new to photography

I have a point and shoot, and now have taken to photography as a serious hobby. owuld love some comments and criticisms. Pls click image for bigger picture. Taken in Erie, PA,USA.

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I'm amazed sometimes at what point and shoots can do. Nice photo, but if you're serious about getting into photography do yourself a favor and get a DSLR.

The horizon is drooping downward to the right.
The overall blue cast doesn't look like a good color balance.

thanks for ur inputs

Over all I like the colors and the "mood" of this shot and I would say that you are off to a good start. I think for a "beginner" this isn't a bad shot at all. A couple of things that are drawing my eye are first, as Bob said, your horizon isn't level. That's an easy fix in Photoshop, just do a search on "level horizon" and you should find out how to fix that in a jiffy.

Secondly also in regards to your horizon, you're pretty much splitting the frame right down the middle with your horizon...a very common "newbie" mistake. Here I would suggest learning about "the rule of thirds" and in shots such as this put your horizon in either the upper or lower third of the image (depending on where you want to put the emphasis...sky or water). The rule of thirds is really a good general rule of thumb and usually applies to landscape shots more often times than not.

Third, I think I would have found a better angle on the chair since for all intensive purposes it's a central part of the composition. Here it simply is a matter of walking around it really and just finding "the best angle".

Lastly in regards to epix's comment "Nice photo, but if you're serious about getting into photography do yourself a favor and get a DSLR", I would strongly suggest taking that with a very large grain of salt as it were. As I have said to a great many people, it's not the camera, it's the person using it and very simply a good photographer can do more with a cheap point and shoot than a poor photographer can with the most expensive equipment. Here I would suggest that before you spend a dime on a new camera, DSLR or otherwise, that first you read and learn all you can about things such as composition, DOF, (again) the rule of thirds, etc., etc...in other words, the elements that go into creating a good picture. Very simply you -can- take great pictures with a simple p&s -if- you understand these things but you can NOT take decent pictures without a good understanding of composition regardless of what camera you use. Learn first, worry about the expensive toys later.

Good luck to you!
Jim

Thanks Jim, that was very informative as well as encouraging