Aperture and Shutter Speed!

So, I've been trying to take semi-alright pictures for a long time.  Nick got a new camera for his birthday this February and I have been trying to figure out how it works ever since.  SO...today I learned something that I probably should have learned before: How to use aperture! 

I've been looking at photography blogs, tutorials, etc...and finally learned this:

If you want a very shallow depth of field (background blurry), you’d choose a very large aperture opening, which would be a very low number. (f2.8)

If you want a very large depth of field (everything in focus), you’d choose a very small aperture opening, which would be a higher number. (like f22)

 Everything makes sense now!!! WOO!
I'll probably be posting more photography wisdom as I learn it... Anyways, I hope I've helped at least one person to realize what aperture is and how to use it.

Oh~ and I figured this out from this website: http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2008/05/what-the-heck-is-an-aperture-part-one/

Pioneer Woman has many tutorials on how to do things with your camera!

 OK- now that we have aperture figured out, on to shutter speed! 
this website has a handy dandy chart!  http://www.digicamhelp.com/taking-photos/advanced-techniques/shutter-speed-chart/
If you're too lazy to click on the link, this is essentially what the page says: 

If a slow shutter speed is selected, movement is captured. Using a fast shutter speed will freeze the action.
Here are suggested shutter speeds for photographing a variety of subjects.

SUGGESTED SHUTTER SPEEDS
TO FREEZE ACTION*	TO CAPTURE MOTION**
Children – 1/250 – 1/1000 seconds	Amusement park rides: +/- one second
Moving water/waterfalls: 1/1000 seconds or more	Moving water/waterfalls: 4 or more seconds
Sporting event: 1/500 – 1/2000 seconds	Fireworks: 1/2 – 4 seconds
Birds in flight: 1/1000th a second and above	Moving cars at night: 8-10 seconds
	Night photography – one or more seconds

P.S. I LOVE THIS BLOG!!! http://thatwifeblog.com/photography/