How do I learn photography from the bottom?

I want to be able to take good pictures for future trips to various destinations and I love expanding my horizon into new fields and reading as much about something before I fully invest in to it.I found a course online with Marc Levoy but I'm not sure if this was the best starter approach. It was very technical, and I feel like I need to start with the basics first and work myself up.It's a big field and there's tons of stuff to read up on. Like I understand ISO, apparture, and shutter speed by now, but how does one actually apply these things real life? Are there any books out there covering the basics? via /r/photography http://ift.tt/2vhop8l