Photography, the art, is now more popular than ever. An evolution from the film-weilding, chemical-burning, darkroom-breathing master photographers of centuries ago until the early 90s, to the funky, photoshop pros and Flickr or Photobucket geeks of the digital photographic world today. It is easier, cheaper and faster, but the excitement and artistry remains the same. For a mere 1000 US Dollars, you can buy your first DLSR and start your adventure to a discovery of wonderful images expressing what your inner artist soul searches.
Presently, 2 brands of DLSR rule the Digital Camera world, Canon and Nikon. Nikon boasts its top selling D90 with the video capability not to mention advance settings in an affordable price, but Canon remains the premiere option for top level photography with its top of the line 1D and 5D, not to mention perfect lenses but its pricey.
It is an accepted fact that if you are new, go for the Nikon. I recommend the D90 with at least a 18-200mm VR lens (although I am personally using a Canon, :P). It goes for about 1200 Dollars to 1500 Dollars, 800-900 for the body and around 300-500 fro the lens. Buy a tripod and you're good to go.
The internet is full of tips and tricks so learning would be much easier. Youtube has a lot of videos for photography. Learn also Photoshop for the basic cropping and reformatting of your images. You wouldn't want to upload a 5MB image because it takes so long. Buy using the crop tool of the Photoshop, you can save the image in a smaller compression without sacrificing quality. Later on, for advance options, you can edit and tweak settings for your image. Post it at Flickr or Photobucket and share it with friends and families.
