OK - so I promised Michelle A. I'd behave - So I'm scratchin' my head here (not because I'm thinking - it just feels good!) Now that that's done - I am curious as to the process everyone here goes through in the course of creating a photo (have I already done this one? - if so - mods, delete this) I personally have a couple or "rules" that I follow: 1: - when you see a photo - stop right there. Reason being, if it caught your eye, that's probably the place it needs to be photographed from - select a lens that will encompass the area that caught your attention (do not think "I'll get a bit closer" - all you're doing is changing your perspective - and the scene is not what you saw to begin with) 2: Identify (verbally in my case - I actually say out loud) what it is that caught you eye - what is it about this scene that merits a photo 3: After identifying what is is that caught your attention, eliminate EVERYTHING that doesn't fit that description, and incorporate EVERYTHING that falls within that description (If I'm shooting a rock, for example - I'm not going to compose tightly for the rock - unless the environment contributes to the image that caught your eye. 4: crop tight (see above - but this is a big part of what (in my opinion) photographers miss on - they attempt to incorporate too much environment, when what they're actually shooting is not environment associated. i.e., a shot of a squirrel does not need to be 20% squirrel, 80 lawn. (OK, I realize that many (if not most) photographers are limited, in this case, to the equipment at hand - but (here again, my opinion), it's a matter of creating good photos with the equipment at hand - not photos with the excuse of "I could've really got a good one had I the right equipment". (Sorry, Michelle, if I'm stepping on toes here - this is opinion). I would much rather see a well executed shot of a cat than a poorly executed shot of a lion. Excellent photography is not limited to subject matter - excellent photography is a matter of control, of pre-visualizing an image and having the skill to produce said image to an audience (oops - I feel myself getting back on top of the soap box - my apologies). Anyway - I was just curious as to the "thought process" that people go through prior to exposing an image. (I swear - I think I've already done this - but, what the hey!)