[Jill]

Okay, not in anyway to discredit the recommendation of the John Shaw book or the info given, but Tom, if you or anyone else for that matter, has a recommendation of a book for digicam photography I would greatly appreciate it. I bought a book called "How to do everything with your digital camera" by Dave Johnson and it was pretty good but half of it was about editing the picture after the fact and not even in Photoshop but Paintshop Pro (which I haven't used since developing my first website years ago) I know how to edit them but my intent is to at least take the best possible picture up front with minimal editing. Maybe I'm just putting way too much thought into the whole thing. That would explain the out come on my personality test taken on the other thread!!

[Tom]

Peter iNova is known for his eBook which covers Nikon digitals. Personally, I think the guy is a little flaky and his eBook overpriced at $50, but you never know. I'd venture to guess it won't tell you much more than the book you already have. I say go out, take pictures, expirement, and have fun. IMO, that's the best way to learn. If you're not sure about a specific feature, your camera manual might have more info than you think.

[Jill]

I think your right! My owners manual is dog-earred so I guess that is a good sign. (Or maybe not) I really think I am putting WAY too much thought into it and should just do what you say.... Have Fun!! Thank you for bringing me back to reality!!

[Alan Bauer]

Florida--absolutely just play play play espeically since it's the digital world. I've lately been messing around with so many different white balance colors to see which is the best for MY photography depending on cloudy days vs. sunny days vs. UFO invasions. I've screwed around making infra-red look alike images, compared B&W settings vs. switching to B&W art prints using color images first (BTW: this is the recommended way vs. shooting B&W in the camera). However, while all along feeling the digital how-to book craze was a gimmick to make money off consumers knowing nothing (just as the people in stores selling junk to the normal consumer who "needs one since it's the day and age") there is a new book just out (or soon). Rob Sheppard's new title (forget the exact title and I'm at our cabin now so can't go look) is really quite well done. It leads you into be EXCITED about what digital can do for you, macro, and much more. It coveres with great helpful details to the newer user the full spectrum of the digital darkroom. This is where SO many people get stuck. They buy the camera, take photos, and don't know what to do from there. Printing. Storage. Archiving/backups. Last I checked the book was backordered everywhere as it seems the May 2003 release was a bit backed up. I happen to have an advance copy so that's why I'm talking about it. If you were owning a D1/D1x Nikon I'd VERY highly recommend B. Moose Peterson's "The D1 Generation" and "Beyond the D1 Generation". These books/ebooks go into the gory details of all those settings on your camera with his experiences behind what does what for you! I've found them to be such a nice compliment to the manuals to the cameras. They go beyond saying "this does this" and also point out tricks as to why a certain setting works best under what condition, etc.... Basically gives you a huge jump on your own trial and error problem solving! Some of these books content also apply to the Coolpix line of cameras...but not fully.

[michaelm5]

Alan Baur's book recommendations are excellent. my wife has a Coolpix 5000 and some of the info is applicable. There are certainly digital unique techniques and methods but exposure to the film plane or image sensor is the same. I added a D100 body a few months ago to my gear and creating images requires the same skills and knowledge but also requires learning alot of new things, like the white balance as mentioned. Still, photography is photography. Each tool presents new knowledge requirements.

[MCaver]

I also highly recommend John Shaw's books, particuarly The Nature Photography Field Guide. A vast majority of photographic concepts are camera independent, assuming you are using an SLR. There are some digital-only considerations like white balancing, but the vast majority apply to both digital and film. The only section of the above book I skipped was the film section.

[Jill]

I thought about doing this on-line course www.photographyschool-online.com. I was originally confused about their free demo lesson and had to e-mail to ask them how I was supposed to answer their questions without the benefit of any theory. They replied ensuring me that if I took their course I would receive the theory that I need to answer all the questions. If you have a chance to take a look I would value your opinions.

[michaelm5]

Sorry for a delayed reply. I would not take that course. Your best approach to improving is to read, read, practise, practise and align yourself with someone who is accomplished at the craft. I would get a good guide for beginners, like the John Shaw book mentioned, and try and attend a good photo workshop. http://www.cameraclass.com/ http://www.photosafaris.com/ This can be expensive but the experience of working in the field with accomplished pros is very valuable and you would find it would affect your skill. One of the Instructors at the Olympic School (The included link)attended a workshop with me in Olympic National Park almost 15 years ago when he was a beginner. He is now a full time pro and has been published regionally and nationally numerous times. You may have seen him in Outdoor Photographer. If you cannot afford a workshop then try and go in the field with people who are better than you are and observe their skill. Perhaps a field trip with members here?

[polarbear-]

I would also check and see what kind of tutorials Nikon has on this site here: http://www.nikonusa.com/lc/