Candy Cane

Hello all and Happy Holidays!
I have been a forum lurker for some time, learning all I can. I received a Pentax K10D for Christmas from my husband and am thrilled. I have been studying SLR photography for a while but without an actual SLR camera it was all rather foreign. This was one of my very first shots with my new camera. I know it is not a 'great' shot by any stretch but I figured the C&C would be a good launching point for me.

Welcome Zooathome!
You are right. The pic isn't great but it isn't all bad either.
I like isolated tree decorations and the play of light upon them.
In this case you have a blown out something in the bg that is quite distracting. If its a blinker, wait 'til it blinks off or adjust your composition to get rid of it.
I think the candycane itself is a bit over exposed, leading to those shiny edges.
Also it would be more attractive if it were not centered but to the side a bit. Its a good opportunity for a vertical shot.
All that being said, it appears you have a good eye and you got the colors good.
I also be that candycane is still there and you could give it another go...eh?

Whatever.....keep shooting!

Welcome to the forum! I agree with what was said above, and would also like to add that the candy cane is not entirely in focus, something that, to me, is very distracting. and remember, with abstract, you aren't contained to the classic portrait and landscape orientations, try something new!

Awesome! Thank you so much for the critique and information. I learn so much from your words.

The tree was in front of a window and I believe the blown out area is the light from the window coming through the tree. I shot this on manual setting and have since had a lot of time to "play" with the settings. We even headed out into the woods, although I'm not sure how I feel about the pictures I captured.

I will be around often. Thanks so much.
Amy

Dear Amy,
You are already well ahead of most photographers in this "fully automatic" age, because you are "playing" around with manual settings. Nothing will teach you more about how a camera actually works and how light behaves. Like the old timers who started out when everything was manual, you'll gain an intricate understanding of focus, DOF, ISO, shutter speed, composition and available light that is far beyond anyone who upgrades from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR, but continues to just point and shoot. Using manual will teach you more about photography than anything you can read or hear, and that will encourage creativity, because you will begin to understand how available light rules everything.
I'll admit that over the years, I've come to rely more on automatic settings with each camera upgrade, but I'm always fiddling with modes, programs and various internal settings to achieve something that improves upon what the average guy can get by relying upon standard settings.
As Frog suggests, I'd try changing your angle slightly, to avoid the blow out, and tilt your camera vertically. Whenever the light from or on the background is stronger than the light on your subject, manual focus is more difficult, and it even confuses most auto-focuses, while overpowering and washing out the scene. Try having someone slightly behind and to the side shine a flashlight on the candy cane. Expose and focus for that light and see what happens.