess, even after you have a portfolio which is bigger than your ego. This book talks about the basic philosophy of graphic design in photography. Ignore that, and your images will suffer terribly. Nature Photography Field Guide - John Shaw If you are primarily interested in Nature photography, then this book is highly recommended over Hedgecoe's book. It has all you wanted to know about equipment (cameras, lenses, filters, film, tripods), plus lots of good tips and techniques. Business of Nature Photography - John Shaw Every photographer should possess this book. Its a must for anyone who shoots more than 20 images a year. Though it is meant for serious photographers trying to pursue a career in photography, this book taught me how to organize and systematize my hobby. Principles of Composition in Photography - Andreas Feininger Excellent book on composition. My photographs would be much better if I could practice what I read in this book. No fancy photographs, no tips on technical aspects - just plain composition guidelines. Unfortunately, this book seems to be out of print also. Understanding Exposure - Bryan Peterson A great book on exposure, film speed, and aperture. Good concepts on getting the exposure you want translated into your photographs. Even if you have a simple point and shoot, this book will teach you a lot. Thankfully, this book was just brought into production, after being out of print for a couple of years. The Photographer's Handbook - John Hedgecoe A starter book of photography that anyone could possess. If you have the resources, you can buy the Kodak Taking Better Pictures series instead, but this book is a much more concise version. If you know the basic principles, skip it. Its for complete novices.

In addition to the books above, here are some sites on the Web from where you can extract good photography information.

Useful photography sites

PhotoSIG: The most impressive collection of user photographs uploaded for some serious critiquing. PhotoNet: I got hooked on to this site from the very beginning. A lot of information, tips, reviews, and a good user group. PhotoZone: Good tips on basic techniques. You can also take a look at Fodor's Focus on Photography. PhotCritique: Critique others' work and get to look at some really great photographs. Also take a look at Dan Smith's Articles. Kodak's Taking Great Pictures.

The photography circle is incredibly similar to the high-end audiophile circle. Both cliques obsess over equipment, have an undying faith in older technology, and always claim to want the best and will not settle for anything less. Having seen the audiophile dementia for years (just pick up a Stereophile magazine from you newsstand, and read through the letters to the editor), I compiled this small list of how obsessed these crowds could be. So be prepared for unbelievable rhetorics when you bring up questions about equipment or technique at any of the user forums.

Audiophiles Photophiles Compare types and brands of speakers, amps, pre-amps, sources etc. obsessively Compare types and brands of cameras, lenses, filters, film etc. obsessively Will always claim that Vinyl sounds better than anything on the market today or in the future. The older the pressing (mono anyone?) the better the sound. Will always claim that film looks better than anything on the market today or in the future. Will always obsess over equipment but claim that it is the enjoyment of listening to music that is most important. Will always obsess over equipment but claim that it is the enjoyment of taking photographs that is most important. Cost is never an issue. A retailer in the Bay Area once told me - "Listen to the speakers first and decide on them, don't go by the price range first. Take what you like." Cost is never an issue. Numerous posts/websites on the Net will tell you - "Shoot a lot of film. Go to a pro lab for processing, why bother about processing cost. Just get the best. Don't buy close-up lenses, buy true macros instead." .. and so on. Always listen to 180g vinyl. Always shoot slides.

Nonetheless, I myself have fallen deeply into this trap out of my own accord. I myself have this unexplicable urge towards everything analog. Maybe it stems from working in bits and bytes all day long. Maybe the collected dementia is correct. But I have seen myself move from CDs to Vinyl almost 6 years ago, and now find myself moving from digital cameras into film. Even so, I listen to CDs a lot, and, even try out (horror of horrors) MP3s sometimes. I do listen to garage-sale records, though I possess some 180g vinyl too. I prefer to shoot on Fuji Sensia slide film. Why? Because slide film is much more truthful about my skills and technical prowess and my images don't get massacred by the print-lab technician. But most of all, I just love the feeling I get when I view my slides on a light table or project it on a screen.

The doctor's suggestion: have a healthy mix of everything. Go for the fun of it (yes, I am one of the Borgs) and don't let equipment bother you. Just remember this even when the Borgs assimilate you. For myself, I like to use my digital camera to improve my composition and shoot a lot of "film". I use my Canon EOS 7E wherever I feel that the image forming in front of me deserves the possibly higher standards of film. In the end, take everything you read with a mound of salt, experiment yourself, and pick what you like.