Thanks guys!!!

Good idea Lisafx! You have given me new inspiration! I have some photos of the landscape around here! I should shoot around locally more!!!

And ap, I live in the opposite end of Japan where you were! I live on the southern island, KYUSHU!!! Known for it's warmth, but still very cold right now, (because it's the middle of winter! )

OMG!!! LOL!!! I was (obviously) VERY confused.
Thank you all so much for commenting on my post. I really appreciate it. I don't know if you read my post in the newbie section, but I am an English teacher-- in a very rural area in Japan. I would seriously love to take a class or meet other photographers, but my Japanese is not good enough to do something like that! Plus don't even know if there is anything like that around here in the boonies. (The nearest movie theater is about an hour away on a good day...and costs 20 bucks for a ticket!). If I was back in the states, I would pick up a book from the library, or take a community college class. But unfortunately at the moment I don't have that kind of luxury.
I have tried to find something on the internet to teach me, but I guess I am not carving out sufficient time to do so or finding the right ones. It's also overwhelming with all the information out there on google. Any website recommendations for that photography 101 that I so desperately need??? I guess I just prefer books where you can flip through the pages, and look through the index, or table of contents to find out what you need...  but there are no English book for miles around where I am.

Hello again!

I tried to improve from my last critique and picked up a white plate etc etc. I am trying to like suggested to get a nice "white airy" look. I set the aperture to 1/100 to achieve this... but I think it's making the end part of the vegetables look blurry! The middle looks clear... but the sides seem to lose focus.

Any ideas of what to do? I really just want to get some of my food photos to be clear and have that "white airy" look.  Any help or other critiques would be greatly appreciated.

Oh and I tried uploading the original picture. But it won't let me, so am uploading a smaller version of it. Sorry about that, I know that was a comment last time.

Thank you all for your comments!
You've all given me much food for thought, and awesome tips that I will definitely try out soon!!!

Well, I am glad I initially thought of microstock a good way to learn, or else I would have never stumbled upon this website which has such a wealth of information and learning tools!!

Ok, thanks for the advice!

I posted a photo critique... if your curious:

http://www.microstockgroup.com/photo-critique/please-critique-my-photo!-would-istock-accept-me-%29/

Someone suggested on the newbie thread to post here and get some constructive criticism. So here I am! 

Remember, I'm a newbie... so please be kind!  ... but don't be afraid to be honest.

Wow, I put this post up and called it a night, and then I wake up to all these responses! What a nice surprise! Thanks!

I appreciate everyone's advice. Even though I feel slightly more confused. 

I read my post before and I realize it might have given the impression I'm doing this for money. If I don't make a cent on my photos during this little adventure, that's ok with me. The thought of complete strangers looking at and buying my photos sounds thrilling, so I want to try it.

I also want to learn and grow as a photographer, and take even better pictures. This method seems like a good way to do it, since it really seems flexible time wise.

A couple days ago, I signed up with istock (before discovering this site). I uploaded the three photos... but then I read on the site the review process takes a long time. How long should I expect to wait? A week? A month? And I didn't realize but maybe I was supposed to put a  model release form included with my images? Since it's a test, I thought it wouldn't be necessary? Hmm...

Maybe I'll try and just wait for istock. It seems they give the best feedback (?). And that's what I really want.

And putting up a picture to be reviewed by you guys sounds like a great idea!!!! Maybe I'll try that.

I am brand new to this concept of stock photography.
I have a DSLR, and I love taking pictures of food and most of all my friends and family. Something about food and my loved ones that I just love to shoot.
Anyways, I stumbled upon this micro stock photography phenomenon through the internet and thought maybe I can make some money on all these shots I have.

Thing is, I have a day job that takes a big chunk of my time. (I'm an English teacher). I currently only have enough time to contribute to one company.

So any good advice on what one company I should invest my time on? Like I said, I'm really brand new at this, don't even know if my stuff is worthy of stock! Looked over some other threads and seem to think that istock and shutterstock might not even accept my stuff due to their strict standards?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

LOL! I love it!

well, my first computer when i moved away to college was a mac. but it crashed so many times, I got a B in English! (At least that's what I blame it on anyway..haha!)

I then went to PC and swore I would never go back. Then I got a super good deal, almost a steal for an ibook on Craigslist. My faith in macs have been restored. If I buy a new laptop though, I'll probably go back to a PC. This little ibook has no signs of stopping though, and its over 4 years old.