Photography Bug

I have another bug.  Photography. While I come from the old school of film cameras that only advanced the film when you moved a lever with your thumb, I've really wholeheartedly accepted digital photography.  It wasn't an easy transition.  I still clung to the view that nothing compared to Kodachrome 64. But then I started exploring other photographer's websites and attending our local nature photography meetings. The colors were so vibrant that they seemed surreal.

Those vivid colors had me questioning my camera equipment. Should I get a new lens? A new camera? Did I need more megapixels?  Of course, all of that might help, but I'm discovering that post-production has a lot to do with it, too.  I've been having fun with a free trial of Adobe Lightroom and here are my results.

I was in Duluth in October and forgot to change the white balance on my camera.  This is what I got:

Then I played around with Adobe Lightroom and this is what I got:

Imagine what I could do if I really knew how to use the program.