Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply. I also heard that the high winds blowing the sand around can damage my camera, how do I protect it from that?

In less than a month I will be traveling to Aruba for vacation! (SUPER excited, btw.) I am mostly packed, except for my Nikon D3100.
I have 2 questions.

1- How do I travel with this kind of camera?
2- Any suggestions on shooting in 'beachy' settings?

I only have the lens that comes with the camera and won't be getting another one before my trip, so I don't need to worry about 'which lenses to bring.' If anyone here has ever been to Aruba, I would love some advice on what to shoot, or just travel suggestions in general.

Thanks guys!

1- San Salvador, Bahamas
2- Middle Earth (AKA New Zealand. Specifically locations associated with the filming of Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.)
3- Somewhere in Africa. Maybe Swaziland.

Yes! We would like to see them!

All 3 are wonderful! Look forward to seeing more from you. :)

This topic really hits home for me. I just bought my very first DSLR camera a week and a half ago and am already looking for accessories for it. My wallet, however, is telling me that it will probably be after Christmas before I can get my next lens. But the way I figure it is that I will have plenty of time to study my camera and how it works, and will get in plenty of practice before then. What good is having extra stuff if you can't use the basics? As someone who is just getting into the hobby, I can tell you that I am very impatient and think that I should just be able to pick up the camera and know exactly what to do with it to get amazing pictures every single time... but in reality, It's going to take a LOT of time to get even decent, and in that time I can save up for my next major purchase.
Hobbies, in general are expensive, but you might as well spend the money on something that you love. :)

Love it! I wish this was MY grad picture!

Thank you guys for all of your input. One of my friends also has reccommended the Nikon D3100. Has anyone here used that before? I'm thinking this might be the one I go with unless there are any good reasons not to.

Ha! I am still new here and was creating my profile just a few moments ago.

Thanks for the advice, I will look around online for used cameras. I just want to make sure they haven't been over-used.

Hey guys,
I have finally decided to take my photography to the next level and purchase my first 'real' camera... that is, not a baics point-and-click camera you get on sale at Walmart.
My problem is that I am very new to this and have no idea what I should start with. I am on a pretty tight budget and am looking for a good starter camera. I don't need the best one out there with lots of gadgets, just something of decent quality that I will be able to play around with while learning how to use the settings, play with lighting, and get some good general practice with.

I would really appreciate some suggestions as to what I should look for. If anyone has the camera they are reccommending for me, please post a picture or two that you have taken with said camera so I can see what it can do.

Again, I really appreciate any help you guys can give me. I am eager to learn, but just don't know where o start. :)

Thank you! This will be helpful as soon as I can figure out how to adjust the settings on my camera. I think I may need to find a different one to practice on. I appreciate your feedback! :D

This last one is beautiful! I love it!

Hello out there!
My name is Sarah. I have always loved taking pictures, but recently I have decided that I would like to do more than just point and click. I currently only have a basic digital camera, Nikon coolpix s3100, That my wonderful boyfried got me bacause my last camera broke, but as soon as I start getting a little better, and can afford it, then I will upgrade!

I really dont know anything about proper photography. This is a going to be a major learning experience for me, so any pointers or tips that I can get would be amazing!

Can't wait to meet everyone!

~};{~ Sarah ~};{~