Thanks Loupey. I'm more interested in doing scenics/landscapes, but I won't have an opportunity to do anything like that for at least 2 weeks. As you might guess, I don't know anything about flowers. I actually had to ask my wife what the first one was and I still don't know what the 2nd one is I can easily get closer. I was having some trouble with the tripod I borrowed, but I can work that out. I also got a shutter release cable which should make things easier. That I and will try using my off-camera flashes next time for some better lighting. I don't know if it's normal to use a flash with flowers and such, but I want to start practicing with them and this is about all I'll be able to shoot for now.