Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

Under the right circumstance, I'm sure I can shoot a polar bear in the wild with a 24mm lens. However, even if I were to pull it off, I certainly wouldn't go around using it as evidence that you don't need long lenses or that sometimes you can't get close to certain subjects. You are using rare exceptions to the rule to argue that we shouldn't accept that a subject can be beyond the reach of our gear.

That, and at this point I think you're just trolling anyway...

Shootist Loc: Wyoming

Steve, Just one more question. I downloaded the two night photos that you posted and did a pixel peep on them. (By the way, stunning photos and I deleted them from my computer afterwards). The lack of star trails and good detail in the foreground suggests you shot them at about 4 to 8 seconds with a pretty high ISO. Would you mind divulging the camera, lens and settings and was there moonlight involved? In the attached photo I pushed the envelope with my equipment and PP. As you can see it falls far short of your captures.(No cut and paste, the moon was a slight sliver that became a starburst in the photo)

Moon and Milky Way Snowy Range WY

(Download)

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

The trick is that they aren't single captures :) The foreground is blended into the sky shot (don't worry, from the same spot at the same time, I'm not just pasting star photos into landscapes or anything).

The lighthouse was on a moonless night. The lighthouse itself was several minutes if I recall - it was really dark and the light wasn't constant, it was a flasher - and pretty much all I had to illuminate the scene! The Milky Way shot was about 30 seconds @ 1600 @ F4 but at 17mm so there is very little trailing, even in the full size file. I then combined the two shots in Photoshop so I had a nice foreground and the stars the way I wanted them.

The bryce canyon shot was different. I used a star tracker (Astro Trac) for the sky, so I think it was only ISO 400 or so F4, (14mm) but for about 2 or three minutes. The moon then came up and I used it for the foreground which was than blended with the sky shot. For more on the setup:

http://backcountrygallery.com/astro-trac-tt320x-ag-initial-review/

The real trick is blending, but that's a topic I'll probably make into a short book one day - it can get really involved.

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

well, then pardon me.

Shootist Loc: Wyoming

Again, thanks you have been more than kind in responding to me.

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

I looked at the specs for some of canon and Nikon models. I found that they both make pro level cameras in the dx mode. so, it's about what you like.