Here are some shots I posted in another IR thread. They were done as part of Digital IR class. All shot with my D300 and Tiffen IR filter.

Years ago on a trip to Mexico, I took out travel insurance that covered my camera gear. Good thing I did, someone broke into my hotel room and stole my gear. I filed a police report and got a copy of the report. When I got back to the states, I filed a claim with a copy of the police report and the claim was quickly paid.

We can only hope and pray
:D :D :D :D :-D :-D

Welcome, it can be really difficult trying to talk to people about photography when they have no clue about the technical end. The new cameras are just too easy to use and get acceptable pictures.

I have been using the D300 for two years now and I love it. I easily get prints up to and over 20 X 30 in. The D300S has better high ISO performance, I don't care about the video. It is a heavier duty camera than most of the "consumer" bodies.

You also may have the problem of focusing on the BG. Check that your focus spot is on the action you are trying to capture.

As a general rule, the camera manufacturer's lenses will be of higher build quality than the off brand lenses. I have heard horror stories of people with off brand lenses trying to get them repaired. I have had good luck buying off of eBay. Just read the description carefully, check out their return policy, and check their feedback rating.

I also have the 18-105mm and I have found it to be a excellent general purpose lens, as long as you are shooting within it's limits. At 18mm it is a wide angle, and at 105mm it is a medium telephoto. The main trouble I find with it is the variable aperture, decreasing to f/5.6 at 105mm. If you get a fixed focal length lens, you get exactly the same field of view as with a zoom lens set at that focal length. The fixed length lens will be sharper because it does not have the compromises that are necessary to make a zoom lens. Also, these zooms are intended to be "kit" lenses, included with a camera to make it easier for the beginning photographer to get started.
The higher quality zoom lenses will start about $1,500, will generally offer a shorter zoom range, have a higher aperture, have better build quality, and will be sharper throughout the zoom range.
The "macro" lenses are especially made to focus close AND to render a flat field sharp from edge to edge. That is to say, if you set up your camera exactly parallel to a newspaper which is taped flat on a wall, your picture will be sharp from edge to edge. A normal lens is not set up to do this. The macro lenses are also usable for general purpose photography and are very sharp.
The design of these lenses is of the highest quality as well as the manufacturing standards, thus the higher price. The good thing is that once you buy one of these lenses, you can keep it for life.
As a general rule, a good fixed focal length lens will be sharper than a good zoom lens. There are some excellent zoom lenses, and it might be difficult to see the difference in general photography, but the prime will always win in tests.
It all depends on the type of photography you want to do and how much money you want to spend. REMEMBER, high prices gear doesn't make a good photographer. You have to develop a eye for pictures, and then the necessary skills to render the picture that you have in your mind. You can generally get by with "lesser" gear while developing these skills and then move up to "pro" gear if your needs demand it and your skills warrant it.
Let me know if you have more questions, I will try to answer.

Believe me, she was MORE than happy with the shots I gave her.

Yes, but she doesn't want to look like a "experienced Hollywood babe".

Red lips make her look tacky.

The AF in the lens name means that it is Auto Focus.

Back in the olden days we were limited by film speed and needed the faster lenses to shoot in low light conditions. Now, especially with some on the newer cameras, you can boost the ISO to very high numbers and get very usable shots. Also, back at the dawn of time, we focused manually, and the faster lenses made for brighter images on the screen as well as shallower depth of field to make it easier to see when the image was in or out of focus.
Also, most of these lenses are being sold to beginners who are buying a camera with a"kit" lens. Their main goal is to take pictures of family and friends, not do street photography at night.
The fast lenses are still available, they just cost a lot of money, and are bought by photographers who need them and know how to use them.

You may be talking about the image stabilation lenses which should enable you to shoot hand held at slower shutter speeds. The other numbers you are referring to is the diameter of the front of the lens so you know what size filters to buy for it.

It could be that the tripod doesn't have a head. You may need to buy one.