[Al Skierkiewicz]

Jacob,
there are some great books available but I always found the best thing to do was look at photos others have taken. Look at the composition, the light, the camera angle. In some of those most spectacular shots ever the photog had waited sometimes for weeks, before everything was just right. National Geographic photogs shoot several hundred to several thousand pictures for each one that ends up in the magazine. As a matter of fact, National Geo has a book or two on photography that you should check into. Everyone has their favorite camera. It is their old friend, one that they can depend on, one that they know the features they use daily. But it is not the camera that makes a great shot as much as they person behind it. My camera of choice for most of my life was a Hanimex Pratika. I knew what it could do and what it couldn't but it felt good in my hands. My family gave me a Canon Rebel XT which has some incredible features but for everyday stuff, my wife's Sureshot is what gets turned on.