...that maybe it is time to get back into snapping some pics. YEARS ago it was a pretty active hobby but I havent done much with it in a long time...

I was thinking maybe you guys could offer me a bit of advice and help me along my way.
Right now all I have to work with ( until I can talk the wife into a new camera) is a small $100 Canon Point and Shoot. ( power shot A3100).
I am going to post a few pics and ask a few questions....and maybe you guys with more experience can get my feet headed in the right direction.

Pics that came out ABOUT like I was going for ( had to do a little exposure tweaking once it was on the bigger computer screen)

Not sure what I was really going for here....just thought the texture of this old carving was cool.


I thought the colors of this grinding wheel were kind of neat.


Pics that are a COMPLETE MISS and wonder what I should have done with them...

This picture is not at all what I saw when I took it. The two flowers in the lower right hand corner near the bud were lit up by a small beam of sunlight and almost glowed orange. any suggestions of what to do to capture that? ( or can I with a cheapy point and shoot?)


This picture is also a miss...this flower had a shadow across the upper half and the base of the flower had sun streaming in and nearly glowed....it did not translate in the picture AT ALL...same questions as pic above



your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated as always!