You'll only get better if you practice and take good notes....but it will happen. Stick around and you'll likely learn from us that have been doing this a while. As Admin I am truly impressed and proud of the quick improvements many members make by taking our feedback seriously.

As a whole this shot does not work for me as the right side is too underexposed (NO detail in the blacks). Basically your camera saw the bright sky and underexposed the trees. Here is an podcast and article on basic exposure.
http://www.photography.ca/blog/?p=13
http://www.photography.ca/phototips/trinity.html

In general you want a good selection of tones from pure white to pure black. That is not the case here. Please excuse me if i refer you to some podcasts but they will teach you basics that would take too long to write.
Here's one on dodging and burning http://www.photography.ca/blog/?p=100

Hope that helps
Marko