Where did I go wrong? Im a n00b

I am a complete noob have not had my Nikon n80 with 50mm 1.8 lens for long. Just started taking pics with it a few days ago and it looks like I screwed up what could have been something some what decent..

 

and just what do you think you have 'Screwed" up?

the foreground is underexposed, but that doesn't mean it is incorrect.

 

Like you said foreground is just about pitch black.

 

Do you think it would look worse if I lighten the forground in GIMP?

 

There's no information other than the color black. You could lighten it, but I don't think there will be much detail, if any at all, in the foreground. Leave it as a silhouette, it doesn't look half bad.

 

I like it.

 

I wish I had the lens to get close up of those birds. They are Sand Cranes by the way...

 

Thanks. It is nice to hear after going through about 10 rolls of film something turns out half way decent.

 

There is another picture though. Any tips on taking pictures of cars. This is my car by the way...

 

I haven't been able to get any pictures of my pets to come out correctly either. Usually they end up being blurry.

 

I like the shot of the birds. I think the foreground as a silhouette works fine.

My only remark about the car would be that the background seems to detract from the car a bit. I find myself drawn to the house more than the car.

 

BradUF,

I'm no expert myself (just started with a dslr a couple monthes ago) but I like the way your pictures turned out. The only suggestion I would make is to find a different subject for your car pictures - I'm a mustang guy! :mrgreen:

Pet are difficult subjects because they're constantly moving. I've gotten some of my best pics of my dog by bumping up the iso a bit so I can increase my shutter speed. It depends on how much light you have (obviously) but I usually try for 1/500 sec shutter speed. I'm sure others will chime in and fill in the holes as I'm just speaking from the trials and errors of a couple monthes experience.

Good luck,
Brad