Trudging along on my path to becoming a professional, or at the least a semi-professional. I discovered a very helpful website, digital-photography-school.com, which has been a handy resource for learning various techniques and getting tips and tricks.
I have also discovered Adobe PhotoShop which I have been using to "fix" my photos. My camera is an outdated model Minolta Digital and does not take the best pictures. PhotoShop has helped bring my photos to life.
When I have the money, I want to get a Canon 60D so I can take great photos without the need for PhotoShop. The more I learn, the more excited I get.