On average, Felipe, people probably spend less than a quarter of a second looking at a picture before they decide whether they like it or not.

Often, for non-photographers, it is not even a conscious decision, they just either feel good about a picture, or they don't.

My first impression of this shot was that I liked it. I like the moss growing on the fence and I like the mist in the background.

After a couple of seconds, I thought that it might be a little better if the background was more in focus, you would have to decrease the aperture (use a larger f-number), and would have to use a longer exposure time. This might necessitate the use of a tripod to stabalise the camera.

However, I did not see the actual scene, and having the background in focus may have been a distraction from your main focal point, namely the fence.

Unfortunately your D40 has no Depth of Field preview button, but this is not a major obstacle, as you can simply shoot images at different aperture settings (remembering to adjust the shutter speed accordingly), then reviewing the shots on the back of the camera.

You may want to look at these two articles:

• Understanding aperture and depth of field
• Getting an accurate exposure

Like I said though, I do like this shot, and think you have done a lot of things right.

Thanks a lot for you comments, they are very instructive.

I don't really know what is it that I like about this photo, may be the colors or maybe is just that it remains me of my life, this is a very typical image in my country.

I also don't know if I would like to see the entire background, but I will follow your advice and make more pictures and try different settings.

I read your tutorials and they where a good refresher, I don't really recall if I took this in auto mode or what, I just wanted to take some pictures!!

I will now follow another advice that I read here somewhere, I will go back to the same place and try different lights and angles and settings and see what comes up.

One thing that I liked is that I did not crop it, I did get the composition that I wanted at the moment.

So, thanks again, will keep you posted in what I do.

Be the change you want to see in the world
-- Mahatma Gandhi

The more I look at this shot, the more I like it. The colors really are good, the muted tones work really well with the misty background.

I also think I was wrong about the background. Too much depth of field, (meaning more would be in focus) would have taken the viewer's eye away from the barb wire.

I think this would be exactly the type of shot people would like to use as a desktop background, because it is pleasant, without being too distracting or too busy.

I think I will use it tomorrow as my desktop background and see what my peers say about it.

I am always changing mine and using photos of animals and landscapes, I was thinking of using my own photos as soon as I had enough, but one should do it to start.

Great idea.

:)

Be the change you want to see in the world
-- Mahatma Gandhi