2nd Critique

This picture is bothering me. The sky is hazzy and the bush in the front is very dark.
I did mess with the levels to brighten up the water a bit. I also cropped and resized.
This was shot in A-DEP mode with the 300D kit lens.
I am very new to photshop and PS Elements.
How can I fix the bush in the forground and the haze in the sky?
Also these were shot with no hood or lens filter. Should I use one or both?

What I really need is a photo tutor in the San Diego area

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I don't see anything wrong at all with this pic. I like the haze, and I don't
think the bush need any lightening or sharpening. That much maligned
EFS 18-55 takes a very decent daytime picture, IMO. I've even shot some
quality night concert shots with it using the flash. That 18mm focal length is
worth its weight in gold on a camera like the Rebel. I think I'm going to start
using mine more often where I need a wide angle.

What you might have done was to shoot a little more to the right, so as to
get more of the cliffs in you picture. Some might say there's a bit too much
water present.

Thanks for the reply.
Here is another shot that was resized only:

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I really like the second shot. Very nice indeed.

For that first one, I kind of agree with you that it might look better with the bush up front brightened up some and less hazy... if nothing else just to compare between the 2 to see which you like better.

If you want to mess with it some in Photoshop, I'd suggest using the Dodge tool on the bush... set the range to "Midtones" and leave it's exposure to about 50% and run over the bush with a decent sized brush. A drawing tablet with pressure sensitivity would help here. For the haze, you could try using the burn tool and lightly going over the water. A large brush might be a good idea to avoid you overlapping with it and making dark streaks in the water.