Having not had my istDs for not very long either i suggest you get to know your camera very well before anything else eg, how fast it can focus in auto (if you use it), the best way to get better at using your d70 is to take as many photos as you can take it everywhere with you hope that helps :-/
The problem with smaller aperture's is that you then need lot's more light. So unless you've got a studio with bright lights at your disposal you would probably be best to try this shot outside when the light it at it's best for a smaller aperture to be used. you would probably want to to override the camera Auto everything mode and set it to Aperture priority (where you control the F no. The bigger the number the smaller the aperture.
Hallo, Troy, welcome to Usefilm. (I'm a fairly new boy myself!) The best tip I can give you, is spend a good bit of time looking at other people's images, and learn by example. I don't know how much you know about photography, (so if I'm telling you what you already know, apologies) but I'd say the depth of field (DOF) is not optimal in this shot. That is, the part of the picture that is in focus, front to back. You get better depth of field with smaller apertures and wider angle lenses, and what appears in focus is usually about 1/3 in front of, and 2/3 behind, the actual point of focus.
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