...and now I realize why lot of my photographs with a bright background, used to come dark. And with the lotsa test-drives that I am taking my camera (and my new found interest too!) out for, I finally realized that the right way to pick such pictures is by making use of Auto Exposure Locking. So, these were taken with the AE Locked by point the camera to the ground initially, and then taking the picture.
Here are a couple of them taken the same way...
Both of them were taken in overcast conditions. They are over-exposed to some extent, perhaps I should instead try adjusting the exposure compensation manually next time, so that they look just right.
