Late reply. I studied physics and astronomy in high school and college. But it wasn't until I spent a year in Vancouver and my Mom got a camera for me, IIRC at a Christmas sale, that I really got started. The shore offered great sunsets, but the little fixed-focal length half-frame camera soon convinced me to get a Nikkormat with normal/macro lens, and to this day, I take lots of sunsets and flower photos. (53 years later)
Learning was mostly by reading. I got the most from Ansel Adams' books and Photographic Optics, by Neblette. Lots of other sources, as well. Main thing I found out is that all the major brands offer excellent equipment.
I was an optical engineer for quite a few years, but that only piqued my interest, and put some of my self-education to work.
Going to digital, I used, and still use, a Coolpix P510 with one lens, a zoom that is the equivalent of 24-1000 mm. It obviously handled just about everything for 10 or more years. I am spoiled for telephoto capability, so the usual wide lens on a phone is handy, but not versatile enough for me. Mountain peaks, birds and so on, are within easy and quality reach. That lens also does great close-ups, and not just within an inch of the subject.
I just went mirrorless, part of the equation is that all my ancient Nikon lenses work great, albeit manually, of course.
My Dad was an artist, so to me, technique is on top of composition and artistic merit. It is REALLY important for me to have a bright and sharp viewfinder. The P510 doesn't. I took some photos of hummingbirds darting around wildflowers and could barely see them in the glare of the screen. The camera did amazingly well for my shooting nearly blind.
While I still have it (with its ancient and unusable viewfinder) all my cameras now have bright viewfinders, and I can comfortably take photos in bright light.
YMMV, but learning by keeping an eye open for nature, and by taking walks everywhere you can, photo opportunities will open up. Bees land on flowers, birds show up to highlight sunsets, and so on.
Photography is all about seeing, and having versatile equipment on hand really helps.
The exception to my viewfinder rule is a little 8X zoom pocket camera I carry everywhere. It's smaller than a phone and the zoom helps me grab fleeting events like a phone but with some "pull"
P.S. I usually use "A" mode and let the camera set the shutter speed.