Welcome Mathew!
Sometimes a bell goes off in my head and I realize that we should stop and put down some guidance so someone gets on the right track. Here's a great example when this response is needed and worthwhile. You are motivated, intelligent, have a good camera and are ready to learn. So I'm taking the extraordinary step of beating you up after you post your very first pictures here! However, I sense you are going to take this in stride. There are many more helpful folk on the way who'll respond to as you continueyour passion, learning from mistakes. So here goes!
It's a great thing to have hold of your Dad's DSLR and to really see what it can do. Actually any digital camera made even 5 years ago would be perfect and a film camera going as far back as you like! So what camera and lenses did you manage to swipe?
Let me go through each of the pictures in rapid succession and give some pointers. First overall you have enthusiasm that's revving and so you won't stop until you really get to produce photographs that will give you pleasure and pride. In fact if you stick with it, you'll amaze yourself at what's possible.
The car with the lights streaming by is something that a lot of us would love to capture creatively. This is a good start. I'd work on that; make notes and post in a separate thread in Riskit! where we can devote attention to just you working on this one issue if you wish as it's something that will require a long-term commitment or likely you will just have a fun snapshot. We'd like to see you take things to the next level if that's you wish.
The picture of the two boats is dark. One can use the Photoshop shadow highlight feature to open things up. Try it anyway. It's fun. A model in between the two boats or taking the pictures so that there is some stunning geometrical form or lines pulling us to investigate parts of the picture would help. So if you are going with symmetry here, it better be outstanding. This picture may be more impressive when you bring out the character of the deck and beauty of each boat, however, it may be limited as far as I can judge and I can be so wrong.
The squabbling birds are not in focus. For me they stand as a subject you should go after. So keep on with that, but you are going to surprise yourself with much sharper images and with the stuff held by that bird's beak perfectly drawn.
The fishing pole is potentially novel still life. You are not fighting movement. So one needs to scout this from up, down, around, leaning this way and that until you get a composition that really has some commanding presence. This so far doesn't!
My idea is that art lives. To breath life in anything, it needs some form. That requires us to learn to hunt and see parts of things. A rectangle of the proportions of your viewfinder or LCD screen can be cut out of cardboard. This is what you should carry, leaving your camera behind for a week. Just take photographs with that until you nail the one most powerful composition for each thing or person that interests you.
Now here are some quick pointers that come to mind:
1. Each of your pictures stand on their own and are not related so should be posted separately.
2. Show 1-4 pictures in a post and these must be related if you want sensible feedback. It's hard to find a common thread apart from the camera being newly in your hands.
3. What software are you using? The files should be taken in RAW and fine large jpg too. That allows you to enjoy the jpgs immediately but return to carefully get the best out of the picture.
4. Get a WhiBal card from RAWworkflow.com Michael Tapes is a brilliant fellow. You just need the smallest card. Read the tutorial there.
5. Get Lightroom, Photoshop, Lightzone or Silkypix to process your RAW images or else use the one that comes with your camera.
6. Look up the rule of thirds. Try to keep you main subject somewhere in the junction of the center square with one of the upper or lower corners.
7. Choose your best pictures.
8. Get the white point and black point right.
9. Add a gently S-Curve
10. Sharpen less than you might feel needed when you are at the size you will use.
11. Work in 16 bit files and Adobe RGB color space until you save the file as a PSD file.
12. Before loading it on to the web, reduce the size by bicubic sharper, sharpen to taste, and convert to sRGB so that other people will see the colors you have chosen.
13. For printing keep in Adobe RGB 1998 and allow the software to control the conversion for your printer.
All of these topics have been discussed and explained here. But feel free to ask if you can't find something or it makes no sense. We don't teach but will help you in your own path.
Asher
