Melissa,from one newbie to another, i really like this shot very much. There's something about the utter stillness and glassy surface of this lake that draws me in. I think the fact that you have the lake itself (the foreground?) take up so much of the picture makes this viewer really think maybe there's something almost sinister about it..?

Rich,these are wonderful!My heart leapt into my throat when I saw there were eagle pictures here. I have been a member of the Hornby Eagle Group for more than a year now, observing a 24-hour nest cam and chat on a pair of eagles who've been together for more than 27 years. They are fascinating to watch and make incredible photography subjects. Keep up the good work!

One big thing for me is not being able to keep track of which things work and which don't. Anybody got any suggestions on that?

Wow. Such nice replies- and so quickly Thanks, guys.

notnobuddha - I found the little flower on my dial (?) and pushed it and just took a quick shot of an unfinished pin on a messy desktop and got a perfectly wonderful photograph! I realize nothing happens that quickly, so I will forage on, keeping that setting in mind. I haven't figured out yet how to not use the flash..

I found the other suggestions may lead to good things, too, so thanks all of you.

Hi there friends. I am a jewelry and accessories designer who needs to find a workable setting on a borrowed Samsung S85 digital camera so I can take pictures of my work to sell online. At present I'm paying monthly fees to maintain an ArtFire.com studio that is sitting idle until I can figure out how to take pictures of my work.

I am completely in the dark when it comes to figuring out how to use what is, I'm told, a simple point-and-shoot digital camera. So I'm here hoping to get an education to guide my heretofore wildly unsuccessful efforts.