Wow, you guys must be TOTAL NEWBS THEN! LOL!
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No, not really. They're experienced because they know when they need to use thier auto and when not to. This is a good example of when to use it. I doubt anyone would find it useful to shoot 1, 000 images of a sunset in 30 minutes, but I guess one could, just for example.
You may find it useful to concentrate on one or two types of photography, with something inbetween to break the monotony, until you find yourself comforatable with those two thing. It helps to understand other aspects easier--at least for me. I mean, for instance, instead of shoting a moving subject to try and practice backlighting, you may want to try a static object, like a mask on a foam head (I have one) and put that on a stand. Then you can take it anywhere you want and go from a to z with it. In fact, that may teach you more than shooting weeks the other way. I say this becsaue I bought a foam head, and mask to go over it, and using a lightstand with the head on it and a flashlight, learned more about light direction, height, and traditional light patterns than I did in three or for two hour long shoots using strobes. It just kinda popped in my head in like, seriously, two minutes playing with the flashlight and mask. All of the sudden I was seeing the shadows AND the highlights and how they worked in conjuctions with light distance and height.
And it never hurts to read a grip of good books on whatever subject you ware learning. I spent a lot of time doing that, and even outlining each book so I could review it in my spare time--invaluable.
