So film photography books are still useful? I have a bunch of these that family members keep buying me randomly but Ive never read more than one beacuse I didnt know the infromation would be useful.
Yes, the principles of photography that Ansel Adams taught us over 60 years ago still haven't changed.
You still have to consider shutter speed, aperture, ISO to get the proper exposure for your photos.
You still have to learn good composition for your photos to make them interesting (ie. don't just put your subject smack in the middle of the photo).
Tips on lens choices for film photography are just as relevant for today's digital photography (ex. large aperture lenses for low-light, sports/action, and/or portrait photography, how to use your macro lens, etc).
It's like learning to drive a car. Just because the new 2010 models are now available, doesn't mean you have to re-learn how to drive a new car. Driving lessons from 1970 are still applicable today. You still use the steering wheel, gas pedal, gear shift (park, reverse, neutral, drive, etc), rearview mirrors, etc. You still have to watch the speed limit, drive slower in rainy / snowy conditions, look both ways before entering an intersection, know what red-yellow-green lights mean, learn to parallel park, etc.
If you can get past the hair styles & fashion of the photos in those film photography books, then you'll find tons of great photography information!
However, the advantage of investing in current "Intro to Digital Photography" books is that not only will they teach you about all the classic photography topics I mentioned above, but they'll also teach you about topics that are
specific to digital photography (ex. RAW vs. JPEG, how to read a histogram, using software/Photoshop to post-process your photos, backing up your photos, etc.). There are TONS of Intro to Digital Photography books at your local bookstore. Just browse through those books to see which one(s) you'd learn best from.
Hope that helps!
