I consider myself an intermediate-level photographer, and have for nearly 20 years since I started serious photography with an Olympus OM-2s at the age of 16. I shot Kodachrome almost exclusively, and never set foot in a darkroom--until recently when I started shooting 3x4" orthochromatic B&W sheet film for some whole-cell modeling work I am doing using transmission electron microscopy. Inasmuch as I earn my living (as a postdoc in biology) by researching cellular structure using electron microscopes (SEM, TEM) and publishing images of this work, I guess I could rightly claim to be a professional photographer (micrographer, if you want to split hairs). In addition to being published in scientific journals, my work has appeared in textbooks, newspapers, television shows, etc., etc. My boss and I are both very interested in the artistic aspect of my work, and I will submit a portfolio to Lenswork in the coming months. I have used Photoshop CS2 ever since it came out, and Corel PhotoPaint 8 before that. I have a basic knowledge of image editing--levels (still not comfortable with curves), saturation, shadow/highlight, unsharp mask, etc--but not a whole lot more than that. I shoot raw with the E-510, and have been developing the images using the free Olympus software, although I plan on buying Lightroom 2.0 soon!
Anyway, I think you get an idea of where I'm at in terms of knowledge level.
I want advance my proficiency in terms of composition and technique, postprocessing and printing as well as learning how to develop and effectively communicate my personal vision. I've been buying a lot of photography books lately, and have just finished reading Szarkowski's book on Atget, which I've enjoyed a great deal. I try to see as much work in galleries, museums, books, and magazines as possible. My main interests are landscape, nature, architecture, and aviation photography, but I enjoy photography of a wider range of subjects than what I myself usually photograph.
I'm generally satisfied with the photos I take, and in general I'm happy with the E-510 (issues of noise and DR are annoying at times, but by no means ruining my enjoyment) but I'm a bit puzzled as to what I should to at this point to advance my knowledge. There are tons of books I want to read, and I've seen any number of suggested reading lists (I'm always interested in seeing more!). And of course there are articles online (including the ones on this site), courses, video tutorials (I bought Camera to Print last year), etc., etc. I'm wondering how I should proceed with all of these options so that I can make steady progress. Maybe it's all my years in academia, but I think I should have some sort of plan, including a reading list, that I should stick to, so I don't just end up wasting time and failing to make real progress.
Thanks for your suggestions.