Should I classify myself as beginner or intermediate in photography?

my friend, we need to understand one thing, photography is an art. and we need to focus more on the art part rather than the technical part. so the first thing is your composition. and there it will not matter which camera you are using. and for the things like ISO, exposure etc, I would suggest you to first get your hands on the program mode. it should be there. the basic thing about this mode is that you get some control but a lot of things like auto iso, auto focus, auto exposure etc are controlled. so first get on with the settings, use it and you will slowly find that you are slowly getting hang of it.

I'm guessing your D3000 came with the kit 18-55mm lens. It's a good lens to start with and will let you get a feel for what sort of lenses you want to buy in the future. The D3000 is Nikon's intro-level consumer DSLR. I think it's a great camera to get started on. It even has a guide mode that can help you out! I'm not really familiar with the D3000--the only DSLR I've used is the D90--but there are a lot of free tutorials for the D3000 (and SLR/DSLRs in general) available online. If I were you, I would start by visiting http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d3000/index.html and watching the tutorials from Nikon. From there, take a look at these tutorials on composition: Part 1: http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/compose.html Part 2: http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/thirds.html Exposure: Part 1 (Apertures, shutters, and f-numbers): http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/exposure.html Part 2 (more about 'stops' and exposure): http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/exposure1.html Part 3: http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/exposure2.html Shutter & aperture: Intro: http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/shut_aper.html Part 1: http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/shake.html Part 2: http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/speeds1.html Another site you might find helpful is http://www.geofflawrence.com/index.htm Sorry for including so many links here, but I've found all of these pages to be really helpful while learning to make the most of my D90.

It just takes time to learn, I also have bought myself a new dslr camera and I too would like to do a class to learn how to use it better so far I am learning little by little, I bought myself a Canon 1000D...I love it even just using it simply.

One of the best things you can do is sit down with the manual and the camera in hand and go page by page, it will teach you a lot. I have been involved in photography since I was 16 (I'm now 51). One of the best things to do is experiment with all settings. See what you like best, and improve on that. I use the manual settings as well as point and shoot, it all depends on the pictures I am taking. I have a Nikon D40, DSLR, I have had many 35 mm cameras before with several lens, flashes, and other accessories. So just keep taking pictures every chance you get. Good luck