The word 'photography' means drawing with light, and as you might appreciate the ability of a painter to communicate the atmosphere of a scene, no matter what the subject matter, so it is with photography.  Many enduring, masterly photographs are not the result of chance.  Certainly it is a matter of being in the right place at the right time, but in order to have captured that special moment, the photographer may have visited that spot at different times of day on many, many occasions over a period of days or even weeks, waiting for the light to enrich the scene.

The age of 'point-and shoot' photography has well and truly arrived, with the advent of the high-quality compact 35 mm camera.  This provides a range of sophisticated exposure options, automatic film transport and focusing, and often a very extensive zoom range and built-in flash.  At the same time the single lens reflex camera, offering many of the automated features of the compact, but with the undoubted advantage of being able to accept a range of lenses from ultra-wide-angle to super-telephoto, is becoming even more affordable.  So, the photographic medium is now freely available, but being able to produce a well-exposed, correctly focused image does not in itself make for good photography.

With photography it is not learning how the camera works, important as that is, that is paramount; it is learning to see and understand rather than simply looking.

Above all,  photography is a fun activity.  It is about recording memories and communicating your ideas and thoughts, and is unique in its ability to freeze forever a single instant of time.  It is this, perhaps, that accounts for its universal appeal.