I’ll add that I have no history or background in film – my passion for wildlife/bird photography started in 2006 and prior to that I’d done precisely NOTHING – but as I’m often heard to say, “it’s not rocket science”.

Oh – and “if I can do it, anyone can.”..!

But as Dave says, the things that make the difference between technically competent and special may be harder to come by, and I know that my background as a birdwatcher (introduced to that pleasure as an eight-year-old by a school teacher who was the great, great, [and so on] grandson of the engraver Thomas Bewick) has helped immensely with understanding the behaviour of birds, which understanding often really helps in getting me to where I need to be for compositional purposes.

There is of course another dimension that needs to be learned – conversion and post processing skills, which are an inherent and vital part of the wildlife photographer’s tool kit – and they don’t always come so easily.

Again, my point is that there are tons of folks with great gear who travel to great places who simply do not take the time to study and to learn. When I began, there was pretty much zero good information around on getting the right exposure. That has changed drastically in recent years and even more dramatically with digital. The info is there. Anyone can learn it. But there are many folks who think that if they buy a great camera and a big lens that that makes them a competent nature photographer. Not.

🙂 Again, as I said, anyone can learn to create fabulous images with digital capture. Be it by studying ABP and ABP II, by taking an IPT, or by hanging out on Bird Photogrpapher’s.Net, pretty much anyone can do it. To repeat, concern your self with these three basics: Learn to hold the camera still by holding it properly or using a tripod, learn to read and adjust the histogram (a five minute lesson at most), and learn to frame your subject–easy with a zoom lens. Do those three things and you are pretty much there.