Probably the latter. A friend of mine was sort of encouraging me with ideas and he bugged me to add a comments box to each image so people could add and read comments. I failed at that after days of attempting it. I also wanted titles above the images but couldn't integrate it into my admin script because how the script was setup was to iterate through the "uploaded" table of the database and display the results. Basically once things got a bit more complicated than just merely echoing images to the screen, I crashed and burned. This is the case with pretty much any language I use. I've made Space Invader clones with Python (using tutorials, understanding what was going on) but when it came to keeping scores, title screens and stuff, again I'd crash and burn. And today for instance, I've been reading up on C# and I've attempted to create Pong but I can't even get sprites to draw lol.
I've been programming for years, and I probably couldn't make Pong in C#. Game programming is a very different beast. If you want to do games, I would look for a specific framework (maybe PyGame) and tutorial.
If you just want to learn to program, I would stay away from games for now.
Either way, it sounds like you just need someone who can give you hints when you get stuck. If you go the gaming route, any of the major frameworks should have a message board and people willing to help. Ask for their help. Be specific in where you're getting stuck, and most people will be plenty helpful.
If you ever want some to look over some non-game code (like I said, I don't do games), feel free to send me an email. My email address is in my HN profile.