I love reviewing what I have learned and trying to pull the key points together. I have a folder where I keep some of my older pictures that I really like that have taught me something. I was reviewing them tonight and remembering these sessions. As photographers we don't really have single huge lessons we learnt but rather our learning is accretive and our knowledge is a collection of small lessons we have learnt. I have also pulled together what I learnt from daily shooting HERE and the theory of how I shoot HERE.

Lesson #1

Try to shoot from a vantage point. Whenever I am at a protest, or a large gathering...I try to make my way to the highest point to capture the scene. I am also always looking to get on top of building to capture where ever I am.

Lesson #2

Bring your camera everywhere. I caught these next two shots when running to the grocery store one day and came upon a festival...

Lesson #3

Pay attention to details... Shoot flowers will help you to do that as every imperfection will show up especially when shooting macro.

Lesson #4

Look down, look around. It is so often when people are looking for the best subject it can be behind them, above them, below them. I found this left on the ground while looking for something to shoot at a temple near my house.

Lesson #5

Get up early! As I mentioned in my posting about LIGHT last week, sometimes the best times for lighting aren't the most convenient times for people. I had to get up at 4:10am to capture this sunrise on the Central Highlands in Vietnam but have a great memento of a trip me and my Dad took together.

Lesson #6

Experiment and try new things with your camera. I tried a couple of long exposures leaving my camera on my car's dashboard. I got what I think are some neat photos.

Lesson #7

Always be ready. I have gotten into a habit now of always making sure I have a proper exposure, or close to it, even when the camera is around my neck or over my shoulder. Nothing is worse than seeing a scene unfolding and trying to figure out what ISO setting or what aperture is going to work best. I just barely caught this scene in India as I was driving to a meeting. It completely summed up my trip to see a heard of homeless cows charging down the highway at us. I wish I was a little more prepared for the shot.