Intro and Directions

[aaron00lee]

Hey everyone @ DPS!
I'm relatively new to photography. My family has had a Canon 300D (a little earlier model, though, I think), a EFS 18-55mm f3.5, and a Tokina AT-X 24-200mm f3.5 for about 7 years. I just got a new battery for the thing about 2 weeks ago, and have since been learning as much as possible. Here's a link to my 365 FB album that I've been posting as I've been learning (first picture=day I got the battery) to shoot. I've gotten the basic concepts of aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and exposure down relatively well, and something of their relationship to one another. I have been using Photoshop for a few months, and Lightroom since I got the battery.

Now I need some help. Where can I go from here? How do I take really rich, colorful photos? I'm getting better everyday, and I live in Istanbul, so I could easily take a day trip to some gorgeous photography sites, but I want to make sure that when I go there I don't take completely lifeless photos. Help?
and thanks for the help in advance

[Krusty79]

Here are a couple of starting guides - http://www.livermorevalleycameraclub...O_critique.pdf

http://www.livermorevalleycameraclub...omposition.pdf