Rachel,
Congrats on winning with that sunset photo at your local contest! That photo is fantastic — it’s beautiful and I just really liked the composition. Professional photographers (which I am not) may have a thing or two to say about it as far as maybe a minor tweaks here and there, but I think overall, the composition is good.
For me I think you nearly nailed the Rule of Thirds with that one, which makes the photo quite appealing on top of the dramatic scenery that it already has. You did really well there.
Chase Jarvis, an awesome Nikon photographer, once said that the best camera is the one you that you have. He said that while shooting using his iPhone! He even published a book of photos he took with his iPhone. The guy has just about every Nikon camera and lens out there — I think he is an official spokesperson for Nikon — and yet he can shoot amazing photos with his iPhone.
My point being, it’s all in the composition, which is framing your subject or a portion of it. The skill in that takes a lot of practice and learning by looking at what others have done. Everything has been done before so look at some of the most amazing photos you have seen and copy away; re-create the image. Do it over and over again until it becomes you, your skills.
I, too, have a flckr account so maybe I can add you and you post more photos and I can maybe critique more in detail. (Disclaimer: I am not a pro but I have been told I have the eyes of a photographer. With that said, I have done paid shoots for weddings, boudoir, high school senior portraits, sporting events, etc. So maybe I know a little about photography. Hee hee…)
Best wishes,
Jeremy
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