Originally posted by patriotap very good, I will try doing that next time. My thinking was like the human eye, wide open on the aperature more at night less during the day.
That's sound thinking when *not* using a tripod, so you can get fast enough shutter speeds to handhold (eg, 1/30" or faster). Images quality suffers a bit wide open, focus becomes trickier, and depth of field is very shallow, but at least you don't get blur from camera shake. When using a tripod, you don't have to worry about camera shake (assuming you use the 2-second timer and/or turn off SR).
I'd recommend a book on photography that explains the basics of exposure. Lots of people like "Understand Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, I know.