[Chip]

Lori and peeper -

I think first curtain and second curtain are the same as/analogous to front curtain and rear curtain flash. So, first/front curtain - the flash fires at the beginning of the exposure and all motion after the flash is blurred. Second/rear curtain - the flash fires at the end of the exposure and all motion before the flash is blurred.

To get the second/rear curtain flash activated on my D90, I hit the button with the lightning symbol on it that pops up the built in flash. Then, once the flash is popped up, hold down that same button and rotate one of the dials until "rear" is shown. If neither the "rear" nor the "eye" is shown, then you're in front/first curtain flash mode.

Hope this helps, and I hope this is right.