If you want to bring your photography knowledge to the next level, especially for film camera, there is one book you absolutely must have- The Camera by Ansel Adams.

Ansel Adams was a reputable and respected photographer in his time. I believe even now, if you mention ‘Ansel Adams’, every professional photographer should know who he is. I got to know about Ansel Adams and his books when I was searching for film photography handbooks in Amazon. Apparently, there are many film books out there but according to reviewers, some books are really basic and written like a blog style. I then borrowed those books from library. One book which I was glad I didn’t buy was the ‘Film Is Not dead: A Digital Blablabla’ (I am not sure if it’s right to criticise others so I shall not name the full title). Because it’s really very basic and it’s more like the author’s own photo book. But I must say his photos are awesome. That’s when I saw reviewer recommended ‘The Camera by Ansel Adams’.

Same thing, I borrowed from the library and after reading it, I decided to invest in one because the information is so in-depth I don’t think I can find any of it online. Also, I know I am gonna keep re-reading it to get everything absorbed. At the time of writing this blog, I have not finished the book. Notably, it might be slightly mind-blown for beginner.

Visualisation

Basically, this book is all about understanding every thing about shutter speed, aperture, ISO, metering and mechanism, etc (super in-depth) inside the camera. According to Ansel Adams, to make good picture, you have to keep practising visualisation before clicking the shutter. It is with being able to control your camera that you can translate your visualisation through your tool (camera). Hence, it is important to know how your camera works.

So yeah, if there’s only one book you can invest, The Camera by Ansel Adams is the one. I also have his second book ‘The Negative’ but I swear the information there is even more brain-fried so it’s gonna be in the bookshelf till I am ready :p

Having enough knowledge + creativity + determination + goal make you a better photographer, not gear.