Sorry, I'll give you a summary of what John Shaw said.

aperature at f16, shutter speed between 200-250, flash, and make sure you are close enough to your subject so that the flash actually lights it up (roughly 12 inches for my lens). It is supposed to work really well to capture insects in motion and not having to use a tripod to set the picture up. Unfortunately I didn't get to try it with the insects because their weren't any around. (I bet that's a shocker, isn't Shell?)

Flash

I found a technique in the "John Shaw" wildlife photography book that I decided to try out. Unfortunately there weren't any insects to test it on, only flowers.

Also I discovered that the wild flowers are getting old so it was hard to find good looking flowers.

While Shell Was Here

I took a few snapshots of the kids while Shell was here taking pictures. I loved this picture of Bri and Dallin but poor Bri had a pretty good sunburn on her face so I made it black and white. Maybe someday when I learn more about photoshop I'll be able to put the pink ribbon on Bri's dress back in.

This one is just for fun. Check out the feet on this bird!

Anything Outdoors

Yeah! I'm ahead this week! This swan posed just for me.

Up Close

This isn't my favorite but I had a really hard time getting my subject, Bri, to keep her hands and feet where I wanted them...

This was my best out of them all.

I posted the before and after so you can see the cropping and editing that I have been playing with.

At Your Feet

Dallin found these wildflowers at his feet this weekend. He and Syd had fun picking the wildflowers and posing with them.

Big Picture

Okay all. I have finally found a subject for the "Big Picture". Rachelle picked a fun location for her photo shoot while she was out in Austin for the weekend and I was able to use it myself.

I learned how to find correct aperature and shutter settings and adjust them for the sun in the background so the subject in the foreground is not burnt out. Then Rachelle showed me how to use an overlay on the picture to create a more "artsy" feel to the colors and picture itself.

Love it!

Thanks for coming Shell!