At 9 p.m. today, I made a rush to make a last hour purchase of UNO’s September 2009 issue and some construction paper for Bong and Maro‘s causes. I got inside the Powerplant Mall and into National Bookstore with some time to spare before the mall closes for the day. Immediately to the right of NBS’ entrance, I noticed a table stacked with photography books all marked down to 80% of the cover price (20% off).

Since they are photography books, they are all still sort of expensive. Most of them are geared towards the general use of DSLRs, while some are for specific brands and models. I suddenly realized that even if I get to find something I like, my purchasing power for the night is capped at P720 and some loose change (for jeepney fare) since I left my wallet at home on purpose (I was wearing shorts with no back pocket is why). I was about to go to the counter with my UNO and construction paper in hand when I chanced upon this handy, little book:

Front

Back

The Photographer’s Field Guide (192 pages) by Michael Freeman, who travels a lot and does photography for a living, is not as costly as the other books, at P423.25 (originally at P529). It has tips on right about everything and presented in a concise way, lined with photos to illustrate the author’s idea better, as necessary. When I said “everything,” I really meant EVERYTHING. Below’s a shot of the table of contents (do click on the image to enlarge for a more readable text).

I’ll make it a point to read this through and over again and bring it whenever I go on trips. The cover may say “the essential book for traveling and your digital SLR camera” and that I may not have an SLR, but tips on lighting and composition are universal. In fact, I already got an idea of how to make people “disappear” from a famous tourist destination in my future final photographs. A steal for the price, too (I bet this will cost more from other local bookstores even without the discount).