The only way to learn about photography and to develop an "eye" is by looking at the work of masters. And one master, for me at least, is the "urban" photographer Joseph Holmes.

http://www.joesnyc.streetnine.com/

There are hundreds of images on his photoblog, and he adds a new one almost every day. But if you spend some time with these images looking closely at the relationship of light and dark, use of color (or lack of color), framing/cropping, and choice of subject, you will be learning from a master of the craft of "drive-by" photography. One could say that because he lives in New York City he has an extremely rich environment to shoot. But even more so, he has an eye that catches what we normally would pass by. And to me, that's what photography is all about -- making the invisible visible.

It may be that the reason why I am so attracted to his images and read his photoblog almost every day is that my own "point of view" is so similar to his. Having grown up in the City, I've always been visually fascinated by the "grid" of streets, the exactly plumbed verticals and horizontals of urban life. You can't escape the geometry. And his work, like mine, is full of intentional geometry.

So those of you with your brand new digital cameras out there, take the time to learn from a master and visit his blog often. With today's cameras, it is nearly impossible to make a mistake, and even the mistakes are interesting. Which leaves you time to concentrate on choice of subject matter and composition. Just because you can take a couple of thousand images on that 2GB flash card doesn't necessarily mean you have to. The best photographers take only a few images and rely on their eyes and brain to decide what to take and what not to.

It's good discipline. And makes for better images.

My own photo blog is at rchrd.com/photo