Hi everyone,

I've been using Photoblog for a couple of months now, and just love it! It's a great community, and the site is lovely - better by far than Flickr or any other rivals.

I'm relatively new to Photography; whilst I've had a normal compact digital camera for a few years, I only purchased my first SLR (a Saumsung GX-10) a couple of weeks ago. It's a challenge - with a compact, it's very much "point and click" - but with an SLR, there are so many variables and a lot to learn. I'm starting with the easy stuff - and am focusing on the easier subjects (such as flowers and nature) for now while I get to grips with the concepts. It's sometimes frustrating - sometimes I'll see the huge potential in a subject, and imagine how I'd like the composition to turn out in my mind's eye - but for some reason, getting the shot right is an awful lot tricker than it looks. I used to think photography to be relatively easy - how wrong I was!!

I pick up most of my tips from the various magazines available in the UK, but was wondering if anyone out there knew of any specific publications or websites suitable for a beginner?

Also, I'm going to invest in a tripod soon - and I wondered if anyone had any advice on what to go for? I'd rather spend the money and get a decent one, but there are so many out there with various different features, and I just don't know where to begin!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.