Confusion

I know I've said this before, but photography crap is confusing. Here I am, trying to understand the concepts of setting custom white balance, getting lighting right and finding good composition, and... I can't even get the camera to focus on a piece of paper. *sigh* This is going to take a while.  I know I need to understand the equipment, but I really think I'd rather have the photo-fairy tap me with his wand {I imagine this particular fairy as a British gent in miniature wings and a tiara- don't ask} and make it so I take fabulous photos without any work at all.

Barring that, I guess I'll sit down with my camera manual and the DP Review of my 10D and become as familiar as my non-technical brain will allow. Oh well. At least I have a few cute pictures of the cat!

BTW- it makes a HUGE difference once you realize that you've been shooting EVERYTHING at ISO 800... 200 makes the pictures look much nicer. I think that would be part of this 'understanding your equipment' crap everyone is telling me about. I don't like it when 'everyone' is proved right!