How to take photos like this?

I would really like to take photos like this photographer. I love her dreamy fine art photography.

http://storyboxart.com/blog/2010/05/content/shyla-danoosh-part-2/
http://www.facebook.com/...9889543805
http://www.facebook.com/...9889543805

Now I know she has a decades of experience as a photographer/ advertising exec. But how do you achieve photos like that? Is it a specific lens or is it photo editing software? If its either of these please let me know what kind of lens/software would do the trick. If not, how can I learn to take photos like this. I know I can't do it in a day or a year but I would like to know where to begin.

I'm an amateur with a Nikon D40 + 18-55 mm lens. I' m new to photography. Give me credit for wanting to learn:-)

I look forward to hearing your answers.
Thanks Bunches.

Added (1). I really like her color photos. Please take a look

http://storyboxart.com/blog/2010/07/kids-photography/away/

http://storyboxart.com/blog/2009/08/newborn-photography/working-on-san-francisco-bay-area-baby-photographer/

I only looked at the first link,

learn exposure and how to convert images to black and white - there's nothing fancy going on they are just ambient light recordings of people, you could take shots like that after a few weeks if your a fast study - some of those b+ws the whites or blacks are way over… Proberly why they converted to b+w…

there's a few colour ones, nothing special the photogtrapher relies on window light and ambient light - nothing fancy going on, again blown highlights and no tectures in the blacks…

facebook? - i don't take images on facebook seriously…

your better off aspiring to be another fotog not that one… Imho

I think it has to do with lighting equipment (for the first link), but that can be really expensive and I think it takes some practice to get it right. You could buy a good flash with a diffuser to get something like the one of the guy dancing. The software would probably be photoshop or paint shop pro, but flickr is free online, though it offers less control and GIMP is also popular and free (but I've never used it)

Learn photoshop.