just learning more

every time i would ask someone a question about photography, the response was generally, just play with the setting, and you'll learn what they do. that was frustrating for me. i need to know what the setting does, and then try it at each extreme to learn...which is not something i found out until much later. so, this is a series of me attempting to try manual settings (some auto are mixed in), but generally not learning what the setting did.