I'm going to change things up today. I hope it won't disappoint anyone, but no photo to critique today. Instead I want to talk a little bit about one of the places I've received a lot of inspiration and subconscious instruction.

I'm talking about the many photography books I have. I've still got to work up the Photography Books page, but I figure I'll spotlight my favorite photographer from these books. His name is Thomas Marent. Wait! Wait! Before you click on that and go looking at his site, read the rest of my post since if you're anything like me, you'll get distracted for hours browsing through his gallery.

So far, he has three books published, and Anya and I own all three. The first is his Rainforest book, which is by far my favorite. Then he also has specialized ones: Frog and Butterfly.

It appears that they are all being re-issued as paperbacks which while it will make them cheaper, I definitely recommend seeking out the hardback versions if you can - there is just something more satisfying about a nice heavy coffee table book that paperback just can't achieve. The original Rainforest release came with an audio CD filled with the sounds of the rainforest - insects, frogs, birds, monkeys, rain, etc. It is an awesome disc to put on and relax listening to - kind of like one of those soothing sound machines. Plus if you have dogs, it is always fun if they're like our dogs and look around the room trying to locate where the strange sounds are coming from.

Really - next time you're at a book store, look for one of his books and check it out, then take it home and adorn your coffee table with it. You won't regret it.

I was unaware of it at the time, but when we started collecting these books years ago, it was inadvertently shaping my interest in photography and probably subconsciously training my eye for things to look for in a good photo. Things like composition, framing, focus, depth of field. All of those things can probably be learned more easily subconsciously than they can be in a classroom.

Many of the places I've looked at trying to learn how to take better photos will give you plenty of suggestions, the most common of which is 'get out and take photos as often as possible'. However, I've never seen anyone suggest that you also just look at lots of photos and see what you like, see what other people like.

So I am now. Go look at photos. Lots of photos. You can start here.

By doing so, you'll shape your own preferences, and then when you see it through the viewfinder of your own camera, you'll know to flip the shutter and you'll have that photo to be proud of and show off to everyone. You can thank me for it later...

- Bill