overprocessed?

[donlfaulkner]

I'm learning this as I go with input from as many sources as I can find. What I don't have is someone looking over my shoulder saying "this is good/bad", "you need more...or less...". So I think I tend to overprocess as I havent been able to yet train my eye for small nuances and changes in the image as I make adjustments.

This morning it's raining so I took some shots from the relative safety of my patio. This first is straight from the camera (just resized for posting). The second, I adjusted levels, Hue-saturation (It seemed to have too much blue), and contrast.

How did I do? What do I need to do different to make it better? Oh, I use Gimp because the price fit my budget. I've just begun to kinda sorta understand a little bit of how it works and I use a program called "QuickGama" to calibrate my monitor, again, because it fit my budget. I'm not sure how well it does. I'm guessing that some calibration is better than none. It did make my images look better on the screen. Haven't checked against a printer yet. (I have SO much to learn!)

Kinda feel like the village idiot here among all the talent on this forum.

[Dawn U]

Looks good to me. Much more punch than the original. Good job.

[glchism]

Don - the second image does look more vibrant. Most people would not be able to recognize the sublte differences. I know you said you are "learning as you go." If you are examining your photos with that kind of detail, you are well on your way to being great.

[donlfaulkner]

Dawn and Gary I appreciate your comments SO much. I felt like I was "shootin' in the dark" until I found this forum.

[texkam]

It's great that you are learning how to use GIMP. You are discovering the different "looks you are capable of achieving in a photo. As you shoot different subject matter you'll start to use this knowledge to create the mood you want. Kind of fun huh?

[donlfaulkner]

Yeah, Mark, It's a bunch of fun! I wish digital had come along 40 years ago. I've loved photography a long time just could not afford a steady diet with flim.

[wapiti]

IMO, you did about all that you could with that photo. I would say, good job.