beginner

okay i am very new to photography and verry open to it. I just bought my first SLR camera, a nikon d40. I also bought a tripod. So yes i know this is a veryy open-ended question but i just thought someone could help me out for where to get started. Just something that is interesting and easy to shoot. I know i should probably go and look around for things to take photos of and i have. But it would be cool if someone could get me started on what to do first.

Thanks alot, Matt

Wow! First question is why did you decide to take up photography. If you, like I, saw things that other people didn't and you wanted to share what you saw, then that's where you start.
Second, where do live? Rural/urban/small town/antarctica/house/apartment/tent?
If you have a yard, go shoot some flowers, birds, the lawn chair. Watch people passing on the street or take your camera to town and shoot what catches your eye.
Do you like landscapes, closeups, macro, sports, people, architecture, etc., etc.

There is no way to for me to tell you what to look for. You'll start and get a few good shots and a bunch of bad ones and then learn why they turned out bad and not make that mistake again, maybe.
Sometimes, I go out and sit in a chair in the evening and watch the light and leaves and stuff on the grass and my feet and the corner of the window and pretty soon I'm taking pictures. The neighbors wonder why I'm crawlling around on the ground sometimes but that's ok too.
Just start shooting and you'll discover what you want to shoot.

Phish, my recommendation is to enroll in a digital photography course at a local JC. You'll learn alot about photo composition, the rule of thirds, and you'll have plenty of assignments to take.

You can also check out Tips from the Top Floor with Chris Marquart. It's a blog and podcast that talks about DP and gives assignments of the week which will challenge you in exciting ways to take pictures.

But in the end, just let your mind wander and experiment. Take pictures at a park, a sunset, a carnival, your back yard. Play with it.

Take a look at the Photo Project on the forums here. It's a monthly "assignment" and place to share photos. The main reason we started it was to help give people some direction and motivatiojn when they weren't sure what to take pictures of. So it's a perfect fit for you. Check the current Photo Project and start shooting and sharing!

Bugs or dogs. Those have been the best practice for me - I go to a local dog park around here and shoot various dogs, they don't mind being photographed, they always have a natural posture, and theyre fast... Or try a nature trail and find little bugs, dragonflies and beetles and the sorts...