Hey Josh, congratulations. That's a nice camera. Nothing wrong with the picture, just shows you that you need a better polishing job around the emblem Come hang out with me and Kirby while he's shooting and you will learn alot from him.

I don't know much about Nikon lenses as I have a Canon. But like the other advice, get the best Nikon lens possible. They are expensive, probably ranging from $500 to a few thousand each. But if you get serious about the hobby, they will be worth it.

Just practice by shooting lots of pictures. It's free and you can critique it. I think one of the best photography books is Understanding Exposure by Bryan Petersen:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081...879259?ie=UTF8

If you get really serious, you can take some local college photography classes or even online. I did a couple of online classes at:

www.betterphoto.com

and they were enjoyable. So good luck. Any questions, just let us know.