Photography Terminology Help

Hi-

I do consider myself a fairly good photographer, however, I do not know what some very basic terms mean. If somebody could give me some definitions that would be great.

1) Aperture/Difference between high aperture #'s and low aperture #'s, also the definition of the term "Aperture Priority"
2) Exposure
3) White balance
4) Metering
5) What "Reducing Noise" means

These are all things I can adjust on my Nikon D40 (except for reduce noise). If I need to adjust anything manually, I mainly adjust ISO settings, shutter speed and AF area mode. If you could also please tell me what type of pictures (landscapes, sports, etc.) these items should be adjusted for that would be great.

Here are a couple of resources on the site that will be useful to you.

Photography Glossary
Photography Exposure Primer

Those should at least get you started. And we can answer most any other questions you have left over :)

Thank you that page is exactly what I have been looking for.

Aperture - the size of the hole that let's in the light. The rule of thumb is that the faster the lens, the lower the aperture number, the wider the aperture.
Exposure - also known as shutter speed. The amount of time the light is exposed to the CCD chip.
White balance - balancing the color white to give a more natural look to the image. Photos in sunlight will have a warmer white balance than photos shot under, say florescent lights.
Metering - measuring the amount of light that is hitting your subject in order to determine the best combination of exposure and aperture to get a good, natural picture.
Noise Reduction: This is a feature that is designed to reduce the amount of noise in the picture. In film, noise is grain. And it can be eliminated by altering the ISO/ASA settings, increasing the aperture or shutter speed or, all three.