I plan to start photography, any advice on cameras?

Friends have praised my pictures before with standard cameras, but I never really took it as seriously, but now, I'd like to have it become a hobby of sort for myself. My dad and aunt are really into it, and I think it'd be something I like. I'll go in the woods around my area and on trips I take to other places and focus on taking the best picture I can from different angles, but of course, in a way that I THINK, not really well thought out or in a way where I know what I'm doing. Anyway, I also play guitar, and my mentality with buying new gear with guitar is to buy something that is about 2 steps ahead of what you have now, versus getting a beginner guitar. Getting something a little more high-end seems to keep me more interested, and eventually, I'll drop the beginner camera and get a higher-end one, so cutting out the beginner thing would save me cash, but I don't know if that's how it works with photography also. I like taking pictures of landscapes, and if there's people, typically in a way that I intertwine them with the foreground. (Correct terminology? I don't know, I'm a N00b.) Anyways, my dad likes Nikon a lot, but if any suggestions, that would be great.

I was exactly the same as you, I started off with a plain old digital camera. So many people said I took lovely photos, then I got into professional photography. I bought a Nikon D5000 camera with 2 lenses. But you should do research about what kind of features you need and what lens you will buy,
I'm 15 and still learning and practicing. It is so much fun taking pictures and exploring! Get into it!

You can visit my flickr page to see the photos that I have taken with a Nikon D5000 camera, just to give you an idea

Get a good 35 mm Nikon camera with standard lens. You can find one for under $150 on craigslist. Spend about a year or so learning how to compose and expose your shots using the cameras light meter.

By the time you have learned how to balance the shutter speed and lens aperture to get the correct exposure without having to think too much about it, you can then start looking at dSLR cameras that use the same lenses you have been able to buy while learning how to use your camera.

Have your dad help you find your first fully adjustable camera and with finding the correct lenses for the type subjects that you like to shoot

My first camera was a Pentax k1000.
Really good and cheap 35mm perfect for learning with.

I have 6 guitars and I'm a pro photographer so maybe I can relate to your mindset. A camera and a guitar are 2 different beasts. Think of the camera as the guitar and the lenses as the amp. You can get a really great camera body as long as you get the lenses to go with it or you can get a decent camera body and really good lenses. I would say you should get a good camera and build up your lenses. With time you will have a nice system. Over buying gear isn't going to make you better. If Clapton hands me his guitar I will not sound like him. Decide on a budget and then find a camera. I can shoot great pics with a Nikon D3100. If you have more money, step up the price range on Nikon and you won't go wrong. Canon also makes great cameras, nothing bad to say about them. I prefer Nikon right now but I used to own a truckload of Canon gear. Just get going and find your way.

Why not ask your dad and aunt? It makes more sense to ask someone you know (who happen to know about photography) than a bunch of strangers.

If your dad has a nikon, then it makes sense to buy a nikon since you can borrow his lenses. (and he can show you how to use your new camera).

I don't think guitars have anything to do with photography, but considering that buying a fancy guitar will not let you play like hendrix or santana, the same goes for cameras (buying a fancier model will not let you become annie leibovitz or ansel adams).It's the photographer (or guitarist) that is important, not the equipment (within reason of course. I'm not talking about $5 guitars in a junk store that are impossible to tune)

If your dad and aunt are good, ask them their opinion. Take it into consideration. Him likeing Nikon doesn't mean that is what you will like. Go to a local camera store and tell them what you are wanting, they can help you pick something out that is within your price range and tell you all the specs and what one does better than the other, etc.