Marc - Hello and welcome, and I'm very glad to read that you've decided that photography is to be your primary hobby. I hope that being part of this forum can help you develop that interest further and contribute to your ongoing learning and development.
Please do join in the discussions and, of course, post some images up for comment. It's one of the best ways to learn.
In terms of seeking comment and criticism, Frank Millar, one of the members, recently posted a very helpful message to help people think about what to ask when seeking comments. Frank wrote:-
"Now that you’ve joined CiC, have images you want to share, and are eager to learn how to improve, you’ll want to know HOW and WHERE to post your images.
HOW - If you are new to CiC or are having any difficulty posting your images to this forum, please check out our HELP THREAD: How can I post images here?
WHERE – At the top of the main web page, click the Forum button and under Photo Commentary & Competitions, select the most appropriate of these two critique forums (not here); People & Pets, or Nature & Architecture (and anything else).
At the top of the selected Forum, click the + Post New Thread button to create your new thread.
Getting Feedback - To receive the most effective feedback, geared to your level of interest and expertise, please consider the following:
When you post an image for which you want feedback that goes beyond 'that's a nice picture', please tell us a bit about what you were trying to accomplish when you took the image.
Are you interested in how to get the best from your camera settings? Or perhaps some technical aspect such as depth of field, contrast, focus, motion blur, white balance, details in shadows, blown highlights, etc.
Perhaps you are concentrating on composition where subject matter, level horizon, the use of lines, colours, shapes, are important.
Perhaps you are happy with the initial image and are more interested in post processing; cloning, cropping, correcting parallax, merging images, panoramas, focus stacking or any other multitude of retouching techniques.
Maybe you are a beginner and just want to know a few basic ideas on how to improve a snapshot.
The hardest post to provide effective feedback for is one that has multiple diverse images. A single image per post is preferred but on occasion asking for which image is best of several of the same subject can be effectively responded to as well.
Almost any image posted for critique can have a lot of suggested changes ranging from the commonly accepted norms for any image all the way to personal preferences that may or may not fit your style. In the end, it is what YOU want the image to be that is most important so feel free to choose from the suggested alternatives.
Our goal is to provide you with one or two improvements for each image that you can effectively use to move the image in the direction you want it to take. If we provide too many suggestions for improvements the learning process can become muddled and confusing so it is best to sharpen your technique on only one or two aspects at a time, then move on to reshoot, repost, and look for more feedback.
When you post your image, please let us know, where appropriate:
1. What you are trying to accomplish
2. What you did to move toward that goal
3. What aspect of the image you would like to see improved, and
4. What you feel your skill level is in the area you are seeking to improve.
This will help us to provide you with the best possible feedback for your image and learning experience."