Photography

i have a nice camera. Well, a pretty nice camera, anyway. It's the Canon Rebel XSi; not professional quality but still good quality. i even have a decent lens (in addition to the kit lens): a 50mm 1.8, aka the "Thrifty Fifty". However, what i don't have is the knowledge of how to use it. i can stick it in full auto mode and get some decent pictures. Not professional quality by any stretch but still decent pics. i can stick it in "P" mode and get passable indoor pics most of the time. And i LOVE that i don't get "shutter lag" (probably really focus lag), so when i press the button, it shoots right away. No 10 seconds later business that can kill a photo shoot or passing moment when photographing pets and toddlers. But i can't use any of the other manual settings, and i don't really understand the "P" mode.

i'm reading the book "Understanding Exposure" and taking the lessons at 2 Peas. You can find my progress here.

For those who don't want to go to the other sites, here's my favorite picture:

Kiddo was lying down on the deck of her toddler climber with her head hanging down over the slide ever so slightly, about to slide down.