ASSIGNMENT: APERTURE COMPS

I am learning so much from practicing yesterday's assignment! This is my favorite, so I thought I would just show that I am on task. I will post all the comparisons as soon as I have time.
Last week's tulips have faded, but they served well for the practice.
f5 ISO400

Trial and Error - lots of them!

Okay, now these shots were just taken with my Olympus C770 point 'n shoot. They are sooc because I wanted to compare them with the first tulip shots which are also sooc. In these there is no graininess and the green flower head parts are also very much in focus. I wanted this in the Nikon shots, but could not get it.
So, did I spend all that money for nothing??? Please help me here! In these Oly shots I had to be within an inch. With the Nikkor 105mm macro lens I was told to, "Stand back, and crop!" But the result is too noisy. I would love help from any of you who have the same equipment! ML

SPRING INSIDE; STORMY OUTSIDE

Winter weather still prevents me from foraging outside with my new camera. But my husband continues his old tradition (established when we lived in the mountains) of bringing me spring flowers every week! So not only do I enjoy their fresh colors and beauty, I can use them for photo practice.
Here is this week's subject!

NEW CAMERA!

Well, I finally did it! After months of research and saving, I just purchased a dSLR! I chose a Nikon D300. It is just 3 days out of the box, and daunting even to handle. My learning curve is not a curve; it is a perpendicular mountain face! The tulip shots below are with the new macro lens. I must learn about apertures, and so forced myself here to try working with backlighting. Dick brought me some tulips for my experimenting! Here, there were no internal lights, and I did this at dusk this dark 'n stormy day. sooc. I am pretty much a stickler - for myself only - of keeping nature shots sooc.

But if I can't do better than this, I may as well just keep using my Oly point 'n shoot. I will keep experimenting.
What I could never do before now and new lens, is get a shot like this. Griffin, our grandson, was in the 2nd row of cellos for their program at the high school a couple of nights ago. It was my camera's First Night Out! Getting this shot was like doing target practice at moving objects through a hedge.
So I tried to "soften" out the elbows, ears, and arms of other young cellists. Very amaturish. Since I mostly do sooc, I really don't know any techniques for dooding up a photo. For me though, his expressions are keepers!