i have a quick question about making water look smooth, for example, i see this alot in Yenom's work look here i have heard he does 8 sec exposures with an ND filter. What is an ND filter? is it just a darkening filter? how does 8 sec not burn out the pic?

Neutral density filter. Look Here

Arghh!! Something else to buy $$$ :-P

Another interesting ND filter here

If your camera lets you select the exposure mode, you don’t need to buy anything. Set it to Tv mode (Shutter Priority), and set the shutter speed to something low. The camera will compensate by selecting a small aperture and with a bit of experimentation (with shutter speeds) you should be able to achieve what you envision.

Easy slow down the exposed image. Otherwise if your capturing at 1/125 a second slow it to 1/60 a second and so fourth until you reach the acquired effect. Be sure to use a tripod. This works better though on a manual setting if your camera will alow.

ya, im sure the Digital Rebel has some mode that will allow me to do this, but i dont need an ND filter?

brphoto mentions here that you should "set the shutter speed to something that’s slower than 1/your lens's focal length (eg. 50mm lens = slower than 1/50th of a second). How slow you set it determines the "softness" of the water. (Longer = softer water)"
From how I understand it, the ND filter will act as an extra reduction in apeture for this type of shot (ignoring DOF effects). You won't *need* the filter, with my (non-DSLR) I usually just have to set the shutter speed to something less than 1/20s or so. This usually pins the apeture at my minimum, and on sunny days, it may be too much and blow out the highlights. In this case, you'd need the ND filter to, in effect, reduce the apeture further. Without it, wait for a cloud to pass or until just before sunset or something, when there's less light. I've also had reasonable success illuminating a river with a flashlight in total darkness for a 15s exposure.

If you have the Digital Rebel, simply turn the top settings dial to Tv. Then rotate the little wheel by the shutter button to the desired shutter speed. Plus, if you can, set the ISO to its lowest (I’m not sure if you can set that on the D. Rebel though).

But be careful, the smaller apertures (usually around f/11 and smaller) reveal all the nasty sensor dust!

Actually the 1/focal length thing is kind of an adaptation; it’s normally used to keep your shots sharp. For instance, with a 400mm telephoto, you need to keep you shutter speeds above 1/400 to produce a crisp image (without IS). So I figure it can be used in reverse to blur the water, with a tripod.