So you got yourself a fancy camera - now what?

         I remember the day quite well.  I waited about what seemed like a week to get my package from UPS, and finally - according to the tracking info - my brand new Canon Digital Rebel XT would be arriving at my front door.  I waited a long time to get a DSLR, and now I would finally join the "in" crowd.  So what if it came with a crappy kit lens... as long as I was able to have complete manual control of the "decisive moment", I could care less.  The Nikon Coolpix 4800 was now officially retired.  I remember the moment I tore through the shipping packaging, grabbed the box that had my new love inside of it, opened it carefully, then took a whiff - ahh yes, the smell of "new electronic toy" (that's right, I got some geek in me).  Some hours later after the battery was finally charged, I slapped it into the camera body, turned the dial to AV mode, and started taking pictures of everything.  I had downloaded the manual some months ago, reading it over and over so when the moment came, I was ready.  
      
   I soon realized that reading the manual and knowing how to operate my new toy wasn't gonna make me Ansel Adams overnight.  My pictures were of the "shit" variety, and I needed inspiration of some sort.  But, here's the thing, I kept shooting anyway.  Everything from doorknobs to toilet seats was getting shot, and let me tell you, they all sucked in some way.  But I was still having fun...   

   Moral of the story is -
Even if you think your pics are horrible, keep taking tons of them anyway.  This is what Chase Jarvis refers to as the "Dirtiest Secret in Photography".   Eventually it'll all come together.  Learn as much as you can, but keep on pressing that button.  Repetition is everything, and that my friends, is lesson #1.  (This post is obviously for the FNG's of the craft - I'll get to all of the advanced mumbo-jumbo soon enough, party people).
  
 Now get your ass form in front of the computer and go shoot something!  I'll be starting to dive into the meat and potatoes with my next installment.  This was just to light a fire under that ass, LOL.  

More to come...