dslr: best photos from the first month

The wife and I just got a new toy: an $800 DSLR camera. ($600 camera + $200 lens)

Here are the best photos I've taken in the first month--yes, I'm still learning. Under each picture I'll list the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. (It's even forced me to make my template wider so I can display bigger pictures.)

Briefly: The slower the shutter, the lower the aperture number, and the higher the ISO, the more light is let in. But you have to find the right balance. Too slow of a shutter could open yourself up to blurry shots. Too high of an ISO could add noise. And aperture determines how much depth of field you'll get. So after taking these, I think the best method would be to set the aperture to what you want, start with a medium/low ISO, and then see if you can get a slow shutter without being blurry. If that doesn't work and you have to up your shutter speed, then you'll have to up the ISO to compensate.

Enough words, here are the pictures:

Recreation of Kirat & Nirali's Wedding Salad: Apple, Pear, Dried Cranberries, Candied Walnuts on Romaine with Balsamic Vinaigrette.
(1/40 - f1.8 - ISO500)


Brit's Homemade Fettuccine Alfredo with Parmigiano Reggiano
(1/160 - f1.8 - ISO2000)


Grilled Chicken Breasts with Chicken Rub
(1/100 - f1.8 - ISO1000)


Flowers in our yard
(1/100 - f4 - ISO400)


Potato-Stuffed Red Peppers with Herbed Corn
(1/80 - f1.8 - ISO1000)

Notice the aperture difference between the chicken breasts and the flowers. Since the chicken has a smaller aperture number (the smallest our camera can go) the background is a lot blurrier than in the flower shot. I think that is not working that well in the pasta shot, probably should have gone down to a f4 or f7 even.