Those are absolutely stunning. May I ask a question from the amateur side of things? Do you find using a straight telephoto lens simplifies setting up your shots? Let me use an analogy, I find many people who shoot firearms with adjustable sights, tend to constantly play with the sights. Those with fixed sights, tend to adjust them once and just shoot. So, that being said, do you find when using a zoom lens you play with the shot a bit more than with the telephoto? Does using the single large lens allow you to set up the shot more quickly, reduce missed shots, and improve the overall quality of the shot in general? Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos, and your thoughts.

Buckskin, dark muzzle, ears, tail, and socks. I'd settle for a dappled grey.

I thought that was understood. Just like "no candy for them" really means "Grandpa's going to sugar load them and send them home with you".

Very well said! I remember leaving the doors on the house unlocked, the keys for the car always hung in the ignition, walking to the local swimming pool by myself with no fear of being harmed, and spending time with friends, fishing and riding our bikes. Kids today can't, or don't even imagine what they can do without a phone in their hand. Imagine if they actually had to use an encyclopedia and write a report using a pen and no spell check. Thanks to days gone by.

Wow, there are more options than I will try in my remaining life time, thanks for the insight. As to the kids and why I look at keeping a record of us and our travels, it's a family thing. My family has photos going back to at least 1897 when my Grandfather was born. Some include the mule teams and cargo wagons my Great Grandfather used to move the family from Missouri to Red Lodge, Montana. My father was a Combat Photographer with the 2nd Marine Division in the Pacific during WWII. If you come across any of the Campaign books the Marines produced, you may see some of his work. I know of several from the Tarawa campaign, showing the darkness of war. After the war, he did a lot of photo work, even photographing Gene Autry and his troop as they passed through our area. A 4X5 Crown Graphic was his camera of choice, and what I learned on until I got my own Kodak Brownie. Some of his photos can be found in the fire station and city hall of my home town, even to this day.

Unfortunately, we all went in different directions, but after a bit of a hiatus, are getting back into the wonder of pictures and the history we preserve. Hence my concern for longevity. I don't plan on printing everything, saving many to disc for storage, but for those few that show who we are, what we did, and where we've been, I want as good as I can get. You all have been tremendously helpful, thank you.

I'm newish, so take this with a grain of salt. What is your subject, your point of interest? If the Elk are the point of the photo, then concentrate on the Elk. The forest is merely your backdrop, use it as such and if it is a bit soft, so be it. What do you want the folks that view this to see, that big bull or the trees? By the way, Elk are cool, especially when you come across that big heard bull whose rack touches his rump. Welcome aboard, and enjoy.

So, when you make prints to adorn your walls, what do you favor? Recently I've had a few prints done on canvas, and they look really cool, but I've begun looking at other mediums. We looked at a number of prints done on metal at a craft show, and I've looked at the glass prints done by Fracture. The color on these just seem to pop, really bringing out the detail and drawing your eyes to the subject. Of course, the old standard, photographic paper. My only concern with paper is longevity. I've seen too many photos disappear from old age, and some of what we're looking to do during retirement is capture the places we've been and things we've done. I want to pass those things on to my kids and grandkids, and prefer something that will stand the test of time while preserving the quality of what we did. Thanks

Took this shot a few years ago while visiting family in Selah, Washington.

(Download)

Take a look at Mefoto. The gentleman that owns the local Photography Shop uses these, and he does symposiums all over the world. They seem to be very light but very sturdy, and come in several sizes including one sized for backpacking.

MT Shooter, that's a great deal. We're in a holding pattern with finances right now, between a seasonal layoff and actual retirement. Once the retirement is going and all those retirement plans are making deposits, we'll be good. Hopefully we'll see those soon so I can move forward. I will keep this in mind, and check back with you. That would be ideal, and I would be very interested. Thanks

Thanks so much, the response has been tremendous. Who'da thunk. ;) You've provided a ton of information, and a couple great offers, thanks. My wife has kinda peeked over my shoulder reading your suggestions. Her response, "lets look at our budget and see where we're at, then buy the newest we can afford". So she, and by default myself, have decided there's no reason to move backward, and even though we're in the gotta buy used for now mode, we think your advise is sage. Buy the newest, bestest, we can with what we've got. Kinda like the old "buy once cry once" deal. I'd love to cry once on really new, really good, but currently we'd be crying for considerably longer than is acceptable. Thanks again everyone.

That's a lot of great information, thank you. I compared the 7000 with 7100 while searching, and while both are almost identical. The D7000 had one feature I really liked, dual SD card slots. For my intended use, 16 megapixels is more than enough, as is 39 focal points of which I only plan on using one. KEH has one right now for a very good price. There were a couple I looked at on eBay around the same price range, with serial numbers that put them at home here. The real upside of buying one used, I can splurge and get a new tripod, and a few spare SD cards.

Took a class last Saturday which opened my eyes to many things. One of those being the fact my old D100 is a bit lacking for what I want to do. I'm thinking of going with the Nikon D7000, used for now, but am concerned about winding up with a gray market special. Is there any way of identifying an actual US model as opposed to an "other country" model? It's a minor detail right now as a used body is out of warranty anyway, but if it came to needing a repair, I rather like the idea of being able to get them done instead of being told I wasted my money. I looked at a number of new cameras, and they're nice, similarly priced to the used D7000, but I can use the lenses I already have with the 7000. That and the capabilities of the D7000 just seem amazing. If all goes as planned, this camera would take me through a lot more learning and maybe get my wife started as well. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.

You are so making me home sick, you have done well. Is that the area South of the airport? Those hills just look way to familiar as I hiked all over the valley in my youth.