Problems with D80 & Manual 50mm f1.8 lens

[Neuner]

Autofocus on somehting very high contrast (a thin strip of black paper taped to a white wall with the autofocus point right across the line of contrast). Then look therough the viewfinder and adjust the diopter wheel untill the line of contrast is as fine as can be, now your viewfinder is set to match your eyes.

Did as instructed and I did need to adjust the diopter wheel. I then used the 50mm manual and was able to take a sharp picture, but it took several shots. I need to work on my focusing skills.

 

[DSLR noob]

Yeah my diopter was off for about 3 weeks at one time when one day the camera was doing that "OMG this is SOOO in focus" and I thought "oh no, my camera is broken, it thinks that it is in focus but the subject looks blurry through the viewfinder", then I took the picture and it was fine on the LCD.
I played with the di-opter wheel and guess that I must have been using it like that the whole time, or that a friend messed it up or something.

 

[Neuner]

Got better with Macro having the lens reversed, but still not where I need it to be. With the apperture fully open, I was not able to take a sharp shot. It wasn't until I used f2.8 in lieu of 1.8 that I could get a clearer picture. I'm assuming it's because I increased the DOF by doing so.

Another thing; I took just a regular shot and then some bracketed shots to form a HDR. I'd like to increase my skills to the point that my single shot looks more like the Photoshop HDR I have below. I know my exposure was wrong for the single, the red was blown out. I need to work on that, but anymore suggestions? I'd like to get more 'pop' out of the subject.

Thanks!

Single Shot:

Photoshop HDR: