Photography Challenge #8: Learn How to Use a New Button on My Camera

Confession: I have no idea what most of the buttons on my camera do. Yet, anyway. Thanks to a random lady in St. Louis I am now figuring out what all those buttons can do. Let me explain. While we were at the Arch we asked this random lady to take our picture. She happened to have the D80, which caused us to start talking cameras, which led her to tell us all about this awesome photography website. Got that? Well, it turns out the website is pretty awesome. It explains your camera manual in plain English! Yay! I have been hooked ever since!! (It also has lots of other cool stuff on it that I haven't gotten around to checking out completely yet!) Thanks random lady!

So after some reading up on the awesome website, I have discovered my current favorite button: the +/- button. Here's how it works: Take a picture. Do some chimping. Need to make it lighter? Press the +/- button and turn the back dial to the left. Need to make it darker? Press the +/- button and turn the back dial to the right. Easy cheesy!

Here is Billy the Bison demonstrating the +/- button:

I also just received the 50mm lens that I ordered this week and have been having fun playing around with it too! Definitely recommend this lens!!!

My pretty birthday flowers

Here is Brownie demostrating some of the awesome abilities of the 50mm lens

I had my photography books out and loved the colors in them...isn't this lens fun??

This was too funny not to include...this was not posed!

Sorry for the Brownie overload but she is the most exciting thing in the apartment. I love how this lens can blur the background so you can't tell how messy the place is right now. =)

Speaking of messy...I better go do some cleaning and packing...this time tomorrow I will be on a plane headed to glorious, sunny, full-of-photo-opps FLA!!! I have several challenges in mind for over the break so see you soon!! =)