Need to Learn Camera Settings

I don't know a single thing about photography.
While I appreciate the art, I'm not that interested in it. There are plenty of others around me who can take great pictures, so I don't have to be that good.

Then... I've been taking lots of photos at these parent meetup group events. And I post them to the site, but now I'm a bit embarrassed at my lack of skills.

One thing I really need to learn is how to adjust the settings on the camera. Since I don't have thousands to spend on better lenses, I should make the most out of camera settings. But I know NOTHING about 'em.

Is there a good site or book for beginners?
Something that can explain to a non-enthusiast?

Scaredy Cat Movie Review: Couple's Retreat

Ards got Couple's Retreat on Netflix & brought it over for all of us to watch.

The set up of the movie was kinda long.
I guess they had to show how the four couples (friends) ended up going on this retreat to save one of their friend's marriage, but it could have been shorter.

And we all enjoyed the yoga scene.
"Bump."

And the younger kid was cute & funny.
"Don't pee in the fake toilet, honey."

Oh, and the Asian guy from Community is on it too.
He's so unpleasant looking, he's great!

Stuff that bothered us?
1. Some of the ocean background scenes looked fake. Not sure if they were, but looked kinda green screened, you know?

2. Shark scene looks very fake & bad. It looked fake & bad in the promos, and it's more so b/c the scene is longer.

3. Why are some of the wives really young?
OK, it's only Veronica Mars girl who's really young compared to Michael Bluth (I should learn actor names, really... Kristen Bell? and Jason Bates? Something like that?), so it was hard to believe they were a couple.

And like watching any movies set in Hawaii, we wanted to go to Tahiti after seeing this. Tropical paradise... Mmmmm.

Crochet Time: Mouse, Attempt 1

Since I still had a lot of gray yarn leftover from making the elephant amigurumi, I decided to make a mouse. They're gray too, right?



I followed instructions on a Japanese website... but the head seems waaaaay too big compared to the body. Altho the body was supposed to be tiny.

I couldn't make a good sphere for the head, so it's a bit lopsided. It's more obvious on the back side, and the body isn't attached in the center of the bottom of the head... because the head is lopsided. *sigh*

The right ear is smaller than the left ear too.

I will add eyes, nose & mouth as soon as I buy black yarn.

Crochet Time: Elephant, Attempt 1

I attempted making an elephant amigurumi.

Here is the final look (without beady eyes):


The head didn't come out as round as it's supposed to.

And I wasn't paying attention to how tight/loose I was crocheting the legs, so all of the legs are different sizes. I put the bigger ones in front & smaller ones in back, so the elephant would lean back.

This is my first attempt, so I'll work on tightening stitches where I need to... and loosen where I need to (altho it's probably best to make them all even).

I thought sewing the pieces together would be hard, but I somehow managed... I have a semi-made purse that I haven't figured out how to attach the straps, so I'll try that tomorrow.