To get the picture you want, you will have to plan for it!

Use your images to tell a story, and give them more impact!

Learn to see what is possible and act on it!

It is rare to have control of your lighting in the wild, so learn how to use what you have got!

Skills developed with other types of photography are directly applicable for wildlife and nature!

Keep the background in the foreground of your mind! :)

When it is dark, underexpose. When it is bright, overexpose!

Sometimes you need to bump you ISO higher than you are comfprtable with. Do it. You can fix noise, you can't fix an image with unwanted motion blur!

The eyes are key to a good portrait.

"Prepare to be spontaneous" is probably the most appropriate piece of advice you can give any budding photographer. But what does it mean? And how do I get prepared?

I am frequently asked to advice people on what and when to upgrade camera gear. There is no short answer, but generally I consider several reasons to upgrade. So if you find yourself fitting into any of these categories, my recommendations are there also. 99% of the time I would suggest people to upgrade lenses BEFORE cameras...

"Should i buy a tripod/monopod/batterygrip/filter/blar blar balr?" or words to that affect is one of the most common questions I am asked. I don't mind people asking it as it is an important question. It is easy to get dragged into GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), turning your photography hobby into a collection of all the photo-related paraphernalia you can get your hands on. At this point I will take my turn, stand up and say "Hi, my name's John, and I have GAS". I am a sucker for all camera related items/gadgets/accessories (just ask my wife), but it does not improve my photography (or my bank balance). So, to this end I've been researching what key bits of gear I consider essential, and what aren't, and I came to an interesting conclusion! We really need very little!