People always ask me how I got started in photography.  I have never received formal training in photography (or filmmaking for that matter).  I've learned from reading lots and lots of books and taking lots and lots of photos.  Right after I graduated from Boston University in 2006, I saved money to buy a beginner's DSLR.  Most people buy Canon or Nikon cameras...but not me.  I decided that before I invest in a heavy duty camera, I'm going to buy a beginner's camera and first learn the craft of photography (I use to have a bad habit of buying lots of electronics and thinking that I needed the right tools to be successful in anything).  I bought an Olympus E-Volt 500 DSLR on Amazon for around $500.  My very first photo essays-for a lack of a better word-sucked.  I was very disappointed...especially with my photos from South Africa:

My images were blurry.  The camera felt heavy and awkward in my hands.  I had no clue what the capabilities of the camera were.  I was very disappointed and I was about to quit photography all together.  However, I came across one photo from South Africa that I really felt had some potential.  It was enough to motivate me to become a student of photography.

Instead of taking classes I bought books.  Any book I found on Amazon.com I had to have.  I read them all and followed the lessons in each book.  To this day, I still use my "beginner's camera" as my main camera.  I have come to realize that it's not the type of camera you have that makes you a good photographer, it's your ability to frame objects and tell a story.