First, make sure you get a tripod. That'll help with night shots and getting those waterfall shots you want. I'd reccomend a basic photo class. It'll help you really understand what all the different settings are for.
To start out trying shooting in aperture mode. That affects the depth of field. The higher the f# the smaller the hole and the more depth of field you have. Try to think about how you want the image to look and set the aperture accordingly.
Another good rule of thumb to remember is that you don't want you're shutter speed to be slower than your lens. If you're shooting by hand (no tripod) with a lens of Xmm, then your shutter speed so be no higher than 1/X.
If you're shooting with a 50mm lens then shoot at 1/50s, 1/60s 1/70s or lower... If you have the 300mm zoom on make sure your at least 1/300s. That's where the tripods come in.
One more thing. Check your ISO. The lower the ISO the better the shot. But for most things, especially if you're just posting to the web, you won't notice much of a difference. Drop down to 400 or 800. It'll be more forgiving for a beginner.
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That's what did it in the end. Not the money, not the music, not even the guns. That is my heroic flaw: my excess of civic pride.
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