Manual Madness!

So, I am going on week two of working with my new camera, and with each passing day I realize more and more that I have no a clue what I am doing. So I enlisted the help of Jessica Washburn. Many of you know her or have had the honor of having her shoot you or your kids, and certainly don't need me to tell you that she is a VERY talented photographer (I highly suggest seeing for yourself at http://jessicawashburn365.blogspot.com/) She used to live in Port Orchard, but has recently moved back East. She has three beautiful girls, and is busy busy. Anyways, I emailed her to ask a few questions and in true Jessica form (always going above and beyond) has been extremely generous with her time and knowledge. Through our emails she has offered to help critique my work, and has given me assignments to help me understand basic concepts. I can not tell you how invaluable this is to me, nor how excited I am to not feel alone in this learning process!! I like to think of her as my mentor (my words not hers :)). Anyways, her latest suggestion is for me to start shooting solely in manual. I don't know if any of you can understand how scary this is....so let me tell you, I AM SCARED. I feel so vulnerable, and it only solidifies all the more that I really don't know what I am doing!! Anyways, I have been doing it for a few days, and want to post the only picture that I have liked so far. I really want to use this blog to reference my hopeful progression in my photographic journey, so be prepared for lots of pictures, the good, the bad, and the ugly :)!