i loved reading this .. and thank you for it .. i have been using the nikon 7900 ( but have snuck my slr canon out a few times shhh supposed to be for my birthday in oct.. i found that i liked to put it on manuel  focusing it myself..and get my hands on it and be in control  i put on everymode ..and  tryed differant things in just the short time i had it.
and wanted to leave it on the shelf . i hated it for two days . it was my enemy . My nikon 7900  i knew it like an old friend.
haha
then i thought about all the times i couldnt get the milky waterfall  or the preformance from 40 feet away.... ( got an extra 28 -200zoom lense )
 then i let go .
said to myself com' on dont stress take it on auto if you have to
 tryed that
but got bored
wanna play haha...
 sooo ( whispers)
lol when mikes not around i sneak t out of the box on the shelf and play .
take a pic of my foot haha..
i am just going to keep it that way  (play with cam not foot lol)
let go and  have fun
 so what if its on auto
 you can get a good shot with your eye and great lighting and compo
 dont worry what the hell anyone says
 just have fun. thats why we are here hehe..  i am excited about learning
but if you dont want to then just put it on auto
my sis gets great shots like that..
but i bet after a while you will want more!!
 love you all
 thanks for being my teachers...
 all good things come with time
 no hurry or worrys
 
great thread !
 love ya
 kimmers

kimmers ♥ :O)