It takes more than the camera to take great pics
Don't gived up on it just because the first set of pics didn't come out all that great.
And you don't need some multi-million dollar camera to make good pics... this pic was taken with a D50, whichis a bit worse of a camera imho than the D40. The lense you are using also makes a huge difference of course... but the lense i'm using for these pics is actually a pretty cheap ProMaster 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.
That was shot at dusk in very low light free-hand, no tripod. it has very slight work in Photoshop, but that is close to how it popped out of the camera.
granted, thats not a night shot, but personally i think night shots are the easier shots, because you're working with a tripod and an inanimate object... take the tripod away, or shoot something that is moving, and see how people work with night shots :P
Just remember though, if you begin to mess with photoshop a lot, underexposure is better than overexposure... its nearly impossible to gain back detail from 'white-washed' areas, whereas there is usually a good deal of captured and therefore editable data in an underexposed picture.
And of course, the best advise that can be given, is to get PhotoShop asap... lol! However, PhotoShop won't make you good... you still need to know the camera, and the settings to get it close.. PS just lets you fine-tune.
Oh, and if you're shooting anything important, shoot it in RAW mode... or RAW +jpg, so that way you have the RAW files on hand if you really need them. Because if you HAPPEN to shoot something spectacular or worthy of publication or something, you'll WANT the high res RAW file.
Good luck with your photography! If there's anything i can help u with, let me know...
