Some cracking pics in here, really need to learn how to use my dslr properly and get out of auto mode !
....Auto mode is a good way to become more familiar with how your DSLR feels and handles at first. Modern cameras seem to have zillions of settings and the trick is to analyse your efforts after uploading to see your settings data and learn from what worked well and what didn't.
Starting off with Auto modes also gives you confidence and stops you from thinking that you have just spent hundreds or thousands of pounds on something you are rubbish at!
The bottom line though, is do you 'have the eye'? Some guys do, TopCat for example, and others have a more scientific and unemotional approach, which personally I don't much like, but all that matters is what
YOU like.
"The camera takes the photo, but the photographer makes it" - Ansell Adams, 1902-1984