Let me know if i'm on track

took this picture after dark at a local harley shop. Shot with rebel xt on tripod with kit lens. 5.6 aperture .6 shutter speed. I'm fairly new to slr's so be gentle.
Hope the picture uploaded properly kinda new to this forum.

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Good shot of the pumps, I love the octane ratings! What kills the shot is the visible clothing racks in the shop. The purple top hanging in the background between the pumps totally emasculates the entire photo. I like the composition and I like the Texaco sign but the background has to go. Just a thought, my friend!

Thanks for the comment i know i have a long way to go but i hope to have fun getting there.

good point with the clothes although I wouldn't have picked up on it if it hadn't been mentioned.

i noticed them but just try a larger apeture like 2.8 next time to rid yourself of distracting backgrounds. i would also try a couple of different perspectives... maybe a low wide angle shot would be cool or a crop of this one to eliminate some of that roof.

IMO the shot looks fine the way it is, but per the suggestions above here is where I would have used the nifty fifty rather than the kit lens. Your focal length was at 48mm so just a small step backwards and the 50 with a larger aperture could have given you a slightly blurred background.

Thanks Mike I actually put in an order for a 50mm 1.8 this evening they tell me 1 week though. Sure am looking forward to trying it out. How do you like yours is it MK II.

Fine shot Freeze,

Did a little tweaking with youre picture in CS2.
I made selective saturation and sharpening and desaturated the
purple in the background. I am using a cheap uncalibrated monitor at work
please tell me if it looks OK.

Thanks

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Realy took the purple out nice still can see the clothing(can't do anything about that)
Think i'll just have to head back when i get my 50mm 1.8
Thanks for all the help
Freeze

the clothing in my opinion in this shot really is not that big of an issue. I wouldnt fret about it

I think there is too much going on that conflicts with the subject.. Think rule of thirds..

You've done well with the shot - its not a bad exposure and its an interesting subject.

Have to agree that it could probably do with a tighter crop to get rid of some the distracting elements.

ALSO: the camera doesnt seem to be level - you can see the slant on the verticals (the window frames for example, ).... does your tripod have a level indicator?

Does anyone else notice this?