Can i get your opinion? Pictures? - 1

This is my photostream. I just got my nikon d40 a couple days ago. Its my first dslr and i'm completely new to this. I used photoshop to edit and just wanted to see if they were even slightly artistic or decent. Any opinions?

You definitely have a good start. Be careful in your editing. You are making some things really bright which tells me you don't have a calibrated monitor. Monitors straight out of the box are very bright and very contrasty for gaming and internet use. They are not at all accurate for photography and you will think things are darker than they really are.
You seem to be attempting to use good composition and especially the rule of thirds. You have several images that do not balance. If you have a bench you kind of can't cut the end of it off or the image feels as if it is going to fall. Your image has to balance. It's one of the primary rules of composition and you are definitely ready for more beyond the rule of thirds there. Here is a good site for basic composition: http://photoinf.com/General/KODAK/guidelines_for_better_photographic_composition.html
Your images are mostly clean, clear and sharp, but they would be if you are using auto mode. You need to branch out and start learning beyond it. Some are rather underexposed and flat looking which is coming from allowing the camera to make decisions in that auto mode. The ones that are underexposed have a bright sky in the background which made the camera decide to underexpose. You need to take that decision away from the camera and make it yourself using the exposure triangle. Manual Mode.
Caitlin is hot pink in some, orange in some, green and dark in some, you might want to fix her skin color a little bit. That is one of the first things that you need to learn to do in editing/processing. It's also hard as hell.
The bench brings me back to where you posted yesterday. You are definitely growing in your composition, but you need to start pushing yourself to learn in other areas too.
www.digital-photography-school.com will have all kinds of information.

Perhaps you were trying too hard when the photo was taken. Composition wise, you should never cut off part of an eye or eyebrow when framing this kind of shot. It's somewhat confusing as to what you're trying to show here. I can see in some of the other photos in your photostream that you do understand something about composition… As some of your other shots are not just plain snapshots. Stay with it, and keep practicing. Also, you might consider, if you haven't already done so, getting a good book on photography that covers the most important aspects… Composition, lighting, exposure, and depth of field. Also look at some books that have collections of photographs from renowned photographers and as you look at the images, try to figure out WHY the photographs are good.

Joseph Nowak