Thanks Photog8, I was able to get a good vantage point as the water does add to the shots.

Very nice! The lighting and background blur are just perfect, well done!

Nope. I was on cloud 9 once (the details of which must remain confidential) and, whilst comely, these clouds can't compare!

Thanks for the explanation, most definitely worth looking for.

While waiting for fireworks to start, there was a very interesting ray like effect just as the sun was setting. I believe there is a name for it but I don't remember. Apparently, the rays converge to a spot 180 degrees from the setting sun.

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Took some shots at our local fireworks extravaganza, here are a few that I thought were decent!

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My son has the 55-300 DX lens and gets great results, so I think it is worthy of consideration. However for a lens with greater range, check out the Nikon 18-300 DX lens. It costs more than the 55-300 but it's range means you don't have to change lenses much at all. Going for longer than 300mm means a larger lens, not convenient for carrying around. I have a Nikon 200-500 but only use it in special circumstances, its too big/heavy and the range too limited for general photography.

Maybe it's that Nikon is negotiating to buy out Canon's camera division. The plan being as follows:

Immediately phase out all Canon bodies in favor of their Nikon equivalents.

Introduce "C" Model Nikon bodies (e.g. D810 C) that will have Canon Lens mounts and be functional with Canon accessories where possible. This will enable current Canon users invested in Canon glass to use their lenses on superior Nikon bodies.

Offer current Nikon lenses with Canon mounts and discontinue all Canon glass other than some "L" glass deemed up to Nikon standards. Offer those lenses with Nikon mounts too.

Gradually phase out support for Canon hardware over 10 years to allow current users time to shift to the Nikon system.

Just think of how UHH will be when Canon is just a distant memory like Exacta and Practika - the forum will probably save a bazillion bytes of storage space from the lack of the Canon-Nikon rivalry!

Merry Christmas!

If you will be shooting hand held, I strongly recommend the VR lens, unless weather sealing is a primary concern. My percentage of keepers rose significantly after switching to VR and now I only use VR lenses wherever possible. My friend has the 70-200 F4 VR and I've shot with it - nice lens!

From my experience, the FF cameras are better for landscape as in most instances they have better dynamic range, and, remember, you will be enlarging the pixels less when making big prints. I've used mostly Nikon's for landscape because in my experience they have better dynamic range than equivalent Canon's so I'm able to retain more detail in the sky while keeping the shadows open. HDR shooting overcomes this if you are so inclined. I have made beautiful 24 x 36 prints using a D600 with Nikon 24-85mm VR lens, a combo that can probably be bought for around $1000. The D600, D610 and D750 should all render similar results. I'm currently using a D610 and D810 for landscapes. The nice thing with the 36mp D810 is the ability to crop a bunch and still make big prints, you will get similar great results from a D800E too, but the price is more than the 24mp bodies.

Thanks Andy, glad you enjoyed the series.

#1 is my favorite too.

Went to the Loxahatchee Wildlife Preserve last evening. From along a dyke, we had a good view of both the sunset and moonrise plus, before it got too dark a few wildlife shots. Following are a sampling.

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Not quite dark and the last rays from the setting sun give the moon an orange hue!

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I travel a fair bit and have been grappling with lens choices, so feel qualified to comment here. On a recent cruise I took the following with me to assess what will be the best kit to travel with: Nikon D810 with 28-300 VR Nikon, 16-35 VR Nikon, 24mm D Prime, 50mm D Prime, 85mm G Prime, plus a Pentax K1 with 24mm Prime, 50mm Prime, 100mm Macro Prime and 35-135 Zoom. I shot with all of them, and every time I left my 28-300 VR behind, regretted not having it! If I had to choose but one lens, the 28-300 would be the one. If using a crop sensor, the Nikon 18-300 would be my choice. My recent trip has solidified my travel kit - D810 + 28-300 VR + 16-35 VR. With this combo I've got a myriad of situations covered. Incidentally, my 28-300 is plenty sharp, best shot at around F6.3 - F8. I shoot everything handheld - VR really helps and is very good on this lens. If weight is a serious problem, I would carry my 24-85 VR as it is much lighter than the other two and of excellent optical quality but less versatile. YMMV!

I don't have a lightning trigger, so my technique is to use repeated long exposures to attempt to capture a flash. In the example below, shot last Saturday, I used a Nikon D90 with a 24mm lens set to manual focus and manual control, F22, ISO 160, 20 second exposure. Shot looked better in B&W so exported in that format. I made about 100 exposures to capture just s few flashes! A trigger would be helpful. I fired the camera using a remote release from the relative safety of my living room with the door open and the camera sheltered from the rain on the patio.