There has long been debate as to whether photography is actually art. I suppose believing it is not is easy to understand if you think of photography as simply holding a camera and pushing a button, but I am pretty sure that even now, in the first chapter of this book, you may be realizing that this is not the case at all. The art that is photography is quite obvious when the world is seen through the lenses of some of the pillars of photography, like Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, or Edward Weston, as well as any number of great contemporary artists like Jack Dykinga or Annie Leibovitz. These photographers and thousands more like them have made an art form out of seeing the world in a certain way and then conveying that vision to their audience. Although we will be putting great emphasis on the tools of photography, it will become very obvious that most of what makes photography art takes place in the eyes of the artist: you—the photographer.