I went to a workshop in The Palouse area. I flew into Spokane and drove south towards the area. I was absolutely astounded by the beauty there. I stopped all along the drive to photograph the beautiful landscapes. I am attaching my Flickr Palouse page and I think most photos are marked as to where they were taken. https://www.flickr.com/photos/peachesandolivia/albums/72157709928460142 There is also a very well-written pamphlet about photographing the area. I'm sure you'll find just what you're looking for.

I have no Costco close to me, but certainly use MPIX. Great company, fast turnaround. I am very pleased with the quality of prints they send back to me. I found them when attending a workshop with Moose Peterson, and have used them ever since.

I had the same problem. A friend told me to go to an auto supply store and pick up oil filter gizmo. I found one that looked safe to use on my camera and it worked like magic.

Wonderful shot; great post processing too. What wonderful creatures dogs are.........

Love the golden with the white face......beautiful!

Oh I love shooting dogs in nature. I've done quite a lot of them, actually, since I showed Weimaraners for many years. In the water, in the field, they are beautiful. That said, I think I have solved my problem myself. The ironing board will hold my felt quite nicely, and keep it straight as well. I'm thinking Halloween photo of my little diva..... she actually only likes things like diamonds and feather boas.

Lily and her diamonds

Most of my work is in the field, doing flowers and landscapes. However, I have a little white dog that I love to shoot and she loves to pose. I usually drape a piece of black felt over my "Herbie Curbie" garbage can and shoot outside in the early morning light. After reading about the shower curtain and PVC rack, I'm thinking that I could build something to put that black felt on to shoot said dog.
She weighs five pounds, so I don't need much background.
So a sm. pvc pipe rack would work, or a clothes drying rack, or? Many minds, many great ideas!

I understand just what you mean. So my suggestion is to set the camera on automatic and go out and get comfortable with it. To me comfortable means kind of forgetting the camera and concentrating on the photo. Also would be good to have one of those little fold up cheat sheets so if there is something you want to know at the moment, you can check the sheet. Amazon has them for just about any camera and you can just stick it your pocket. Take one all around lens with a good filter on it and forget the other stuff. You don't have to learn it all at once, pick up what you want to know when that moment comes along. I am that sort of learner, visual, and sitting down to study a manual isn't for me. Of course, you may be the opposite sort of "learner". Go out and have fun!