I'd say, for me, don't worry about being ready. What is ready? I am never ready...not when I wake up, not when I am on my way, and definitely not when I get there. That's how life goes I am finding out gradually. I took about three photography classes. They were the non-credit type of courses taught by a gallery owner who later became a good mentor. I ended up renting her darkroom, etc. It all seems overwhelming at first, but I will share with you that I feel rather dumb now, years later, as I sometimes wonder how I took many of the photos. I have to remember that I had a lot of resources then and was able to take literally hundreds, if not thousands, of photographs. So, setting the aperture and shutter speeds to bracket around what the "very good" built-in light meter on the F100 read, I ended up with 3-4 exposures of any acceptable composition, which, in the end I would have at least one good exposure. Weigh in the fact that I took so many photos and had them professionally developed by one of the best labs in Seattle and, as long as my composition was well thought out, how could I go too wrong? Then, gradually, I seemed to lose my "knack", or as Napoleon Dynamite would put it "skills". For quite a while it seemed all I could muster was a bunch of family album stuff. But, then again we must take into consideration where it is being developed, because K-Mart and Costco just do not cut it. That's what I will say...as you progress you will become extremely picky about the development process and will notice if the prints are even slightly tinted.
I'd love to see more of your photos. I will take some this weekend of the monsters camping and share them when I get back.
Yay! I'm so excited to see how Betti likes her first camping trip...or if she keeps us up all night.