I tried UFRAW, probably didn't give it enough time for the learning curve and found myself disappointed and frustrated. Next up was Raw Therapee. After fiddling around, watching old tutorials and fiddling around some more, I do find it useful and very versatile. In fact, since becoming more comfortable, I get much of the editing I was doing in GIMP done in RT.
Yes, I love open source SW, just be sure you get a stable version.

We made a couple of 'friends' because we looked out for them, but being in a mall store front, we had to work on discretion. Sometimes you are just mindlessly working through the neg strip when your brain 'reverses' the image and you have to scramble for the scrap paper to cover the output chute that proudly displays to the mall. No more than a few sets were more interesting than precautionary measures. I didn't work there all that long because my 'other job promoted me to Assistant Manager in another mall. Sad part, it was selling Men's party clothes.
Both of those retail chains are now defunct of course.

I am an artist, primarily because that is an easy thing to say. I am learning a lot about the technical aspects of photography, but am still very much a newbie. I qualify myself as an artist because I endeavor to bring a new perspective to an image. Again, easy to say, and mostly, not hard to achieve. However, I recognize that quality is generally a product of experience. Heck, pictures that were blowing me away a few months ago now catch my critical eye for what could be done better. When I utilize post-processing and improve contrast or sharpness, ...well, I wasted the better part of yesterday lens shopping. I'm trying to step up from the kit lenses (already bought the EF50mm f/1.8 II) and of course, I want to reach out to those pesky birds and other wildlife.
So, as a progressively improving shooter and processor, I am disheartened when my effort is lumped together with flat images of puppy dogs or recolored kittehs. I see those all day on FB. I am on-again/off-again with submitting (other sites too) because I want the opportunity to stand with peers but can't handle a poor interpretation getting more popular votes because it struck some emotional chord. Full Disclosure, I spent part of 1988 doing color corrections, exposure compensations, sorting, etc. in a One-Hour Moto Photo, so I have flash-burned baby pics in my brain for the rest of my life. I expect to lose this bragging-rights competition, but not to 'pink' roses with water drops.
Solution? Yeah, if I had that figured out, I could sell process improvement to any corporation I wanted. Good luck with that, but I'll play by your rules. Otherwise, what's the point?

Well it is a great effect considering the actual proximity of the leaves and you seem to have magically pushed them back in the scene. Yes, that was helpful. Thank you.

I like Take 5's response and a few others, while some strike me as elitist talk. Focusing on my feelings around this, I get that I am really just having opinions about other people's opinions. Shooting styles take time to develop. The subjects, equipment, and a myriad of other conditions will chart a course for the photographer that will create a unique style/practice. Once firmly established, one sets about validating their practice by assuring the rest of the world is exposed to why it is a superior practice.
Another breakdown: that makes us ALL control freaks. The point is obvious with "Manual only" practitioners. But you may object to lumping in "Auto" and "Priority" shooters. But I am witness to many a situation where technology is allowed sway precisely because one may not want to be burdened, thus controlled, by process. This is a very real thing and may sometimes come off as laziness. But let's face it, we all have limited bandwidth and if one does not deal well with fractions, or scales, or inverted thinking, one will lose the vision by being bound by mental gymnastics.
If you get me in a conversation about vehicles, we may come to the question of transmissions. This is where I am a full-manual guy.I like my stick-shift and the feeling of control it gives me. But how can I advocate my method as being superior? The one decent argument I have when relating this is that is if one shifts effectively, one will save fuel mileage, is shattered when someone says that they don't think the difference is significant enough to be bothered with listening to the engine and timing the shift. Their three-speed automatic gets them where they are going just fine, thank you very much.
So, as my thesis for this philosophical rant is that one should consider the strengths already in place and lock them down into the process. Are you coming from a P&S where you developed your composition and don't want to lose that? Then enjoy Auto while you get used to the weight, views, and results of the new camera. The results will inform you of what you want to focus on next(pun fully intended).
"I really love how sharp this flower came out, but those 'weeds' in the background wreck this. What's this Aperture priority all about?"
...then maybe...
"I like this shot for it's DOF, but how can I make it more 'contrasty'?" Start pushing the exposure around and ignore the warning beeps...or turn them off. Shoot lots and track the results.
I figure most question here get asked with a glimmer of the expected answer(s), but are in search of some assurances.
Opinions are opinions, not to be considered worthless...nor gospel. Opinions are based on our unique experiences, your mileage may vary with use.

I am intrigued by the color of the overexposed foreground. I got the same effect when I shot my garden in the distant light of the street light. It is overexposed, but that doesn't make it wrong. I don't think it mixes well in this composition.
I am just saying I kinda like chasing that color.
Otherwise, each shot tells a different story and I think you had fun with it.

Without a doubt, you have my reinforcing vote that these are crowd pleasing family pictures. Since you would like to take the same images into photography, you appealed to the nerds and I think garnered some good responses. We also see a couple of different visions of how the background can be improved.
But what I got out of this is that not all background trees are equal. (surely this extends to all other backgrounds as well but I find interest in the trees, atm).
Today I was shooting an object that had a US hwy as a background, from that side anyway. But I just squatted til my background horizon only included pine trees. They didn't distract because the needles are so small they already carry a blur at such distances. Even relatively close, pine gives you a subtle background that is easily obscured if necessary. But when you go shooting in front of a fig tree
(?) you have a much larger repeat pattern such that the leaves here compete as individual objects for attention. I will be watching this factor going forward as I have a new fig tree and I look forward to its fruit, if not its background.
I haven't quite figured out Lens Cap's trick and I wished he would share more, but I do like the work.
I am not looking to lecture, but to acknowledge an insight I garnered due to this conversation. But now it seems obvious and I even feel a little silly, but that's discovery for ya!

Let's not forget how treacherous the learning curve can be. I speak as a relative newb as I just got my 2nd hand Canon T3i this week. But I spent weeks of research comparing prices and technologies. I have carried a Canon Sure shot SX130(?) for over two years and was anxious to get to the next level. Not just to be dramatic and bore you, my point is that I found an awesome resource that carried me much further than reading reviews on Amazon. New to this forum, I don't want to drop dotcom bombs and get censured. Google Lynda+Ben Long. I suspect many here already know that name, but he has amassed a large number of instructional video courses covering Photography Fundamentals as well as some advanced topics. He is far from the only instructor and that is far from the only point of this site. There is massive coverage of many versions of PS. I have learned how to use Adobe InDesign from this site. They cover almost any office app you(I) can think of. And Ben made my buying decision even tougher because he has two course that walk you through the D5100 and the T3i(600D). I knew that whichever one I went with, because that was my price point, I'd have this video course to hold my hand teaching me how to reach the dusty corners of the menu.
But the brain was a bit exhausted after absorbing HOURS of video on the camera alone. I've realized that I want a book nearby to thumb to specific questions because in the field I can't usually pull up how-to videos. But probably even more educational than all this, go out and make mistakes, but with the awareness that you plan on learning from them, especially the 'happy accidents.'
Come home and break down your shots to see what might have gone better and the next time you look through your viewfinder, it's a whole new world!
So, with my very first post I may have stepped on a toe or two, but look at it as my enthusiastic support of a fellow learner.
But I will make one opinion clear, do RTFM because you need that exposure to create the language of communication with your new peers.
BTW, Hi Y'all, I'm new here! ;-)

p.s. also google the 7dayfreetrial for the website mentioned above. It is a subscription site, but I find it to be a bargain.