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.

Nice camera. I have a D70, presume yours is the newer D70s.

So, if you just got a body and a tripod, how did you take the M5 shot? Do you have the kit lens?

There are a couple of different kit lens offered in different parts of the world. I have the 18-70 mm dx format lens. That is a 27-105 in a 35 mm equivalent, since you have the dx sensor. All future references are to the actual lens, not the 35 mm equivalent.

I would skip the fixed 50 mm. With your dx sensor, it wouldn't be as useful.

The 18-70 dx gets good reviews. I use it all of the time, and have been pleasantly surprised by it. It covers a very useful range, and is very sharp.

The 18-55 dx does not good such good reviews. Skip it.

The 17-55 dx is a very different animal. Don't know much about it, but it would be worth investigating given your habit of buying, shall we say, premium products.

There is a new 18-200 dx with built-in vibration reduction. If I was starting again, I might just buy that and call it a day.

Then, there are all the non-dx lenses that fit fine. I like the 80-200 ED for the reviews it gets, and it is fast for action shots.

Have fun with it.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff.. forgot to mention that it did come with a starter kit so it has the 18-70mm lens. Reading the manual right now.. so much stuff to look at but all the reviews I have been reading says RTFM. :)

Here's a link that might help. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d70/d70-settings.htm Lots of plain english here.

For the wax job try some Meguiars NXT Tech Wax http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...nce&n=15684181 and follow it with Meguiars final inspection.http://www.autogeek.net/1gallonrefill2.html

Finally try some cue tips around that emblem.

Congrats on the new camera Josh. Just get a good detail brush for that emblem :D If I were you, I would experiment more with angles and light. Due to your lighting, it's not picking up the true color of the car. Don't be afraid to experiment with your flash too. In no time you'll be taking pics as good as Mickey's, ok maybe in a few years ;)

thanks for the first link.. NXT leaves a ton of white residual also so gonna skip it.

Thats interesting. Not leaving white residule is it's claim to fame. I have used it many times and it has never left ANY WHITE residue at any time. It's color is white but It dosen't go on white, dosen't dry white. If your getting a TON of white residue as you claim then perhaps your putting on too much.

interesting.. perhaps it's the color... but in general, not too fond of meguiar's stuff.. I'm been doing thin layers of NXT tech waxes just for test on the bike and it shows up white.

Maybe you got a bad bottle. I'm surprised. I'm tempted to come by your place to see for myself.

I would not skip on the 50mm Prime and Gresch mentioned it too. If you can take good decent pictures using that lens, then move on to the more expensive lenses. A fast 50mm is a great great lens and a must have.