[dvanvoorst]

If you get the updated plugins for Netbeans (assuming you are using Java) that were released around Jan 20th, they include a nice sample program that shows how to use the camera and process images. It's a great start. Then you can use the NI Vision Assistant to experiment with ways to fine tune the image filters.
In case your new to Netbeans, you can access the samples by starting a new project, then clicking on the Samples.