John Shaw shares his photography knowledge and experiences for almost 30 years in this book. This particular book explains the techniques of taking successful pictures consistently over time in a well-structured manner. As a reader, you can understand his points and vision easily, and learn from them quickly. That is extremely important for the purpose of a field guide. You want to know what the lecturer is doing and why he is doing that. Both parts are essential, since simply copying techniques does not make you a great photographer. You need to have both personal vision and craftsmanship to accomplish that.

The book is written based on a 35mm single-lens-reflex camera system. You may think that the photographic knowledge and experiences are no longer valuable in the digital era. That is certainly not the case. If you want to fully understand photography and take control of the actual photographic process yourself, then read the book and learn to master your photographic techniques. The current digital camera system is still built based on the 35mm single-lens-reflex camera system. Just like in the modern life, we have more conveniences in the kitchen. There are better kitchenwares, but you still need to learn "how to cook".

Give a person the best kitchen equipment does not mean that he or she will be able to make a delicious meal. The same applies for photography. John Shaw shows in his book not only the techniques, but also his passion for nature and the art of photography. Eventually, it is not the camera, but you who makes the pictures.

I was hoping to learn more about how to take nature photos that make everyone else love what I was enjoying at the time of taking that photo. This book is really good.

I must say this book has exceeded my expectations. So far the best book I've red. It is very well and understandably written. Very nice pictures. Yes, it is true that John describes usage of an analog camera, but the exposure principles are very well applicable to the Digital SLRs. I find it very useful especially for beginners. I believe also advanced users may benefit.

Yeah, it's film centric but much of the information is great for digital too. If you are a wannabee, hobbiest nature photographer like myself, this is a great read.

All of John Shaw's books are great. There is some overlap between them as he goes over the basics but they are all worth a read for any aspiring nature photographer.

I considered this an excellent book. It was written a few years back and had it's major emphasis on film photography. However, virtually all of the material is applicable for todays state of the art digital photography.