I have a Nikon D80 digital camera and am learning to use it, however I cannot capture really good night photos. I could not find in the manual how to do them. It's a shame because I live in San Diego and the fog rolls in and I always see opportunities. I'd like to do some neat black and whites in the fog against a few street lights.

Anyone have any advice? Thanks

i just got a d80 as well. I love to get some tips or maybe a site that can teach me all this stuff that I can do with my d80

oh while you're at it...check out my blog!

Jenny,

If I insult your intelligence here, please forgive me. Do you shoot your night shots on auto mode or do you take control of the camera? To get the best out of your night shots, you really need to shoot in manual mode. That way you get to decide what happens and your shots will turn out better.

Here are a couple of sites that may help you.
Understanding aperture.
Understanding shutter speed.
Understanding ISO.

When you learn to control these settings the possibilities are endless.

I use The Other Brand of camera, but I can offer two tips, one obvious, the other not so:
1. A tripod / camera bean bag + remote shutter release cable / timer are necessary along with the slowest possible ISO rating to ensure sharp pictures
2. There will be a noise reduction filter option (on a Canon, it's in the custom functions). DSLR's boost noise reduction processing to sometimes extreme lengths in low-light conditions. Deactivate it and use the viewfinder cap (or shield with your hand) to prevent light from behind your camera entering during long exposures.
Hope this helps.